I love a good armchair travel audiobook for my workday commute. These two true story adventures, available through Libby (and in print), were fun, low stress listening:
“On the Hippie Trail” by Rick Steves. There is something about travel guru Rick Steves’ voice and cadence that lowers my blood pressure. If you are familiar with his excellent travel videos then you already know what I mean. Before Rick Steves built his extensive travel book/video/tour company empire, he was just a young 23 year old backpacker on a shoestring budget, journeying from Istanbul to Kathmandu. Fortunately he kept a diary and Steves, now 70, reads from this journal in his trademark style. His formative journey through Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Nepal are full of ups and downs but his optimism and sense of wonder always remain intact. Steves has a knack for describing the sights, tastes, and experiences of world cultures and it is easy to see from this travelogue how his talents would eventually become his life’s work.
“Nala’s World” by Dean Nicholson. Like Steves in “On the Hippie Trail”, Nicholson is a young man traveling on a tight budget across numerous countries. The twist here is that Nicholson travels by bicycle and picks up a stray cat along the way, Nala, and soon becomes a social media sensation. From Montenegro, to Greece, to Turkey, and beyond, Nicholson relays his adventures and many challenges resulting from taking on this feline passenger, all the while coming to terms with his newfound status as an Instagram celebrity. Nicholson is Scottish and audiobook narrator Angus King (also Scottish) is an absolute delight to listen to.
Rick Steves’ book describes instances of drug use and is appropriate for adults. Nicholson’s book is for adults but I think that cat lovers of all ages would enjoy it.
