Sightseeking

The national bestseller by the award-winning Thai American author. “A brilliant collection . . . brimming with sharp-clawed survival lessons” (Los Angeles Times). Set in contemporary Thailand, these are generous, radiant tales of family bonds, youthful romance, generational conflicts, and cultural shiftings beneath the glossy surface of a warm, Edenic setting. Written with exceptional acuity, grace, and sophistication, the stories present a nation far removed from its exoticized stereotypes. In the prize-winning opening story “Farangs,” the son of a beachside motel owner commits the cardinal sin of falling for a pretty American tourist. In the novella, “Cockfighter,” a young girl witnesses her proud father’s valiant but foolhardy battle against a local delinquent whose family has a vicious stranglehold on the villagers. Through his vivid assemblage of parents and children, natives and transients, ardent lovers and sworn enemies, Lapcharoensap dares us to look with new eyes at the circumstances that shape our views and the prejudices that form our blind spots. Gorgeous and lush, painful and candid, Sightseeing is an extraordinary reading experience, one that powerfully reveals that when it comes to how we respond to pain, anger, hurt, and love, no place is too far from home. “Lapcharoensap is a commanding, animated tour guide, and a lot more than that—he can write with the bait and the hook of genuine talent . . . [He] has a gift for the detail that catches not only his Thai milieu but teenage life everywhere.” —Darin Strauss, The New York Times Book Review

Travel on six contnents and numerous places on the planet. Travel covers trips from 2005 to 2008 and tells of people, places and cultures through the author's eyes. It will take you on adventures that few people experience. You will be next to glaciers and icebergs and penguins of Antarctica and in the palaces of Russian Tsars. You will travel on the Nile, and cruise the Amazon Rivers. You will experience the depths of the Amazon rainforest on an eco-tour. You will go inside a hut in a Zambian village, to Victoria Falls, and sunset on the Zambezi River. It visits Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Jericho,and other biblical cities. The author travels to the Taj Mahal in India, the bathing ghats of Varanasi and to Katmandu and takes an aerial view of Mount Everest. In turkey you will experience the countryside and see the rock formations and underground city in Cappadocia and you will visit Ephesus and Istanbul. You will be taken on an illusive quest to see the fall colors of New England, USA.

'This debut show more than mere promise: it is a fine achievement in its own right.' -- Guardian One of the most widely talked about debuts of 2 005, Sightseeing is a masterful storytelling by an award-winning young author. In poignant, tough, heart-catching episodes, Rattawut Lapcharoensap takes his readers beneath the surface of Thailand to a place that is dynamic and corrupt, full of pride and passion and fear. In these inter-generational stories of luck and loss, mother and son, Thai and tourist, healthy and sick are bound together. Sightseeing introduces its readers to the young boy and his brother speeding on a moped to the Cafe Lovely, a brothel in Bankok; Priscilla the Cambodian, a girl whose mouth is stuffed with the family fortune; a woman approaching blindness who barters for a last pair of sunglasses; and a pig called Clint Eastwood. Sightseeing reveals, slowly and powerfully that no place is too far away from home when it comes to pain, anger, love or hurt. It explores through confident and unforgettable storytelling what it means to be a son, a brother, a parent, a lover, a Thai - and a disenfranchised resident of the global village.

The author of The Tourist presents a scholarly assessment of the practice of ethical travel while considering whether sightseeing promotes education, enlightenment and tolerance, offering discussions on different kinds of tourist venues while revealing the consequences of "staged authenticity." Simultaneous.

As vivid as it is practical, Beyond Sightseeing distills the considerable insights Alexander Garvin has acquired through a lifetime of traveling the world over in his career as one of the nation’s most notable urban planners. With historical context, personal stories, and photos from his own travels to locales as far flung as Moscow and Seville, Paris and Havana, Garvin generously invites the reader to view cities through his expert lens. Far from a travel guide, this book is a beguiling invitation to the joys of slow travel—transporting readers while equipping them to transcend tourist destinations to create their own unique experience of the places they visit. Garvin is the author of six other books on cities including, The American City: What Works, What Doesn’t, winner of the American Institute of Architects book award in urbanism and What Makes a Great City, published by Island Press in 2016. Unlike his other professional books, which are devoted primarily to American cities, Beyond Sightseeing deals with tourist destinations around the world to which Garvin travelled. The principles it sets forth are applicable to places and cities anywhere in the world.

This book examines the various operators that have catered for tourists in the heart of our capital since 1970 and the vehicles that they have used.

Get ready to slip on your psychic walking shoes and follow Louisa into the unseen world around us. Ramble through tales of dead relatives who insist on having the last annoying word, ghosts behaving badly, inspiring near-death experiences, and dreams foretelling the future. Along the way, youll find comfort, laughter, and some spine-tingling moments that may have you looking over your shoulder! A great guilty pleasure for those who love reading true paranormal tales. Concetta Bertoldi, renowned psychic medium and New York Times bestselling author of Do Dead People Watch You Shower? When Ronnie attempted suicide, his departed father rushed back to prevent it. Christine peered into her daughters room one day to discover her childs invisible friend was real. Linda dreamed about a shoot-out at a local barand that may have been what saved her life the next day. This sequel to Loitering at the Gate to Eternity chronicles more than one hundred psychic tales from everyday people working in the fields of science, education, finance, entertainment, pastoral services, and more. It also highlights scientific studies into consciousness, near-death experiences, and reincarnation. When you finish reading this astonishing anthology, you may never view reality the same way again.