Christina Dodwell

Started slowly, without much preamble or background, but had its moments describing the otherworldly nature of Madagascar. CD's time in the Tsingy stands out. Not Christina Dodwell's most accomplished work.

equipped with an inflatable canoe, some trail mix, a generous amount of money, and a basic ability to speak cantonese, the author travels through china for four months. this account of her adventures is very sparse; the real appeal of the book is the author's pluck and her obviously uncontrollable wanderlust. dodwell braves drenching rain, snow, wind, fleas, bedbugs, rats, feral dogs, grouchy camels, and reluctant mules just to see "the real china". she walks into the gobi desert alone to show more find the remains of long-dead silk road cities. she takes her *inflatable* canoe into break-up lake ice! she hitchhikes, she takes trains to desolate areas, she eats the carbohydrates of the poor and hangs out with nomads in yak-felt yurts, drinking russian caravan tea and eating tsampa. she actively avoids tourists, and delights many an old chinese/tibetan lady with picture postcards of the british royal family. she accepts both the gritty and the pretty, though she obviously prefers the pretty - sacred temples, monasteries, great rivers, and the romantic simplicity of living in a yurt, (despite eating a considerable amount of yak hair along with her milk and butter.) the author's dumbfounding openness to people and to experience make the book worthwhile, though very economical, reading. show less

Papua New Guinea. Like Rita Golden Gelman, the author of [b:Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World|85622|Tales of a Female Nomad Living at Large in the World|Rita Golden Gelman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171061013s/85622.jpg|2637573], Christina Dodwell is some combination of adventurous, naive, lucky, and skillful. This narrative of her two years in Papua New Guinea provide evidence for all of these interpretations. I enjoyed Dodwell's descriptions and musings and have show more a much better on-the-ground sense of the country than I often have after reading travel memoirs. On the other hand, I was more consistently alarmed than usual. It might have helped to have a better sense of Dodwell's thoughts and emotions, but this is the least revealed aspect of the book. show less

Amazing account of a female explorer whose lack of fear astounds me! Travelling on horseback alone, Dodwell traverses much of eastern Turkey (an area that I would love to visit if not for the unsafe conditions) and ventures into Iran.
I am an avid traveller; Dodwell's book captures my imagination by taking me on a journey that I will never be able to take.
Highly recommended.