Lets face it, 2020 has not been a year for travel so far.
Like thousands of other travelers I have been biding my team watching travel videos, working on my pics and videos and writing blog posts. But the biggest thing that is keeping me occupied is rediscovering the love for reading.
I am listing the 5 books that have given me serious wanderlust and might inspire you too!
This list is based purely on my opinion of the books I have read personally. I'm sure there are many other great books out there that have inspired you to travel, wander and explore. Feel free to mention them in the comments.
1) The Travels of Ibn Battutah
Ibn Battutah was probably the greatest traveler of all time and the inventor of 'wanderlust'. Its a shame that many of our generation don't know him or about his epic adventures.
In 1325 this Moroccan scholar set off on a epic journey in search of knowledge that lasted 29 years taking him further than even Marco Polo. He would end up exploring 44 countries (almost the entire known world at the time).
If that isn't the epitome of wanderlust, what is?
2) The Motorcycle Diaries
This epic memoir of a young Ernesto "Che" Guevara is a treat for both travelers and motorcycle enthusiasts. The book documents Che and his friend Elberto Granado's epic road trip across South America on a 1939 Norton 500 cc motorcycle dubbed La Poderosa ("The Mighty One").
This book is certain to spark the rebel in you!
3) Into the Wild
The true story of Christopher McCandless' journey from a life of societal luxury to living off the grid and transforming into 'Alexander Supertramp' is both awe inspiring and heartbreaking at the same time.
This book draws a sharp line between adventure and madness. Not for the weak hearted.
4) Seven Years in Tibet
Seven Years in Tibet is an autobiographical travel book written by Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer based on his real life experiences in Tibet between 1944 and 1951 during the Second World War. The book covers the escape of Harrer and his companion, Peter Aufschnaiter, from a British internment camp in India and their journey across the harsh Himalayas into Tibet and the then forbidden upper echelons of Lhasa.
The book is a great narrative of how Harrer survived on the generosity of villagers for food and shelter and used his wits to find asylum in Lhasa and how he became the tutor, confidante and a friend of the then young, His Holiness 'The Dalai Lama'.
5) The Call of the Wild
The most creative and different one on this list - the story is told through the eyes of Man's Best Friend (Buck- A St. Bernard Dog), it is a great story of survival, adapting and conquering.
A domesticated Buck finds himself becoming a sled dog in the harsh environment of Yukon, Canada forcing him to shed the veneers of civilization and tapping into the savage instincts that lay buried within all of us.
What are you reading right now?
Follow me on Instagram for some travel inspiration- getbuslivin.ss