Publisher's Synopsis
'Nowadays this odyssey has gone down history's pan,
You might well get through Turkey but be hostage in Iran;
Afghanistan, Pakistan (maybe) are simply no-go ones,
But you can trace this journey from the comfort of your home'....
So John Webster introduces his enjoyably down-to-earth verse memoir of a youthful overland journey to India in 1973. After outlining hair-raising, thought-provoking episodes in Afghanistan and Pakistan, 'On the Asian Highway' transports the reader to the epic kitchens of the Sikh gurudwara in Amritsar, the Tibetan haven at McLeod Ganj, daily life as witnessed from a houseboat in Varanasi, the bustle and vitality of the Grand Trunk Road - and many other scenes from a country then growing into its independent statehood. The dynamics of travelling as a couple bubble under the surface throughout, with a taxing return journey leading to an unexpectedly downbeat conclusion. Like many journeys, it would turn out to have an afterlife of its own.
Described as 'Magnificent, wonderfully exciting and vivid' by John Carey - former Booker Prize Chair, writer, critic, and Emeritus Professor of English Literature at Oxford - 'On The Asian Highway' is a remarkable immersion in different cultural landscapes and the personal odysseys of two young travellers.
Includes poems, song lyrics and a short story influenced by the journey and its aftermath.
