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 Does
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Testimonials Travel ought to be fun, and so should reading about it. Few travel
writers have more fun than Jim Soliski - and it shows in his writing. Forget fluffy clouds and turquoise seas: Jim Soliski writes real travel.
Fast-paced, punchy and often very funny, this is the man to read if you
know what travel is. When I get a fresh story, I normally switch to hard-ass mode, combing
the copy for holes, errors and leaps of logic. But I've found that damn
hard to do with Jim Soliski's travel pieces because he ventures to such
interesting--and, often, personally dangerous--places, and paints such
vivid pictures with his words…he sucks me into his overseas tales…which
means I have to go back and give his copy hard reads again in search
of holes, errors and leaps of logic (thankfully, they're few and far
between). So I'd like to take this opportunity to chastise Mr. Soliski
for all the extra work he's heaped on me over the years--and thank him
for all the good reads. In an age where every second counts, Jim Soliski is one 'guide' who
can show you the world - and still get you home in time for supper, albeit
wide-eyed and brimming with excitement from your travels. I can read Jim Soliski with confidence the result will be both delightful
and shocking. "...so glib that he even fooled me into buying his stuff...'' Always a pearl among the turds. Some guys are tourists and some guys are travellers. And then there's
Soliski, a guy with a penchant for finding a good yarn in the unlikeliest
of places. It's easy to get caught up in the seemingly unbelievable tales of Filipino
fighting chickens, sadistic ticket agents in India, and re-entry culture
shock. In Does Your Meter Work, Soliski figuratively dodges those familiar
bullets often aimed at solo travellers as he takes us around the world,
one mishap at a time. His frenetic, fly by the seat of his pants approach
to travel is like his writing, it's never dull. I wouldn't necessarily want to actually travel WITH Jim Soliski - too
many brushes with hostile local authorities and dangerous forms of local
transportation for my taste. But I'm glad that through his funny, descriptive
writing, he has taken me along for the ride anyway. It is said chuckling is good for us because it massages our inner organs.
If that is so, then Jim Soliski's travel anecdotes should be required
reading on a daily basis. His travel escapades and unique view of the
world will have you chuckling for hours. Only someone with Jim's genuine sense of adventure can communicate the
joy of exploring the familiar and the exotic. Like any good travel writer who moonlights as a cab driver, Jim Soliski
has a trunk full of stories and a critical eye. His trenchant and slightly
askew observations on the vagaries of touring in distant lands are akin
to the discovery that the food you're eating isn't the innocuous meal
you expected. The flavours, texture and contents are unique, interesting
and maybe a little scary. Jim Soliski´s travel adventures have traversed the web pages of
www.babylontravel.net for the past 5 years bringing a vibrant and honest
glimpse of the world the way Jim sees it. Jim has inspired all of us
at Babylon Travel with his passion for travel and his never-ending wit. What separates Jim Soliski from other travel writers is the way he focuses
on the unexpected, offbeat moments he's experienced in his wide-ranging
travels, putting them at the centre of his compulsively readable stories.
Whether it's the pitfalls of rafting in Nepal, haggling over train tickets
with an inflexible bureaucrat in India, or hitching his way across Malaysia
in a gazillion different vehicles, Soliski doesn't shy away from adventure,
big or small -- he dives into it headlong. He's also got a great ear
for dialogue, which he uses to terrific effect in the title story of
this collection. Hits your funny bone time and again with great little
insights into
backpacker travels. Jim Soliski's stories have been published in the following: Alexandria Journal; American Express Dreamscapes; Arlington Journal; |
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