Product Description

'Leaving the blinding sand for the cool shade of the trees, I walked carefully through the undergrowth to where Dave, using two twigs as chopsticks, was picking up a freshly severed human finger'...John's trip to India starts badly when his girlfriend returns home. Left to his own devices, he soon finds himself looking at the sharp end of a knife in a train station cubicle. But his life is saved - and turned upside down - by an enigmatic fellow traveller called Rick, who persuades John to question his mundane plans for the future, risking it all for much, much more. Fast forward to the Thai island of Koh Pha-Ngan; John, Rick and their new friend Dave pose as millionaire aristocrats in a hedonistic Eden of beautiful girls, free drugs and wild beach parties. However, when they find themselves hotly pursued by the Thai Mafia. Tragedy sends them on increasingly adrenalin-fuelled journeys to Indonesia, Australia and Hong Kong, facing danger at every turn. This is not travel writing for the faint-hearted: this is an unbelievable true story of the hunt for excess, at any cost.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #37340 in Books
• Published on: 2009-08-03
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Review
'Read this, you will not regret it... like The Beach but this one is true' --Fresh Direction

'Complete escapism... with a gripping plot' --M2 Best Books

Review
`classic backpacker accessory... Hunter S. Thompson style... This read encompasses everything... integrate your brain with this one.'

Front, November 2001
A superb tale of adventure and intrigue that takes the reader on a backpacking schlep through South East Asia - gripping stuff.

Customer Reviews

Don't let the truth get in the way of a good yarn !!!
Having lived in Asia during roughly the same period of time as the story was set,I was gripped by this book. Read it in a day and a half. Whilst I feel that there may be a certain amount of 'embellishment' within the book. I don't think that it actually detracts fom the entertainment it provides. The author has the ability to take you to the scene of the action and actually experience the miasma of emotions that Asia subjects you to. However, It did leave me hankering for an epilogue though. John if you're out there, give us an update !!!

A true page-turner!
From the moment I opened 'The Backpacker' I was hooked. It is so rare to read a book that is truly gripping from start to finish. Whilst lying on a sun kissed beach in Malaysia, in the safety of my tropical surroundings, John Harris whisked me away on the adventure of a lifetime, on the holiday I dreamed of having. As our heroes flee thailand and go on the run through South East Asia, it is impossible not to imagine you are there, running with them, as your heart beats harder with every turn of the page. I thoroughly recommend 'The Backpacker' to anybody who loves a good old fashioned adventure or indeed to anybody with a soul!!!! Can't wait for your next book John.

This book blew me away!
I picked up 'The Backpacker' in the airport on my way to Spain and started reading it on the plane. I was instantly hooked! And why did I go to Spain and not Thailand? John Harris has had some amazing experiences, and basically defeats death on more than one occasion (in India, in Thailand, in Australia). He attracts incident and women like a magnet. It reads more like a novel than travel writing, which is brilliant because it hooks you right from the start. If you like exotic locations, James Bond-style escapades, sex, sun...this is a book for you. It will give you itchy feet though.