One of the things I love most about our 'True Stories' section (and by extension, this book) is that readers are so willing to laugh at themselves-they send in what are sometimes very embarrassing stories, because we all know that that's life, especially when you travel." --Erik Torkells, editor, Budget TravelFrom the French-kissing giraffe to the Coke-drinking camel, Budget Travel's "True Stories" feature proves that life when traveling is indeed stranger and fun...

When UK-born Australian author Sue Williams first got the travel bug, it took her across Africa, South and Central America, China and India. Travelling by every means imaginable - from converted garbage truck to banana boat, 'punted' railway wagon to the passenger seat of a racing driver's sports car - she survives adventures that range from the hilarious to the horrific.At various times travelling solo, with a companion and as part of a dysfunctional group, Sue encounters perils as...

The Reluctant Mariner tells of an Australian couple's five-year circumnavigation of the world in a 12.2-metre long, steel-hulled ketch called Onawa. The author, Joanna Hackett, was once a self-proclaimed landlubber who had never even considered sailing off over the horizon in search of adventure but, having married a man keen to do just that, was willing to "give it a go". Her candid account, penned with dry wit and accessible style, made The Reluctant Mariner a sell-out when it first hit ...

One minute you're relaxing by the pool in a luxury Thai resort and the next you're a gringo with a donkey on an isolated island off Brazil!When Tony and his wife Sue were caught in the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami that devastated hundreds of thousands of lives, they wanted more than to return to the rat race of suburban life, they wanted to 'live the dream'. After careful consideration, or possibly in a moment of insanity, they decided that the dream was to run a guest house on a remote...

Happier Than A Billionaire: The Sequel continues the journey of one couple’s adventures in Costa Rica.Follow the author and her husband as they move to the beach to build their dream home. Although the seafood is fresh and the sunsets are golden, it doesn’t take long for Nadine to find that this process won’t come easy, even when living in one of the prettiest places on earth.In the midst of it all, Nadine entertains her parents and mother-in-law, kayaks crocodile-...

What if you quit your job . . .Sold everything . . .and bought a small hotel on the beach . . .South of Cancun, Mexico and down a long narrow road ending in turquoise blue water, you will find Soliman Bay. Here is where most peoples dreams are found, a small bay, white sand and palm trees, and a reef just offshore full of colorful fish. If you are visiting, the dream looks real, but if you intend on staying the locals have one bit of advice - guard your sanity.

In her previous books Chris tells of her move to the tiny Feudal Island of Sark, in the British Channel Isles with her husband Ken, to run their guest house and smallholding. They then journey out to New Zealand to explore and finally settle there. Over the years the marriage starts to falter and in the opening chapter of 'So You Returned to Sark' it comes to a dramatic head. Chris returns to Sark with 'the love of her life,' Peter, and begins a very different existence. She becomes involv...

Keith’s wife Gail is looking forward to travelling the world and staying in comfortable hotels when Keith takes early retirement from his high-pressure job. But he has a shock in store for her. He unexpectedly decides to buy a huge American Winnebago-type motorhome (RV), tow a car behind ‘so they can bugger off for months on end around Europe’. Their only experience a brief episode 30 years earlier, when their VW pop-top blew up on a remote mountain road. Gail reveals her fear that anythin...

The story of an imperfect romance on a crowded sailboat unfolds as the four-person crew sails among the beautiful, isolated islands of the South Pacific.French Polynesia, the Cook Islands, Samoa, Fiji and New Zealand are some of the landfalls you'll discover along the way.The story moves to the west coast of America and Mexico as the two sailors re-adjust to life on land. Will their love affair survive? Just when it seems it might, an unexpected diagnosis throws everything in...

Chris tells of her years as a district nurse, first in London in the early sixties and then New Zealand in the late seventies. She tells of the rough living conditions in London, where we meet people like the solo mother dying of cancer and longing to give her children a good Christmas and the 90 year old blind lady who refuses a proposal of marriage. In New Zealand she has a large area, is on 24hour call as the only nurse and where most of the roads are not tar-seal. We meet the disfuncti...

One life sabbatical. Two laps around the world.After being married for a year, Bob Riel and his wife, Lisa, decided to take a chance in life. They took time off from their careers and embarked on a round-the-world journey, intent on having an adventure before starting a family. Then, two-and-a-half years later, when the children hadn't arrived and the travel bug hadn't left, they set out on another voyage to resume their sabbatical experience.During their two journeys, they...

A laugh-out-loud travel memoir that reveals backpacking’s awkward side.Sue, a disenchanted waitress, embarks upon a year-long quest around the world with her friend, Sara—who’s exasperatingly perfect. Expecting a whimsical jaunt of self-discovery, Sue instead encounters an absurd series of misadventures that render her embarrassed, terrified, and queasy (and in a lot of trouble with Philippine Airlines).Whether she’s fleeing from ravenous lions, da...