Leaving London: Road Trip USA (Amazon Kindle)

Hilarious new travel comedy about twin brothers on a road trip through backcountry America.

Click here to download Leaving London on Amazon>

The sudden break up with girlfriend Emily Willow finds Simon Raven, ex-amateur rock God and bored internet producer, on a Boeing 747 bound for Seattle. Led by his twin brother, Chris, who is more than happy to exchange a career in fashion photography for the open road, they embark on a buttock-clenching journey of paranoia and self-doubt, as they traverse Interstate Highway 15 through backcountry America.

Along the way our hapless heroes bumble through bear infested wilderness, meet the eccentric and plain weird on the American freeway, escape a bullwhip wielding maniac in Montana and survive the evils of Las Vegas. Testing their friendship to the limit as they battle to reach their nirvana, which exists in the form of the bikini beaches of California, the brothers find inspiration on a journey that exposes the stark truth about work and relationships and which asks the question – what do you really want to do with your life?

Poignant, candid and true, Leaving London is honestly written and hilariously funny.

The Linger Loco: In Search of the Real Carnival

From bull’s testicles in Buenos Aires to bums and boobs on the beaches of Brazil, the Raven brothers embark on a new comedy adventure that leads them through the very heart of the Madre de Dios in the Amazon.

Along the way our trusty heroes tango through the Argentinean vineyards, cycle to the Moon in Chile, kiss Egyptians in the Inca City of Cusco, escape bullets in Bahia, panic in the Pantanal and experience one night with The Rolling Stones in Rio. Traveling along the notorious Trans-Oceanic Highway from the Pacific to the Atlantic coast of South America the bizarre and the beautiful cross their dusty path, as the brothers pack their pants and go in search of the real Carnival.

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UK Amazon.co.uk: The Linger Loco!: In Search of the Real Carnival

USA Amazon.com: The Linger Loco! In Search of the Real Carnival

Chapter 1:Everything but the Moo

Chapter 2: Love and the Giant

Chapter 3: Oranges and Lions

Chapter 4: Argentina Rocks Socks!

Chapter 5: Bodegas Time

Chapter 6: Kicks like a Mule

Chapter 7: The Party

Chapter 8: Valley of the Moon

Chapter 9: The Crystal Girls

Chapter 10: Arica to Arequipa

Chapter 11: The Young Ones

Chapter 12: Monkey Magic

Chapter 13: Through the Mother of God

Chapter 14: Jungle Hunan

Chapter 15: A Smell of Being

Chapter 16: Panic in the Pantanal

Chapter 17: Jumping Jack Flash

Chapter 18: Bullets in Bahia

Chapter 19: Kitty Gomez

Chapter 20: Carnival of the Soul

Chapter 21: Shed Load of Books

Driving the Trans-Siberian

DRIVING from the UK across Russia and Siberia to Vladivostok along the Trans-Siberian Railway in a 1.8litre £300 Ford Sierra, with 100,000 miles on the clock,  was all too irresistible. Our family and friends thought we had finally lost the plot when we told them about our idea of driving to Vladivostok. They thought we were taking this new lifestyle of ours a little too far. OK, so maybe we were going a bit over the top. I mean, just because we had driven across the US six months before, it didn’t really give us the right to worry everyone or give us the confidence to play fools and take on the world with this massive overland adventure. We hadn’t even met anybody who had been to Russia before, let alone driven across it. Were we kidding ourselves? You could say it would be suicidal to even attempt such a journey, especially as we hadn’t spent weeks researching the roads, or invested money on the correct equipment that would be required for such a huge expedition.

Of course, we made sure we had oil, a few spare tyres, a GB sticker and an SAS Survival Guide, which Simon bought from Oxfam for 50p, but apart from this, we took the attitude that we’d just see what happened along the way. A few weeks before our departure, we jumped on the internet to see if we could find any websites by fellow adventurers who had driven along the Trans-Siberian Railway to Vladivostok. It was quite worrying as I only found a few. They were driving huge 4×4’s and both had been heavily sponsored. It showed pictures of them driving over dusty potholed roads and crossing deep rivers. It looked impossible, and neither of them had managed to complete the journey to Vladivostok without putting their vehicle on the train. What really put doubt in my mind, was the fact that there appeared to be a 650 km section of highway along the Zilov Gap in Eastern Siberia between Chita and Khabarovsk that was still under construction. What chance did we have if the highway was still being bulldozed? How would we be able to make it across Siberia without a 4×4? I mentioned this to Si in passing, but he just shrugged his shoulders and told me not to worry. Deep down, I knew that if we were going to do it we might as well take the bull by the horns and go in blind.

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Barren and an empty road, Russia. Photo Simon Raven.

Chris Raven & Simon Raven: A South American Adventure

British twin brothers and authors of the travel comedy ‘The Linger Loco: In Search of the Real Carnival’, Simon and Chris Raven share stories from their epic journey in South America, traversing Argentina, Chile, Peru, the Trans-Oceanic highway and Brazil to reveal the secret to experiencing carnivals on a shoestring.

Why did you choose to focus on South America?

Simon: It was an easy decision to make. I mean, who could resist the lure of a continent with snow capped mountains, wild Amazon rainforest, ancient indigenous cultures and a reputation for the sexiest people on the planet?

Chris: We’d been to Ecuador and Colombia a few years before on a photo mission, and were amazed by the beautiful landscape and friendly people. South America gets under your skin; it’s exciting, diverse and you’re guaranteed a real adventure.

Your book opens in Buenos Aires. What were your first impressions of the city?

Chris: Our first few days in Buenos Aires were spent nursing killer hangovers. We’d heard of its reputation as ‘the city that never sleeps’, but nothing could have prepared us for the strength of a Fernet Branca cocktail. I love the architecture in Buenos Aires, the bars and restaurants and the European café culture.

Simon: There are few cities in the world with more energy and style than BA. We spent hours pacing the streets with our cameras and on one occasion tried chinchulines in a restaurant in San Telmo. I remember thinking people here really do eat every part of the cow, with exception of the Moo.

What were the highlights of your trip?

Simon: I think the journey from Cusco (in the Peruvian Andes) to Puerto Maldonado (in the Amazon), stands out in my mind as one of the most thrilling, fascinating journeys of my life. We sat aboard a truck for 35 hours, as the driver battled along steep mountain passes and crossed fast flowing rivers deep in the Madre de Dios in the Peruvian Amazon. I remember glancing out of the window and seeing Macaws flying past and tropical flowers in the thick jungle either side of the road. We crossed a new bridge from Peru into Brazil, and it really felt as though we had arrived at one the last frontiers. It was shocking to see there were no longer any trees on the Brazilian side, just thousands of hectors of green fields and cattle ranches. Only days before our arrival, Brazil’s President Lula had opened the bridge that would lead the way for the construction of a paved highway all the way to Cusco, creating trade between the two countries. It was both fascinating and disturbing to witness the destruction of the Amazon. Progress it appeared was inevitable.

Where did you spend Carnaval in Brazil?

Chris: Right from our first few days in South America, carnival was on our minds. We spoke to a number of tourists travelling South America during our journey, and the general feedback we received was that it was going to be expensive. People kept asking us if we’d pre-booked a hostel for the five days over carnival, or reserved a seat for the parade in the Sambodromo in Rio. I don’t think either of us had really planned on sitting down, and the idea of staying in one place for the entire carnival wasn’t really what we had in mind. We wanted to explore the many carnivals across Brazil. Deciding to risk it, we held back from booking any hotels or seats and quickly found ourselves running around Brazil from carnival to carnival, from Rio to Porto Seguro to Olinda, and living life on the fly. Making it all the way to Olinda in northern Brazil, we found the ultimate carnival. It was a perfect end to an insanely colourful journey.

In your opinion where is the best place in Brazil to spend carnival?

Simon: I think it totally depends on what your idea of carnival is, and your budget. For some people it’s seeing the amazing parade in the Sambodromo with the incredible floats and costumes. For others it’s dancing to Fat Boy Slim on the sticky city streets of Salvador. There is no one specific carnival. If you’re on a tight budget and want to avoid paying a lot for tickets and blocos then head for the cobbled streets of Olinda. There really is nowhere in the world quite like Brazil during the carnival season, it has to be seen to be believed.

 

 

 

‘The Linger Loco: In Search of the Real Carnival’ by Simon Raven and Chris Raven, was published by Samosir Books Ltd in the UK, and is available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

 

 

 

Buy it on Amazon!

UK (£7.19): The Linger Loco!: In Search of the Real Carnival

USA ($15.99): The Linger Loco! In Search of the Real Carnival

Cat Deeley

On location in east London

Assignments: Where to next?

I’VE BEEN drawn back to Asia. The festivals, the temples, the lantern-lit villages, the snow-capped mountains, the beautiful sandy beaches, the elephants, the bright colours, the food, the magic and the spiritual atmosphere.

Assignments 2012

Jan-April 2012

Bangladesh

Kashmir

Nepal

India

Assignments 2011

May/July 2011:

Road Trip to the Arctic Circle (Scandinavia)

-Denmark-Sweden-Norway-Arctic Circle-Lapland-Finland.

January/April 2011 -India:

Mumbai, Kerela, Goa, Pondicherry, Agra, Varanasi, Calcutta, Assam, Darjeeling, Nagaland, Sikkim, New Delhi,  Ranthambore tiger reserve, Puskar, Rajasthan, Kanyakumari, tribal areas.

Assignments 2010

Road Trip Europe Aug-Oct 2010

-Germany: Hamburg, Berlin -Netherlands: Amsterdam, Dokkum-Czech Republic: Prague-France: St Tropez, Aix en Provence, Cassis, Biarritz, Perpignan, Arles,  Nice-Spain: Barcelona, Tarragona , Valencia, Malaga, Cadiz, Sevilla, Extremadura, Toledo, Madrid, Segovia, bilbao, San Sebastian-Italy: Milan, Florence, Rome, Pisa, Naples, Amalfi Coast, Sorrento, Sicily , Venice, Rimini-Portugal: Algarve (Tavira, Faro, Lagos, Sagres), Lisbon, Nazaré-San Marino-Monaco: Monte Carlo.

South America - Jan-April 2010

Argentina-Brazil-Bolivia-Peru-Chile-Paraguay-Uruguay

Previous road trips.

UK-Vladivostok (Siberia)

UK-Syria – Road to Damascus

UK-Montenegro

Seattle-Los Angeles

Tripsideways.com – Off the beaten track

Tripsideways.com is an online adventure travel magazine for the independent traveller. Check out the latest must-see destinations, new travel Apps, travel guides and books, celebrities in the spotlight, captivating travel writing, award-winning photography and stunning video footage. Our goal is to inspire those who love to explore their planet.

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Ebooktravelguides.com: Lighten your luggage

The age of hauling around heavy travel guides in your luggage is over, welcome to the new era of eBook technology! eReaders are available in a variety of colours and styles from leading brands such as; Sony, Kindle (Amazon), E-Cool, Be-Book, and now a variety of Apple products (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) with applications that enable you to read and purchase eBooks and iBooks from your favourite book retailer.

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At EbookTravelGuides.com we aim to bring you the latest news and reviews on eBook travel guides, digital maps, phrase books and cutting edge travel technology. Researching the best of the web from the largest book chains, view and buy guide books from leading publishers including; Lonely Planet, Rough Guide, Time Out, Frommer’s, Fodor’s and many more.

All products on this website can also be viewed on PDA and Smartphones (and for your PC): Read them on your Windows Mobile Blackberry Palm Symbian ( Nokia Series 60 1st 2nd 3rd edition, UIQ 2, UIQ 3), iPhone, Kindle, Sony eReader or Pocket-PC. For paper versions of travel guides and books from award winning publishers, please visit out sister site: www.travelguidesbooks.com

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