Jupiter's Travels

“The book that inspired Ewan Macgregor's Long Way Around”.That was enough to pick up my interest. A four year journey on a 500cc Triumph T100-P, which took in much of the world.That helped.I read this pretty slowly, and found it enjoyable. I may not have enjoyed it so much if I had read it constantly and at my normal pace. Ted Simon writes simply, but well enough to get his point across. He doesn't degenerate into a diary, and he doesn't try to explain or describe everything. Some things he explains in great detail, taking several pages to explain some thing that happens in a few minutes. Other times he glosses over weeks or months in a sentence. I enjoyed the variety in his pace.I also enjoyed how classically 70's his story is - right down to that awesome photo on the cover. Ted Simon shared his thoughts willingly, and with honesty - there are some odd thoughts, some awkward encounters, and admittedly, that he could have edited those out to make himself look better. I liked that he didn't do that. There were things I didn't like - I am not into philosophy - I didn't enjoy his longer self-reflections on the meaning of life. But I was able to move past those pretty quickly. Don't get me wrong, this is no [b:Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance 114363 Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Robert M. Pirsig https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1346459264l/114363.SY75.jpg 175720], this is much more about the travel than the philosophy!Then, there are other things that reviews complained of - there is a bit of misogyny (come on, it is the 70's) - he falls in love readily (or, at times not as in love as his lovers fall) and shares with the reader. Others complain it is self indulgent - sure, but it a book about one mans experiences over a 4 year period, it was not as self indulgent as many other books of this genre. Pretentious - yes, he considers himself a god for a while - but I put this down to the philosophy I happily skipped over. I get it though, if you are not interested in Simon's experiences and his frequent descriptions of Triumph maintenance, then the actual technicalities of the book probably let it down.Nevertheless, the man is a legend, and his four year journey takes him from England, in October 1973 to his home in France, in June 1977. His route passed through France, Italy, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), South Africa, Swaziland, Mozambique, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, the USA, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, then a quick, featureless jaunt through Germany and Switzerland to France.I have a copy of his book Dreaming of Jupiter in which he retraces his route thirty years later, and I will inevitably read that too, just not straight away.Classic, and 4 stars.

A journey started without a goal in mind... funny to see Simon revisit that on the home stretch. For me, it was a great way to compare the world of the mid 70s to what I saw in my own time. Amazed Simon got on so well with so few hassles, all things considered.