Erik Torkells

This book has been a really, cute, light read. I found it particularly useful for a rough patch of extremely busy days when I couldn't, really couldn't, read a book that would cause me to put everything else off.

The pictures in this book are wonderful, often adding or enhancing the story. My favorites were the ones that were so wild, I was dying to read the vignette below it in order to figure out what the heck was going on!
Particularly memorable: the double-photoed story of a man who tried show more to pose with a monkey...much to the monkey's dismay. Absolutely hysterical.
I also liked the photos that seemed perfectly normal (like one of a blond posing for a photo in China) until you read the story. The blond was eventually chased away from the Great Wall by a scissor-wielding vendor screaming "Gold hair! Gold Hair!"

This book really is laugh-out-loud funny, and, though it's not their purpose, the stories often unintentionally provide great ideas on how to avoid travel calamities.
Wonderful :)

This review is also a post on my blog. show less

A Stingray Bit My Nipple! is a charming compilation of humorous travel stories first published in Budget Travel magazine. Most of the stories are only 50-100 words and are accompanied by a high-quality color photograph. This gem appears on page 7: "I met a pair of Iranian men—a businessman and his translator—while inside a store in China. 'You look like an Iranian woman,' the translator said. 'Well, thank you,' I replied, not exactly sure how to react. 'I’ll take that as a compliment.' show more Looking me up and down, he said, 'No, don’t.'

The following humorous anecdote from page 21 is accompanied by a picture of a chicken on a bed with an egg: "My husband and I booked a cabin in an eco-resort in Belize. When we arrived, there were chickens running loose around the grounds. The owner told us that they were his insect exterminators. That night we kept all of our windows open, and in the early morning, I heard a chicken squawking close by—very close. She was in our bed! And she loved being petted. When we got up, we discovered that she’d even laid an egg."

This light-hearted anthology will put a quick smile on your face and will also make a great gift for anyone who enjoys travel.

This review also appears on my blog Literary License (short reviews, real opinions): litlicense.blogspot.com show less

The editors of Budget Travel magazine have assembled the best true travel stories from readers into this short, funny book that proves that truth is stranger than fiction, especially when there is a language barrier. Each anecdote is no more than a paragraph and some are accompanied by photographs that are as funny as the stories themselves such as the dried lizards on sticks, or the whip-cracking nun. There are language misunderstandings (asking for a tampon instead of towel), unexpected show more animal behavior and cultural shocks, but all of the stories are pervaded by a sense of good humor and going with the flow. show less

Somehow I expected this book to be a less-than-literary, but at least vaguely amusing, collection of travel essays. Instead it turns out to be a badly bound Reader’s Digest lookalike with one magazine-ish blurb per page, printed in garish high gloss and replete with bad vacation pix. I would have put it next to the toilet for distraction and encouragement, however no one in my household ever sits there long enough to make it worthwhile, literacy-wise. And the high gloss makes a poor wipe. show more ‘nuff said. show less