Vagabonding by Rolf Potts
Vagabonding isn’t your regular travel book it’s not a guidebook, it’s not a travelogue and it’s not a ‘how to’ in the traditional sense. The overwhelming message Potts gives us is simply ‘don’t force it’, You see Vagabonding is a very philosophical book and the philosophy is how to travel well without preconceived ideas of what ‘well’ is it’s about travelling with a mindset that allows this to happen. But that’s not all there is to it, Potts also provides some useful practical information about things like working on the road and volunteering, however it’s not the usual advice you get from more specific guide books this book is tailored to everyone. Potts discusses topics in such a way that it can apply to almost everyone so that you can take from it what is best for you, it does not recommend how, where’s or when’s but guides you on how to decide for yourself and makes you feel much more at ease in doing so yourself and taking on things as they come.
Vagabonding does have a few annoying traits, at times when making a point Potts rambles quite a bit, you may also like I get tired of the use of the word “vagabonding”, I’ve read some other reviews that didn’t like the number of quotes throughout the book but I personally enjoyed them. The great thing about Vagabonding is its open minded approach, it’s not at all pretentious about the style of travel, it actually advocates making travel personal and reflecting on certain truths that in other travel cultures can be negatives depending on how you look at it. I found that the philosophy Potts describes is parallel at times with Buddhist philosophies like ‘the middle way’ and others.
I have to say that Vagabonding is essential reading for all, I think that anyone can take something away from it traveller or not. The internet resources alone would be justification enough for some to buy this book but even that valuable part is just a shadow of what this book has to offer, this is one I’ll be re-reading later.
[tags]Review, Book, Travel, Vagabonding[/tags]
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I definetly felt the word “vagabonding” was over used in the book. Good observation!
Sounds like an interesting book…I’ll have to keep an eye out for it. Great review!!
Thanks for the recommendation. Sounds great!