Here is my 5* review of Restless: Memoir of an Incurable Traveller by Heather Hackett.
An absolutely wonderful memoir
I was drawn to this very well written memoir because I travelled in a lot of the same areas of Asia, but two years earlier than when Heather started her travels in 1983.
We crossed paths several times, so to speak, in Chiang Mai (Thailand), Kathmandu and Pokhara (Nepal), Varanasi, Agra, Delhi and Darjeeling (India) and Hong Kong. The experiences that she had during the first part of the book closely resembled my own, even down to the heightened atmosphere in the Yin and Yang bar in Kathmandu.
This was a book that I could not put down and read Part 1 in one session and Part 2 in another. It is an amazing story of the travels that Heather, her husband James and later their children undertook over a number of years. The early chapters bought back so many memories and I am full of admiration for the strength of character that Heather and James had in travelling the way they did.
After being absorbed in familiar places I was whisked off to Burma and China, places I had not visited, before the first part of the book ended. The second part covers a period in which Heather and James have moved to Japan with their first child. It does not, however, cover their time in Japan. There will be a second book which recounts their experiences there.
Instead it follows the growing family as they take various trips back to Asia and also Europe. I found this section fascinating in a very different way as I was amazed how Heather and James coped with travelling along with their young children.
This is an absolutely wonderful memoir that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. So will you, if you enjoy reading about other people’s travels and experiences.
An absolutely wonderful memoir
I was drawn to this very well written memoir because I travelled in a lot of the same areas of Asia, but two years earlier than when Heather started her travels in 1983.
We crossed paths several times, so to speak, in Chiang Mai (Thailand), Kathmandu and Pokhara (Nepal), Varanasi, Agra, Delhi and Darjeeling (India) and Hong Kong. The experiences that she had during the first part of the book closely resembled my own, even down to the heightened atmosphere in the Yin and Yang bar in Kathmandu.
This was a book that I could not put down and read Part 1 in one session and Part 2 in another. It is an amazing story of the travels that Heather, her husband James and later their children undertook over a number of years. The early chapters bought back so many memories and I am full of admiration for the strength of character that Heather and James had in travelling the way they did.
After being absorbed in familiar places I was whisked off to Burma and China, places I had not visited, before the first part of the book ended. The second part covers a period in which Heather and James have moved to Japan with their first child. It does not, however, cover their time in Japan. There will be a second book which recounts their experiences there.
Instead it follows the growing family as they take various trips back to Asia and also Europe. I found this section fascinating in a very different way as I was amazed how Heather and James coped with travelling along with their young children.
This is an absolutely wonderful memoir that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. So will you, if you enjoy reading about other people’s travels and experiences.
