Kirjahaku

Robert Muirhead walked more than 3500 kilometres on a number of long pilgrimages in Europe, following ancient pilgrim routes that still criss-cross the continent. Some of those amazing journeys are described in the book. Find out how his days unfolded and how he coped with the challenges and problems that confronted him. Walk in his footsteps as he marvels at the wonders of the natural world around him, as well as the towns and other sites of interest he visited. Meet the people he met and share his joy in the kindness and inspiration he received from them. Pilgrimage is still relevant in our modern hectic world, and is undergoing a resurgence in Europe. The author explains why modern pilgrims undertake such long journeys. The book is not a specialist guidebook, but the Appendices contain practical information based on the author's personal experience that will help first-time pilgrims. Learn about planning, setting goals and what you should take on the journey. There is advice on mental and physical preparation; as well as advice on food, water, accommodation, health and safety.

Robert Muirhead has traveled in over 120 countries in search of natural and man-made wonders, as well as the cultural and spiritual essence of the places he visits. Some of those inspiring journeys are described in this insightful book.Follow him from Ghana to fabled Timbuktu on the edge of the Sahara Desert, past the spectacular mud brick mosque at Djenne and down the Niger River by boat. Cross the world to another great river and travel with him down the Amazon River as he fishes for piranhas and learns the legends of the river dolphins, while avoiding ant trees and fer de lance snakes in the Amazonian jungle.On another fascinating journey he trekked through forests in Uganda and Rwanda to spend time with endangered mountain gorillas. Be awed by the volcanic landscape of Djibouti, where Africa is being torn from Arabia in a powerful rifting process. Follow him through evocative Roman ruins in Tunisia to the edge of the Sahara Desert.Join him in Ethiopia as he marvels at the rock-hewn churches at Lalibela and the grass-eating gelada monkeys on the high Simien Plateau. Be inspired by the spectacular Meskel Festival of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Learn about the striking customs and rituals of African tribes in Mali and Ethiopia.Drive with him in flamboyant American autos of the 1950's to the spectacular Tropicana Cabaret in Havana, Cuba. Learn the fascinating African slave origins of the Cuban Santeria religion.

Robert Muirhead travelled the ancient Silk Route through China to its many end-points in Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula. On these long journeys over a number of years he met peoples from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds struggling to maintain their traditional cultures and lifestyles.He saw the ruins and faded glories of the Roman Empire in many of those countries, and the rise of Islam and its enduring legacies. The mighty British Empire also exerted its own influence on the countries touched by the Silk Route and many of its legacies also remain, for good and ill. One of the lessons of history is that all things change.He saw graphic evidence of changing climate. In the empty desert of the Great Ubari Sand Sea in Libya he saw the remnants of once mighty lakes and striking cave paintings from times when the desert bloomed with life. Many of the major cities along the Silk Route are now choked with pollution. The once-great Aral Sea may disappear as the water that feeds it is diverted to other uses. We are wrecking our planet.Another lesson of history is that conflict and war have always existed between people and competing political and religious systems. War continues to wrack the Middle East. Minority ethnic and religious groups still face persecution. Robert Muirhead experienced security problems first-hand in Yemen.His final observation is a more hopeful one about the nature of people as individuals. Robert Muirhead encountered kindness and hospitality from people buffeted by great changes beyond their control. The goodness of ordinary people towards a stranger from another land is one of the more uplifting features of his remarkable journeys.

Join Robert Muirhead on his insightful and informative journeys to many of the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean and in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. These islands are tourist paradises today but they were once dominated by a succession of European powers and have turbulent pasts, including slavery and damaging exploitation of their natural resources. The book sets out not only their attractions for visitors but also describes the many challenges they face in a rapidly-changing world. Share his epic walk to the Boiling Lake in Dominica and his nervous ascent of a rocky cliff in the Seychelles. Find out why there are more girls than boys in the Seychelles.He visited the battlefields on Guadalcanal and saw where the Marines and US Navy triumphed, as well as hearing the stories of local people whose fathers and grandfathers played vital roles in the war.Meet some of the wonderful people he encountered on his journeys and be humbled by their openness and frankness, and their willingness to help a transient stranger. A woman in Jamaica invited him to dinner. Then there was the woman in Easter Island who had taken a side trip on her epic bike ride from Santiago to Ushuaia. A woman in Rarotonga said he had beautiful eyes. You will also meet the people he feIt sad for and wondered what would become of them; such as his guide in East Timor who had suffered greatly under Indonesian rule; and the young woman in Barbados who spoke so artlessly to him and who might face a lifetime of difficulty because of her speech defect.He observed the remarkable resilience of humanity and its many cultures in transcending their violent pasts. Humans are supreme adapters, and although the future poses unique challenges to small island nations, those endangered jewels of the oceans will adapt and surprise us with their achievements, as they always have.

Trek with the author to the high Himalayas of Nepal. Admire the amazing stamina and cheerfulness of his Nepalese porters and Sherpas. Watch sunrise illuminate the craggy tips of poetical and spiritual Himalayan mountains and creep down into shadowy valleys in a euphoric experience that can never be forgotten.Share his white-knuckle flight to Skardu in north Pakistan and travel with him on the incomparable Karakoram Highway to fabled Hunza valley in the Karakorum Mountains. Take a bus ride to the breathtaking rice terraces at Banaue and Ifugao in the mountains of the Philippines.Follow the author to Vietnam just after the Vietnam War when thousands were fleeing communism in unsafe boats. His visit to Burma was during a time warp at the very beginning of its tentative move from military dictatorship towards democracy. India's vibrant often chaotic, democracy and institutions were still grappling with their colonial past when the author visited its amazing temples and monuments.Walk the evocative ruins of 4,000-year-old Mohenjo-daro in Pakistan, one of the world's earliest cities that was lost and only re-discovered in the 1920's. Explore the erotic temples at Khajuraho, the amazing rock temples at Ellora and the exquisite cave paintings at Ajanta in India.See how the author handled rock slides on the Karakoram Highway and an encounter with Maoist insurgents in Nepal. In Delhi he was confronted by an angry Indian who accused him of taking photographs for the CIA. A stone was thrown at him in a market in Agra. He became ill in Vietnam and on his trek to Gokyo Ri in the Himalayas.Meet the man who was imprisoned for treasonable writing during India's struggle for independence; and the girl who sang Frere Jacques to him in Burma.

Robert Muirhead began his love affair with trains in 1981 when he travelled from Hong Kong through China and Mongolia, across Russia and through Europe to Rotterdam, where he took a ferry to England and a final train to London. He has ridden a market train in Indonesia, and travelled from Bangkok to Singapore both in luxury and with cockroaches. He crossed Canada from west to east; and Australia from west to east on the Indian Pacific and from south to north on The Ghan. He rode the Jacobite in Scotland.He travelled to Kenya to find out about the Lunatic Express, to Dubai to learn about its old railway, to Penang to ride the funicular railway up Penang Hill, and to Malaysia to see how rail was used to build a road to the Cameron Highlands.Trains throw people intimately together on long journeys and they often open up in surprising ways, like the discussion about the value of yoga to sex on the market train in Java.The great transcontinental railway lines of Australia, Canada and Russia followed in the footsteps of daring explorers and involved epic feats of engineering, controversy and financial scandal that opened up the vast interiors of those countries. This history is part of the romance of trains.Now sit back and ride with the author on the unforgettable journeys of a lifetime. As the author puts it: "These journeys allowed me to see the endless variety of our fascinating world; to encounter new lands, people and cultures; to see what is over the hill, or around the bend in the road; to feel the wind on my face in some remote corner of the Earth; to revel in the spine-tingling wonder and beauty of the natural world."

People who have seen the movie 'The Way' about the Camino de Santiago often long to do a similar pilgrimage themselves. Many of those who do set out say it was one of the most memorable experiences of their lives. The Camino is within the capacity of most people if they plan adequately and take the right equipment.The practical, no-nonsense advice in Robert Muirhead's handbook applies to the Camino and to any one of the many other pilgrimage routes criss-crossing Europe. It is based on the author's five pilgrimages over ten years covering over 4,000 kilometres, but the author also describes the best sources of help and advice on the internet, and points out some of the latest digital aids and apps.The book will show you how to plan, how choose the right clothing, footwear and pack and how to train before you go. There is detailed advice on key topics such as navigation, choosing a guidebook and maps, how to find accommodation, health and safety. Tips for campers and cyclists as well as hikers are included. Older people are increasingly walking some of the long pilgrimage routes of Europe and the book has advice for them as well.We all want to take great photos. This book will explain how to choose the best equipment (camera or phone) and how to apply the tips pros use to put the 'wow' factor into their photos.If you are thinking about taking your children or your dog, read this book first. Disabled people go on pilgrimages and the book has some useful suggestions for them. Some people want to ride a horse on pilgrimage, or take a donkey. This book will explain how to go about it.Apart from practical advice, Robert Muirhead also gives valuable insights into the contemplative and spiritual side of his pilgrimages that did much to make his long journeys so meaningful.

None of these stories has any meaning beyond what the reader might impart to them. They are merely scaffolds on which the reader will create their own imaginative worlds. Stories unlock a door into the world of the imagination and usher the reader down its paths. As we tread the paths of our imagination guided by the words flowing across a page, we may relate the images conjured up by the text to our own lives, adding perspective and possibly enriching our experiences. Such is the power of fiction. It is largely why I wrote these stories.There are tales about war and how it affected both the people who suffered from it and also the perpetrators of violence. Some stories deal with escape from psychological threats, and how one individual deals with tragedy. Others are about the search for meaning and happiness. Some are simply weird, such as the story of an intimidated student trying to impress malevolent Examiners. A gothic tale describes the fate of an obsessive collector and his possessive objects. Reading and tiling will never be the same again once you have read those stories. Speculations about an old photograph will change the way you look at photos.