Inspired Travel – Read a Book!

Photography by Anna Hamilton. 

No, I’m not saying read a book INSTEAD of travel..I’m talking about inspired travel. Using a book to either get your imagination fired up about where to go OR keeping the motivation up once you’ve decided where to go. Let’s look at the reality of what happens. You plan a fantastic holiday, but now you have to wait. You’ve put in for your recreation leave, mapped out a budget and told everyone you’re going, BUT, you still have to do your time until your departure date and, depending on how hard you are saving, that might mean you’re having even less fun than you normally would.

How can you make that wait time bearable? READ A BOOK. Not just any book. Read something about the place you are going to visit. Find a book set in the same location you’re planning to visit. Check out the reviews and select the creme of the crop.  Not only will it give you some valuable insight before you go but it should help to keep your motivation levels up until you hit the departure lounge. Take one with you and you can be reliving all your favourite scenes.

 I’m now living in Ho Chi Minh City. The city assaults my senses each and every minute of the day. I don’t have time to read, but I wondered about just what kind of books were out there to make a visitor want to come and visit. I can tell everyone I meet what an amazing place it is but what other sources are there for me to recommend they read?

A quick look at Amazon Books and there is plenty of inspired travel food for thought there. Granted, many of the stories are about the Vietnam War, BUT there are so many different perspectives and ways of telling the story that there’s something to suit everyone. And, let’s face it. Unless you deliberately avoid it, there is no way you are coming to Ho Chi Minh City without learning at least a little about that part of Vietnam’s history.

But I didn’t stop there. Delving a little deeper I found some excellent guides by locals and expats that reveal the inner workings of this fascinating city and by extension Vietnam as a whole. I was pleasantly surprised at the number of guides other than the main players. Each one has a different style and focus.

And then I got into the cookbooks. Yummmm! What better way to fire up your imagination than to start sampling some of the delicious, mouthwatering food before you get here? And of course, when you get back you can keep the memories alive by cooking up your favorites and sharing them with family and friends. Each and every dish will now have a story to accompany it.

So take a look at the full list of books about Vietnam I found.   There were so many choices I had to create a whole page for them. I’m sure some of you out there have some further recommendations. Please let me know in the comments below if you do. Grab one or more and start getting inspired for your next trip to Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam.

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