Here's an unusual book which was lent to me by a friend, Peter. I say unusual in that it's not one I would normally think to read. Always go with a recommendation it seems.
It tells the tale of Ted Simon's travels on a 500cc Triumph motorcycle starting in 1973 through to 1977. Written on his return to the UK it is very much a time capsule story. It coincides with the dismantling of the European colonies in Africa, Asia and the Americas, the OPEC oil crisis and the height of the Cold War.
Ted journeys through African countries in civil war, Rhodesia(!) and apartheid South Africa. Brazil is still under the control of the generals and Chile is a mass of bloodshed. Cambodia and Vietnam have to be avoided due to war, but Afghanistan is quiet and peaceful. It certainly brings home just how much the world and geopolitics have changed.
Ted Simon writes in an an engaging style and like all good travel books it's about the people Ted meets along the journey that makes the story interesting. He bares all on the page including the odd sexual encounter and bouts of what would probably diagnosed these days as depression . At all times he is empathetic with those he meets, even when he is held captive as a spy in Brazil for weeks on end. I found him to be a broad minded and progressive thinker for a man of his times.
I looked Ted Simon up on the web. He appears to be still alive at the age of 90 and living in the UK somewhere. He started out as a chemical engineer and then switched to journalism in the early 70's before becoming an organic farmer in California for a long time. He wrote a few other books and reprised his world journey in the early 2000's at the age of 70. That might be an interesting book to read for the contrast, although the world is much different from then now.
Highly recommended for those who like books. Until next time, peace and love.
