Reviewed by Grant Leishman for Readers' Favorite

True Tales of a Traveller: One Day in Bangkok & Other Stories by Alix Lee is a collection of travel adventures, solo backpacking around the world, that remind us in this internet-accessible age that it wasn’t always as easy as just calling up Google Translate or Google Maps. This is volume three of Alix’s adventures and includes his time traveling from Turkey through Western Europe to Amsterdam, and ultimately on to Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. The initial journey from Turkey to Amsterdam is a continuation of the author’s overland trek from Pakistan to Amsterdam, which was outlined in his previous book. What the author will discover on his journey is a picture of discrimination, ethnic prejudice, and hatred that often has its roots centuries previously but is carried forward to each new generation through the teachings of the parents. Breaking the cycle will prove to be incredibly difficult. He will face his own unique difficulties in Southeast Asia, including being scammed and arrested at various points along the way.

As someone who chose not to undertake the big OE (Overseas Experience) as a young man but instead chose to travel later during the internet age, I found True Tales of a Traveller utterly fascinating and a truly compelling read. Author Alix Lee reminds us exactly what motivated my peers to grab their backpacks and set off into the great unknown. Looking back now, I wish I’d had the courage he and his fellow travelers exhibited. Traveling now is relatively easy with all the information readily available at our fingertips, but for Alix and his compadres, it was anything but that. Readers will admire the author's audacity at times and definitely his courage, but it is also reassuring to know that even the most seasoned traveler can still be so easily scammed, especially if there is a pretty girl involved. The journey is well documented, easy to read, and full of little encounters and adventures that readers will enjoy and savor. I truly appreciated his comments about places he visited long before they became tourist meccas, such as Cappadocia and Koh Samui. This is not some picturesque, glowing travelogue; it is much more about people, personalities, and the unexpected adventures one can expect when one travels spontaneously, alone, and without any real plans about the destination. In many ways, the type of lifestyle the author describes has, by and large, disappeared. Yes, there are digital nomads, but they don’t experience the sheer wonder and joy of discovering a place that they know absolutely nothing about, where the only way for them to truly enjoy that place is by connecting and interacting with the people and their culture. I loved this nostalgic read and highly recommend it.