JO CARROLL decided it was time to pack her rucksack and get back to the mountains. Little things like a pension and bus pass were not enough to put her off. Besides, after her gap year, she knew all about travelling now.But Nepal had other ideas. Storms raged in the mountains; strikes made transport impossible. And then there was the tiger …

JO CARROLL hesitated before returning to Nepal after the earthquake. Arriving as a tourist when local people were in such need felt an intrusion. Not at all, Tika told her. We want you to come. We need you to come. Within hours of arriving she saw just how right he was. Nepal, it seems, has been forgotten since the journalists left with their pictures of destruction. But the welcome is as warm as it has ever been. Even from the crocodiles … All profits from ...

It's 1848. And Sara, aged fourteen, must leave her family in the stinking potato fields of Ireland to seek a better life with her wealthy aunt in Liverpool. But her uncle has different ideas.Will she find solace among the dockers? She finds love, but becomes embroiled in the unrest of the Irish men and women who live in squalor in the Liverpool slums. Yet her efforts to help them only enrage her uncle further.Her escape takes her to the other side of the world. But there is...

There must be something between the retirement party and buying a zimmer frame. JO CARROLL decided this was the time to revive her teenage dreams and go round the world. So she packed her rucksack, a round-the-world ticket, and a notebook. Not prepared, then, for being marooned on a beach in Australia with the tide rising and nothing but cliffs behind her; nor negotiating with a gunman who wanted to marry her in Lucknow. Let’s not think about the snakes and leeches in the jungles of Malays...

Three years ago, during a chance encounter in Cuba, I was asked why I'd never been to Ecuador. I mumbled, for I could think of no good reason. And so thought I'd better find out more for myself. But I had no idea what an astonishing country it is, with its mountains and beaches and Inca treasures. And poisonous frogs!

Did you know that Laos is the most bombed country in the world? If Jo Carroll had spent more time with her guidebooks and less with a physiotherapist preparing her creaking knees for squat toilets she’d have been better prepared when she crossed the Mekong in a long boat and stepped into the chaos of Huay Xai. But bombs still lie hidden in Laos’ jungles, in the rice paddies, and in the playgrounds. While young people open their doors to new ideas and possibilities, memories of war are etch...

Billie-JoCollection of PoetryBy: Billie-Jo TierneyBillie-Jo: Collection of Poetry includes stories of family life, humor, and loss. These poems also tackle prejudice, betrayal, and uncertainty.Author Billie-Jo Carroll-Tierney also writes about her family and loved ones in her poetry, as well as extended family members. She lost her youngest brother due to choices he made and his story is included within these poems.The author loves to talk to people an...

It’s time for JO CARROLL to pack her rucksack again, and this time she’s heading west, to Cuba.Everyone, it seems, has been to Cuba, or wants to go to Cuba, or knows about it. Cuba, they insist, is on the brink of change. A market economy will finally see off the old cars and rationing. They’ve been saying that for decades. But what face does Cuba present to a tourist in 2014?She finds salsa, of course, and cigars, and wonderful coffee. But what surprises wait for her when ...

Africa. The only continent I’ve not explored on my own. Which seemed a good enough reason to go.   So off I went, full of ignorance and good intentions, to explore the wilds of Malawi. But not alone – for Everlasting was by my side from the moment I stepped off the plane in Lilongwe until the day I returned to the airport. We looked for leopards together, took on termites together, survived storms together.   And he told stories. 

Our illustrated travel guide will take you to Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. This beautiful city is often referred to as the “Paris of South America”.Buenos Aires is a major Latin American tourist attraction and offers a large choice of cultural events, nightlife, restaurants (with the largest steaks in the world) and pubs. It’s the home to two of the world’s most famous football teams (La Boca and River Plate).Buenos Aires is well known for the exotic, sensuous Ta...

Xinjiang | A Traveler's Guide to Far West China 2017 edition is the most comprehensive, up-to-date guide available for travel in the Xinjiang region. Whether you're a backpacker looking for information on hiking the Tianshan Mountains or a luxury traveler trying to discover a bed and breakfast in a comfortable grape orchard, this book covers everything you think you need to know...and more.Inside this Xinjiang Travel Guide:Col...

Celebrating ten years of the leading literary prize for African fiction (dubbed "The African Booker"), 10 Years of the Caine Prize brings together the ten winning stories along with a story each from the four African winners of the Booker Prize: Chinua Achebe, J.M. Coetzee, Nadine Gordimer, and Ben Okri.The ten winners:Leila Aboulela for The MuseumHelon Habila for Love PoemsBinyavanga Wainaina for Discovering HomeYvon...