Les Stanley

My previous two books, Go Awayand Mostly Fun, have described the pleasures and pitfalls of travelling solo, travel with a partner, and group travel. In my latest effort, Quicker Than Walking, I've added a fourth option - travels with imaginary friends. But these aren't just any old invented souls, dragged from the dark recesses of my mind. I was accompanied, in my head, by some of the greats of literature. I checked in for my flight to Bangkok with non-other than Henry Miller for a travelling companion. I took early morning walks, once I'd found the beach, in Hua Hin with Franz Kafka. And I had a massage with D.H. Lawrence himself. Soon though, my heroes left me to my own reality. In Bangkok, I was happy enough in my own company. Then on to Hong Kong and mainland China, where my nephew took on the role of translator and tour guide. Eventually, I was back in the saddle exploring the delights of hilly Northern Thailand - an e-bike helped me here. Sweating the lowlands of the south - beer my only solace.

In early September 2023, I left the sanctity of my Brisbane home and sallied forth on a four-month adventure across Asia and Europe. I travelled, for the most part, alone, joined in a couple of locations by my wife. One fine afternoon, as we discussed the travelogue I would write about the trip, I was inspired by what to use as a title. Go Away, with its subtle as a sledgehammer double meaning, seemed appropriate.The title and writing style were inspired by one of my favourite writers, Paul Theroux. The journey he undertook to write his genre-defining travel book, The Great Railway Bazaar, also took four months. Never writing a particularly positive account of the countries he passes through, or the people he meets, towards the end of the book Theroux becomes even more curmudgeonly. This is mainly because he is missing his wife and the comfort of home. Desperate to make it home for Christmas, he struggles with flight, ship and train cancellations caused by bad weather.I knew how he felt. Not that I wanted to be home for Christmas, but I would rather not have spent it suffering a dose of COVID in Vietnam. There's no denying that four months is a long time to be away.It wasn't all bad though. Far from it. I loved the people and sights of Romania. I learnt much about the history of Paris thanks to two days spent, in the rain, with a friend who lives there and is a passionate and knowledgeable history teacher. Italy was a feast of pizza and wine with some historical marvels thrown in. Bangkok, as always, was mostly fun.