Innocents Abroad

In 1969, the writer and her husband set off for what is intended to be a short holiday in Ibiza and end up taking the so-called hippie route to Katmandu in Nepal. In this fresh and engrossing account of a journey nearly 50 years ago from Europe to Asia, Carol Carlton vividly describes a world which has changed dramatically in the decades since.

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In 1969, the writer and her husband set off for what is intended to be a short holiday in Ibiza and end up taking the so-called hippie route to Katmandu in Nepal. It is the true account, written first as a journal and then daily, by a woman who takes this journey without preparation, planning or travel agent and before the instant communication of mobiles, tablets and email. In this fresh and engrossing account of a journey taken nearly 50 years ago from Europe to Asia, Carol Carlton vividly describes a world which has changed dramatically in the decades since; as she travels, an inner journey emerges as the landscape, people and the journey itself have their effect upon the writer. This book is a must-read for readers who are interested in travel and also for those who see life as an adventure, not only through what we do, but how we view the world, who we are and who we become. What emerges from this wonderfully described travel account is an approach to the unknown in the widest sense through life's journey. While their wanderings lead them into many kinds of hardships and dangers, it seems as if their spirit of open-heartedness itself keeps them safe from the unexpected risks that present themselves. At the same time, it reveals how this spirit of innocent curiosity allows people from many countries, religions and ways of life to reveal their innermost convictions and feelings to her. Nowhere is this more poignant than in Syria.