Chapters
Prologue: Leap and the Net Will Appear. The “backstory;” how the wanderlust gene reached fruition for Ann and Jim, how they acted as catalysts for each other, how they stubbornly surmounted obstacles for three years in order to travel the world, finally setting out in a rush. More about how they travel too.
T H E M I D D L E E A S T
1) Turkey: Desert Fever. The people of Turkey who love travelers too much, especially foreign women, and Ann and Jim’s overnight truck trip to the southern coast with Dorsun, the watermelon truck driver. A reflection on the sexual tension looming large in the Middle East. 1980.
2) Syria: Love in the Desert. Set in Antioch, Turkey, and Damascus, Syria, two of the world’s richest, ancient cities, this is the story of Abdullah, a colorful Palestinian with the soul of a poet who, Ann and Jim finally realize, travels to find a wife, not to see the sights. 1980.
3) Jordan: The Pink Scar. Exploring the beautiful, desolate moonscapes of the desert of Wadi Rum on the Arabian peninsula, Ann and Jim under-estimate the size of the valley as they hike to Lawrence’s Well (as in Lawrence of Arabia) and meet up with a Bedouin goat herder. 1980.
A F R I C A
4) Egypt: The Inshallah Ferries. After surviving the overnight trip up the Nile on a derelict steamboat brimming with people, Ann and Jim arrive in the God-forsaken desert outpost of Wadi Halfa to find that the only train going south overflows with people; the next train leaves in a week, maybe. 1980.
5) Sudan: The Camel’s Cry. In exotic Khartoum, Ann and Jim meet their first camels at the camel market and Whirling Dervishes at a holy man’s tomb. Later, Ann stumbles upon a rare evening of belly dancing with Egyptian women at the hotel. 1980.
6) Sudan: The Bush in Drag. Setting out on train (top) from Khartoum, Ann and Jim traverse some of the remotest regions of Africa, where the human landscape becomes other-worldly. Ann is awakened late at night to confront a beautiful man-bird hunter who shares the corner of their train car. 1980.
7) Sudan: The Other Africa. The extraordinary, punishing trip atop a UN truck with five other travelers over pocked, flooded roads, retiring each night to the gunfire of Ugandan raiders in the distance. Nothing in their travel experience rivals the stories of Sudan. Reflections on the dark side of the continent and how it indelibly changes you. 1980.
8) Kenya: The Sirens of Serengeti. Descending the beautiful Rift Valley into the Serengeti plains of the Masai Mara game reserve, Ann’s hair-raising four-day budget safari tale with six men. 1980.
9) Mozambique: The Train to No Man’s Land. An almost mystical tale about a one-day slice of African life. Stuck for twelve hours on a train going nowhere, Ann, Jim, a Dutch friend and Mozambican walk with no food or money through remote bush in search of the Malawi border, reuniting with the train in the wee hours of the morning. 1981.
T H E M I D D L E E A S T
1) Turkey: Desert Fever. The people of Turkey who love travelers too much, especially foreign women, and Ann and Jim’s overnight truck trip to the southern coast with Dorsun, the watermelon truck driver. A reflection on the sexual tension looming large in the Middle East. 1980.
2) Syria: Love in the Desert. Set in Antioch, Turkey, and Damascus, Syria, two of the world’s richest, ancient cities, this is the story of Abdullah, a colorful Palestinian with the soul of a poet who, Ann and Jim finally realize, travels to find a wife, not to see the sights. 1980.
3) Jordan: The Pink Scar. Exploring the beautiful, desolate moonscapes of the desert of Wadi Rum on the Arabian peninsula, Ann and Jim under-
A F R I C A
4) Egypt: The Inshallah Ferries. After surviving the overnight trip up the Nile on a derelict steamboat brimming with people, Ann and Jim arrive in the God-
5) Sudan: The Camel’s Cry. In exotic Khartoum, Ann and Jim meet their first camels at the camel market and Whirling Dervishes at a holy man’s tomb. Later, Ann stumbles upon a rare evening of belly dancing with Egyptian women at the hotel. 1980.
6) Sudan: The Bush in Drag. Setting out on train (top) from Khartoum, Ann and Jim traverse some of the remotest regions of Africa, where the human landscape becomes other-
7) Sudan: The Other Africa. The extraordinary, punishing trip atop a UN truck with five other travelers over pocked, flooded roads, retiring each night to the gunfire of Ugandan raiders in the distance. Nothing in their travel experience rivals the stories of Sudan. Reflections on the dark side of the continent and how it indelibly changes you. 1980.
8) Kenya: The Sirens of Serengeti. Descending the beautiful Rift Valley into the Serengeti plains of the Masai Mara game reserve, Ann’s hair-
9) Mozambique: The Train to No Man’s Land. An almost mystical tale about a one-
10) Eastern and Southern Africa: The God of Unknowing. A Kafkaesque story about a Malawi border guard who follows Ann five miles in the bush to the Zambia border post to tell her that her mother has died. 1981.
A S I A
11) Nepal: Prayers on the Wind. Set higher than mountains should be and as close as heaven gets, a story of extraordinary coincidence about “bumping into” a friend Ann and Jim have lost contact with, last known to be in India. 1985.2001.
12) India: Charming Deities I Have Known. A wily, beetle nut-hoicking, senior rickshaw driver named Shiva steers Ann and Jim to the wrong hotel , though they get some sage advice for their trouble. 1985.
13) Thailand: Unholy Matrimony. The tale of Ann and Jim’s attempts to marry first in India, then the northern hinterlands of Thailand, and finally Bangkok, and a civil servant’s great indiscretion to overcharge their marriage license fee. 1985.
14) Vietnam: Enemies in Another Time. Ann and Jim befriend a French-speaking older gentleman from the colonial rule who invites them to tea at his home, then surprises them with conduct considered unspeakable in this hospitable culture. A reflection upon the continuing impact of the Vietnam war and the American Embargo. 1992.
15) Cambodia: The Young Green Grass. The young souvenir sellers, the children of the genocide survivors of post-war Cambodia, are hungry to learn English. The story of Ra, a fourteen year old beach vendor, who Ann places in Khmer/English school. 2001.
16) Bali: Stories We Tell Ourselves. The rich, complex world of magic and menacing spirits that dominate life in Bali set the stage for the robbery of Ann’s passport during a Balinese traditional massage. 2004.
Epilogue: The Moonlight on My Bed. Ann’s last reflection on a love affair with travel and how it beckons us in unexpected ways. 2008.
11) Nepal: Prayers on the Wind. Set higher than mountains should be and as close as heaven gets, a story of extraordinary coincidence about “bumping into” a friend Ann and Jim have lost contact with, last known to be in India. 1985.2001.
12) India: Charming Deities I Have Known. A wily, beetle nut-
13) Thailand: Unholy Matrimony. The tale of Ann and Jim’s attempts to marry first in India, then the northern hinterlands of Thailand, and finally Bangkok, and a civil servant’s great indiscretion to overcharge their marriage license fee. 1985.
14) Vietnam: Enemies in Another Time. Ann and Jim befriend a French-
15) Cambodia: The Young Green Grass. The young souvenir sellers, the children of the genocide survivors of post-
16) Bali: Stories We Tell Ourselves. The rich, complex world of magic and menacing spirits that dominate life in Bali set the stage for the robbery of Ann’s passport during a Balinese traditional massage. 2004.
Epilogue: The Moonlight on My Bed. Ann’s last reflection on a love affair with travel and how it beckons us in unexpected ways. 2008.