‘Under Asian Skies’ by Sam Manicom

Description

Eye-opening motorcycle adventure through the cultures and colours of Asia

[quote]A unique and wonderful adventure.[/quote] Ted Simon

Novice biker Sam Manicom left his job and sold his house to ride a motorbike the length of Africa. But once the travel bug bit, he couldn’t stop. ‘Under Asian Skies’ is Sam’s second travel book, following on from ‘Into Africa’, and just like that one this is packed with adventure. Sam narrowly escapes a serious wipeout in the vast Australian Outback, falls critically ill in Thailand and is rescued by a prostitute, gets arrested in Madras, dodges the manic traffic of India’s Grand Trunk Road and rides sheet ice on the road home through Turkey.

To make ends meet, he works as a fruit picker in Australia. He meets hippies, aborigines and escapees from the law, gets involved with smugglers and falls in love. What shines through is his sheer joy of being on the road, and the pure adrenaline buzz that each day can bring. Every day holds an adventure and once again, those adventures demand that Sam’s Guardian Angel is on hand to work overtime. Just one man, a motorcycle and a dream being lived – every day.

[quote]Sam Manicom certainly has the ability to immerse you in the trip and make you feel part of it, so much so you find yourself mentally trying to sort out his problems before he gives you the solution! But, and this is the best part, you quickly realise he is an ordinary guy living a dream, facing the unknown every-day and not some top class rider on a factory prepared machine, with riding abilities beyond the scope of most of us. As you read through though, you do get a sense that it is not intended to inspire, but more paint a detailed and graphic picture of people and places and try (and it succeeds) to give the reader just a sense of being there and what it is like to deal with different cultures and expectations in a factual readable and sometimes humorous way. Manicom has definitely got a readable writing style that makes his books just as appealing to either a general reader, as much as a traveller and or motorcyclist and that really does make them worth a read and stand out from the crowd.[/quote] InterbikeUK

316 pages plus 8 colour photo pages.