Travel is a transformative experience, perhaps even more so when the destination gets farther and farther from one’s comfort zone. The truth is that travel is not always a picnic: things go wrong, things get lost, people get lost. At certain points, you might even find yourself pining to be back roughing it on Lasqueti. So, why do we travel? First-time author Raccoon Sixty asks this question tongue in cheek, then takes the reader on a vicarious journey. Eschewing relaxation and luxury, he and his wife Trixie spent over a decade going off the beaten track to such exotic locations as India, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Nepal (thrice).

   

Here is a primer on independent travel or, more specifically, a “superannuated guide to adventure tourism”. With saucy wit and self-deprecation, Raccoon recounts facing various challenges: translation gaffes, culture shock, traffic roulette, “diabolical plumbing,” “crampies,” and the “world’s most dangerous airport.” They tackle near death experiences with great aplomb, even lusting for more. Along the way, they are enthralled with the generosity, curiosity, and resourcefulness of the locals.

   
This is not a study in social anthropology but a personal travelogue from the point of view of a well-heeled, retired Northern American civil servant. Anyone familiar with the works of Bill Bryson will find resonance here. Raccoon includes brief historical context to each country visited.

   

Footnotes to the text provide links to supporting resources on the Internet… Raccoon dubs this a “Book E”. Each chapter starts with pithy and often painful puns and a menagerie of quotes from The Dalai Lama to Frank Zappa. Less than serious sections, such as a Glossary, Skill Testing Quiz and Questions for Your Book Club follow the main narrative.

   

Although I can’t prove it, I’m quite certain that “Raccoon Sixty” is a pseudonym for one of our own Lasquetians. I surmise that he and “Trixie” have owned property here for several decades and are frequent visitors, well known for their philanthropic endeavours. All proceeds from the book will go to support a worthy charitable organization.  -Sue Ashcroft