Travelling Sam
Registered user
Do you like the idea of being immersed in the colours and cultures of Asia? Does the thought of dealing with the myriad of challenges that can be found nowhere else on earth attract you?
If you are then hopefully you’ll fancy a copy of my second adventure motorcycle travel book ‘Under Asian Skies’. It takes you across Australia, up into SE Asia, through India and Nepal before crossing Iran, Turkey and Eastern Europe.
InterBike wrote: 'Sam Manicom certainly has the ability to immerse you in the trip and make you feel part of it, so much so you find yourself mentally trying to sort out his problems before he gives you the solution! But, and this is the best part, you quickly realise he is an ordinary guy living a dream, facing the unknown every-day and not some top class rider on a factory prepared machine, with riding abilities beyond the scope of most of us.
As you read through though, you do get a sense that it is not intended to inspire, but more paint a detailed and graphic picture of people and places and try (and it succeeds) to give the reader just a sense of being there and what it is like to deal with different cultures and expectations in a factual readable and sometimes humorous way.
Manicom has definitely got a readable writing style that makes his books just as appealing to either a general reader, as much as a traveller and or motorcyclist and that really does make them worth a read and stand out from the crowd.'
Inter Bike is Ian Kerr, who you you’ll have been reading in various bike mags and papers for years. And no, I didn’t pay him to write this : )
Under Asian Skies is available from Amazon in both paperback and Kindle format. You can also find this book from Aerostich, Waterstones, Stanfords Bookshops and if you purchase directly from the website www.sam-manicom.com I’ll be very happy to send you out signed and dedicated copies.
'...well worth reading and a must read for any motorhead who dreams of leaving the rat race behind in favor of the freedom of the open road and a beloved motorcycle. In short, this is one helluvan adventure!' Canyoncasers.com
And to whet your whistle for ‘Under Asian Skies’, here’s an excerpt and a taste of life on the roads in India.
'... There didn't seem to be any system. The traffic appeared to have no rules other than 'go forward somehow'. Battered Ambassadors heaved their heavy rounded bodies forward, lumbering around potholes. Three-wheeler rickshaws buzzed like demented flies, darting and ducking past the other road users. Big, beaten up buses belched clouds of smoke over everyone, and bullied their way along with a rather solid superiority. Their windows were decorated with shiny pictures of the gods Ganesh and Shiva or fat, non-smiling Buddhas. They had glittery tassels hanging and swinging like some sort of freak belly dance as the bus thumped through yet another hole. Garlands of bright orange marigolds framed the windows, and bold signs stated warnings and religious confidence. 'Sound Horn Please' and 'God Is With Me'.
Big Tata trucks, subservient only to the almost kamikaze behaviour of the buses, arrogantly elbowed their way through the mess. Only fools, buses and cows got in their way. People-power rickshaws scuttled their sweaty way through the chaos, battling for tiny spaces. The rickshaw men looking wide-eyed at the constant mash of ever-changing threats, all of which had the power to crush them and their passengers out of existence as one would do with an irritating bug.
Cyclists were next down the food chain, with pedestrians being the lowest form of life. The latter though, still had to cross the street and did so with a combination of fatalism and pro-rugby agility as they handed off cars in their dash from one side to the other. The amazing thing was that it all seemed to work, until a cow got in the way that is. Cows are holy and know that they can get away with anything, so they did. They would aimlessly wander out into the snarling mess of the traffic, and the 'flow' really did somehow miraculously part for them. Perhaps in a past life Babu had been a cow, or perhaps, living on the taxi driver's edge of life he was already dreaming of the form he would like to take in the next one. ...'
It's luverly out there!
If you are then hopefully you’ll fancy a copy of my second adventure motorcycle travel book ‘Under Asian Skies’. It takes you across Australia, up into SE Asia, through India and Nepal before crossing Iran, Turkey and Eastern Europe.
InterBike wrote: 'Sam Manicom certainly has the ability to immerse you in the trip and make you feel part of it, so much so you find yourself mentally trying to sort out his problems before he gives you the solution! But, and this is the best part, you quickly realise he is an ordinary guy living a dream, facing the unknown every-day and not some top class rider on a factory prepared machine, with riding abilities beyond the scope of most of us.
As you read through though, you do get a sense that it is not intended to inspire, but more paint a detailed and graphic picture of people and places and try (and it succeeds) to give the reader just a sense of being there and what it is like to deal with different cultures and expectations in a factual readable and sometimes humorous way.
Manicom has definitely got a readable writing style that makes his books just as appealing to either a general reader, as much as a traveller and or motorcyclist and that really does make them worth a read and stand out from the crowd.'
Inter Bike is Ian Kerr, who you you’ll have been reading in various bike mags and papers for years. And no, I didn’t pay him to write this : )
Under Asian Skies is available from Amazon in both paperback and Kindle format. You can also find this book from Aerostich, Waterstones, Stanfords Bookshops and if you purchase directly from the website www.sam-manicom.com I’ll be very happy to send you out signed and dedicated copies.
'...well worth reading and a must read for any motorhead who dreams of leaving the rat race behind in favor of the freedom of the open road and a beloved motorcycle. In short, this is one helluvan adventure!' Canyoncasers.com
And to whet your whistle for ‘Under Asian Skies’, here’s an excerpt and a taste of life on the roads in India.
'... There didn't seem to be any system. The traffic appeared to have no rules other than 'go forward somehow'. Battered Ambassadors heaved their heavy rounded bodies forward, lumbering around potholes. Three-wheeler rickshaws buzzed like demented flies, darting and ducking past the other road users. Big, beaten up buses belched clouds of smoke over everyone, and bullied their way along with a rather solid superiority. Their windows were decorated with shiny pictures of the gods Ganesh and Shiva or fat, non-smiling Buddhas. They had glittery tassels hanging and swinging like some sort of freak belly dance as the bus thumped through yet another hole. Garlands of bright orange marigolds framed the windows, and bold signs stated warnings and religious confidence. 'Sound Horn Please' and 'God Is With Me'.
Big Tata trucks, subservient only to the almost kamikaze behaviour of the buses, arrogantly elbowed their way through the mess. Only fools, buses and cows got in their way. People-power rickshaws scuttled their sweaty way through the chaos, battling for tiny spaces. The rickshaw men looking wide-eyed at the constant mash of ever-changing threats, all of which had the power to crush them and their passengers out of existence as one would do with an irritating bug.
Cyclists were next down the food chain, with pedestrians being the lowest form of life. The latter though, still had to cross the street and did so with a combination of fatalism and pro-rugby agility as they handed off cars in their dash from one side to the other. The amazing thing was that it all seemed to work, until a cow got in the way that is. Cows are holy and know that they can get away with anything, so they did. They would aimlessly wander out into the snarling mess of the traffic, and the 'flow' really did somehow miraculously part for them. Perhaps in a past life Babu had been a cow, or perhaps, living on the taxi driver's edge of life he was already dreaming of the form he would like to take in the next one. ...'
It's luverly out there!
But holy cows in Bradford? That's it, Benneton will be closed up again! You heard the story about Bombay did you?
