Brian Thacker: 5 books

Paul Theroux, Bill Bryson, Michael Palin all have ventured forth to provide vivid and compelling accounts of exotic peoples and strange lands. But none has ever been daring (or perhaps stupid) enough to arrive in a country not knowing a single thing about the place. Until now. In the spirit...

One of the drawbacks of writing funny, irreverent and - worse yet - honest travel books is that you can't stop your parents from reading them. Because once they have they forever have the upper hand when it comes to knowing about all those insane overseas adventures you'd really rather they didn't. In...

Brian Thacker, bus tour-leader extraordinaire, tells it how it really is in this funny, rollicking, absurd, ride through Europe. Crew Manual Rule No. 5 : Crew must not engage in sexual activity on board the bus with passengers or fellow employees. Crew Manual Rule No.2 : learn all names on day one....

Travels with the Lonely Planet guidebook that started it all. When Tony Wheeler wrote Lonely Planet's first-ever shoestring guidebook, South-East Asia offered 'cheap and interesting travel without the constantly oppressing misery of some of the less fortunate parts of Asia'. Certain 'hotspots'...

It was only a degree above zero and the rain was coming down in sheets, yet here I was about to run around in nothing more than a nappy. I was pretty sure it was going to be the silliest thing I'd ever done ' Join Brian Thacker as he embarks on a round-the-world odyssey in search of as many...