Adventures of a Continental Drifter: An Around-the-World Excursion into Weirdness, Danger, Lust, and the Perils of Street Food by Elliott Hester

From Barnes & Noble

Let others prattle about luxury cruises and first-class tourist excursions; Elliott Hester knows a better way. After quitting his job as a flight attendant, this intrepid drifter launched his career as a travel writer. In the first year alone, Hester trekked across 6 continents and 22 countries on a frugal ($60 a day) budget. His accounts of these "trips without itineraries" range from hilariously bizarre to downright hair-raising. An ideal airplane carry-on, especially for fans of Bill Bryson and Dave Barry.

From the Publisher

One year. Six continents. Twenty-two countries. Endless stories to tell.

In October 2002, Elliott Hester sold his car, abandoned his apartment, and took off alone on a trip around the world, during which he drifted to more than fifty destinations. Elliott's tales about his travels range from the bizarre to the hilarious to the flat-out shocking.  Travel with him as he:

* Chases off transvestites in the South Pacific

* Gets drunk on Estonian moonshine at the maker's eightieth birthday party

* Impersonates Samuel L. Jackson at the 38th International Film Festival in the Czech Republic

* Ponders the Finnish tradition of sprinting from steamy sauna to plunge into the frigid Baltic Sea---naked!

* And much more

Only an around-the-world excursion could produce such outlandish, hair-raising, hysterical adventures.  And only Elliott Hester could make such vivid observations and write such vibrant insights about life---and people---on the road.

Publishers Weekly

After suffering cuts in pay and benefits as a flight attendant after 9/11, Hester turned in his wings and became a travel writer. This follow-up to his industry tell-all, Plane Insanity, is based on his syndicated column, "Continental Drifter," and details his experiences traveling across six continents in the space of a year, spending just $60 a day. Although Hester manages to land on couches as often as he rents hotel rooms, this isn't a guide to frugal travel tricks. Instead, it's a romp with an adventurer who rarely becomes jaded or travel weary, and has a way of falling into amusing situations. For example, Hester's affection for Kangol hats has people mistaking him for Samuel L. Jackson at a film festival in eastern Europe; true to his jaunty nature, he doesn't correct them. Hester's writing is lively, and he keeps his observations light. However, the travelogue does have serious moments, as when the author describes being stared at unrelentingly in Argentina because, he says, 97% of the inhabitants are of white European origin. But the seriousness, like Hester's stay in each country, never lasts long. Agent, Faith Hamlin. (Oct.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

A syndicated columnist and author of the best-selling Plane Insanity, Hester abandoned home and hearth to head 'round the world for some weird adventures (e.g., he impersonated Samuel L. Jackson at a Czech film festival). Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

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