Book Review: Transit Lounge by Sunil Mishra

Book Review: Transit Lounge by Sunil Mishra

*Publisher: Frog Books *ISBN: 978-93-52017-15-7 *Genre: Memoir *Cover: Paperback *No of Pages: 212 *Price: 225 *Rating: 4/5

My view:

This is the first time I am reading a memoir on travel, so it’s a totally new experience to see the world from other’s prospective. I loved to read this book; author has very frankly presented each and every country he visited in straight forward way.

More than twice author has visited many countries mentioned in the book, so he has perfectly expressed the past and current situation of the country, which gives good experience to know the current scenario.

The flow of the book and writing style of author is simple, easy to understand, each chapter are classified in continent and then further divided into countries, which is plus point to remember and know much more about that country. I loved to read the two good experience author has mentioned in this book while traveling i.e. in Singapore there was an accident, both the car owner shake’s their hand and went away without any dispute and author lost his bag in taxi; somewhere in china, within 2 hour he got his luggage in good condition, which is not possible in India.

Some of the interesting thing which I came to know through this book is

• ·        “Okada” a new concept of motorcycle taxis in Nigeria,
• ·        Indian connection with Mauritius,
• ·        Wealth of Kuwaitis and 50% partnership with local if you want to do business in Kuwait,
• ·        Interesting facts about Istanbul (a historical place to study the past),
• ·        Friendly police in Singapore,
• ·        Scratch and waterproof currency of Malaysia.

Cons:

• ·        You will not get detailed knowledge (i.e. what to eat, were to stay, how to reach etc.) of any places mentioned in this book.
• ·        There is lots of spelling mistakes in the book, editing is needed.

If you love to travel, this book is for you. I highly recommended this book to travel freaks, a good travelogue by the debut author.

Blurb:

“Transit Lounge” is a contemporary book consisting of short incidents, observations and reflections while travelling to 30 countries across six different continents during last 15 years.

The book is personal account of travels to places in Africa (Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt and Mauritius), South America (Venezuela and Argentina), Asia (China, Iran, Kuwait, UAE, Singapore, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Thailand), Europe (UK, France, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Georgia, Turkey, Croatia and Romania), USA, Australia and New Zealand. It has always been interesting to observe all these different cultures and people from an Indian’s perspective.

The book is a compilation of small incidents and events during such travels; it includes losing an air ticket, dealing with difficult custom officials or getting mugged in a prime location in a foreign country. It is based on observations that someone with an Indian context will find most noticeable while talking to a taxi driver, walking through the local markets or going to a tourist destination. In essence, it is about an Indian travelling the world and discovering India in the process.