The Moment Collectors ASIA – Book Review – The Ulysses Club Australia – Riding On
This book first grabbed my eye via Heather Ellis on Facebook promoting ‘The Moment Collectors Asia’ in which she is a contributor. She is an Australian author and motorcycle journalist who has written two books about her solo adventures through Africa and the Old Silk Road, she is a regular contributor to Australian Adventure Rider Magazine. I figured this would be a good read.
Sam Manicom, who is the driving force behind this book, has brought together short stories from twenty overlanders who travelled independently through Asia, some well-known, and some writing for the first time.
Sam’s credentials are his life as a travel adventurer. As a 16-year- old backpacking solo through Europe, India and Australia. The mode of travel includes train, bus, sail, and hitchhiking throughout the world. After learning to ride a motorcycle for only 3 months, Sam took off on what ended up as an 8-year, 322,000km trip around the world through 55 countries. This experience has led Sam to be a co-host on the Adventure Rider Radio RAW show, author of six motorcycling books, publishing articles and presenting throughout the UK, Europe and the USA. Sam’s philosophy is to promote adventure, travel and motorcycling by supporting and encouraging other fellow travellers to tell their stories. “I want to do all I can to share the fun of the road and to encourage others to go out and live their dreams. When a person travels they discover who they really are, what they can achieve, and so much more. The moment a person’s senses are brought alive, an adventure starts to be a success.”
All contributors tell of the kindness of strangers even in troubled countries fraught with dangers, the hospitality of people from the poorest communities, and the joy experienced from the physical and mental hardships of motorcycle travel in remote locations.
It’s a common theme when reading about travel in the remotest places in the world. Reading it from the author’s perspective, their emotions, and the wordsmiths’ skill to paint the picture of the setting, makes one feel like you are there, experiencing the joy of the best (and sometimes the worst) of humanity.
Each writer brings to this book their unique perspective, about what is most important to them from their experiences, what stuck most in their memory, what provided them nourishment in their soul, what they look for in the world, and how they grow from the experience. Their stories can open your mind, to see beyond your expectations.
Sam says in his preface “… one of the pluses of international travel by motorcycle is that many predetermined negative ideas are demolished. Those who expose themselves to the unexpected, yet at the same time make themselves vulnerable, learn to recognise and value all the twists…”
What I loved about the authors as solo or partnered travellers, is that they aim to see the roads less travelled, not to be led down the tourist road but to see the real world, not afraid to allow the unexpected to guide their travels. Their Asian travels include the chaotic traffic of India, the heights and the race to beat predicted snow seasons in Nepal and the Himalayas, the expanse landscapes of Mongolia, the challenges of crossing Russia and China borders, military escort through Burma, the remoteness of the Road of Bones and the ice roads of Siberia, and the lasting effects of war including avoiding the hidden unexploded ordinance of Vietnam.
The titles of the stories give an insight into the variety of experiences such as ‘When Life Gives You Lemons, MakeShikanji’, ‘Lady Preggers and the Hero Of Mongolia’, ‘A Dance of Temples, Trails, and Transformative Journeys’, ‘Do You Believe in Magic’, ‘Monday is Meat-free Day; Would you like the Chicken?’, ‘Come for the Horse Meat, Stay for the People’, and ‘Windows of Opportunity’. I wanted to know the story behind the title.
Each short story has individual themes. For some the focus is the challenging roads and environment, or their observations of the life of people they met whether catching up with old friends, making new ones or purely touched by the one-off interaction that can be humbling or life-changing but remaining memorable.
Many discuss the struggles of riding unforgiving roads, bike maintenance and repair. Learned cultural differences are shared, as one describes frustration because no one in a crowd offered assistance when she had an accident, later learning in India it is considered rude to offer help unless asked for. One author’s main emphasis was a fascination for places of religion, for another it was the variety and types of food they consumed. A newbie on her ‘Because I Can World Tour’ shares her learning curves, failures and successes, the words of wisdom imparted to her and discovers what she truly desires from travel.
At the end of the book, Sam includes advertising from organisations and businesses recommended as valuable resources for those with the adventure spirit for travel.
I quite enjoyed the variety of experiences, and the important and memorable moments for the individual, each with different writing styles. The variety of perspectives opened my own eyes to broaden my view on my travels. The book had me wanting to read more, leaving me in awe of the authors, and it gave me a snippet of the real-world life of people in places completely different to my own. I am delighted to recommend this book to our readers and have another of Sam’s books on Africa ready to read.
Holly Fields #54062