Speed Bump Himalayas

A brilliant biography! The novel was so much fun to read, I could not put it down. The author describes in detail his amazing adventures in India. There are so many hilarious, exciting stories. Engaging, well written and recommended to all who enjoy true life adventures.

What an excellent read! (not your average travel journal). Mark’s storytelling took me straight back to my own travelling days in India and Nepal with evocative descriptions of those crazy, wonderful lands and their crazy, wonderful people and then it suddenly it veers off into a story of survival, colourful body descriptions and how scary this world can get. A great reminder to get travel insurance and that bravery isn’t always the smartest policy.

Speed Bump Himalayas is Mark Giblin’s memoirs of his time in India during the 80’s, with part of that time spent with his old friend, Comedian Sean Lock (8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Live at the Apollo).I need to start this review with an honest confession. I’m not really a memoir lover nor a fan of Sean Lock. You might now be wondering why on earth I decided to read this book then. The simple truth is, something pulled me towards it. The synopsis sounded interesting, but I think it was the title that finally persuaded me. That and a desire to step out of my comfort zone.The opening of the book looked really promising as it jumped right into the action with Mark having some ‘issues’ in India. Then the book moved on to his time back in the UK. This section didn’t hold my attention, I didn’t want to read about the UK, I wanted more from India. I began scanning the pages rather than read them. For me, the pace of the book had slowed dramatically and I started thinking that maybe I shouldn’t of gone against my initial reaction, perhaps this wasn’t a book for me after all.However, when Mark returned to India, this time with Sean, the pace picked up and I became interested in the book once again. I will even go as far to say that I was hooked, staying that way right until the very last page. I’m so glad that I decided to carry on reading, otherwise I would of missed out on discovering some of Mark’s fascinating adventures.What you will notice upon reading this book is how great a storyteller Mark is. He has the author equivalent of ‘The gift of the gab’. His words just flow. They drag you into the pages, and into his past. The descriptions of the scenery, food, events, etc, are all very vivid. I’ve never been to India, yet I can take a good guess at what 80’s India looked liked, all thanks to Mark.At times this book will have you laughing out loud, at others, it may make you feel a little bit sick as there are a few gruesome scenes. Reading some of the situations that Mark found himself in I’m surprised he is still here. It is exceptionally readable and I commend Mark for putting his heart and soul into writing this book and allowing us to read about his experiences, including the good, the bad and the ugly!Book Reviewed on Whispering Stories Book Blog*I received a free copy of this book, which I voluntarily reviewed

The reader knows there will be some fun in this book from the introduction by Sean Lock, a well-known British comedian who just happened to share a part of this travel adventure with the author. However, this is definitely not your average travelogue: it is gritty and horrifying for much of the time.I will admit I was not entertained – except by the humor – for the first third or so of the book, which was basically the wanderings of a 20- something young man and his friends on a drug-infused trip through India and Nepal in the late 1980s. However, I was drawn in to Giblin’s gruesome story of survival, trekking out of the Himalayas, and his equally disturbing and unpredicted recovery from the undiagnosed illness that drove him home. Quite a contrast. The dry jocularity made it all palatable and ultimately, a page-turner.Mark’s adventure begins at a time when young Englishmen were drawn to India and Nepal with the promise of cheap drugs, free love and high adventure. He is traveling solo in Nepal and in a dumb and dumber move, decides to cross a glacier with only his slick-soled shoes and no other equipment. He nearly loses his life escaping the glacier, but his adventures in India and Nepal send him home to earn enough money to return. He talks his friend Sean Lock into accompanying him, but they choose the wrong time of year for their trip. Sean becomes nearly unhinged when they arrive in a steamy, humid, pre-monsoon Dehli. When the two go looking for fellow travelers, liquor and drugs, all they find is boredom, mosquitoes, and snakes with nothing but humor, getting high and/or drunk and the occasional book to keep them occupied. Until they reach Katmandu…Once there, with Sean healed from bout with what is nicely described as arse-boils, they decide to try a four week trek into the mountains, even though Mark is not feeling quite right. By the time they are halfway to their destination, Mark is feeling bad enough to send Sean continue on his own. What began as ‘not feeling right’ turns into monumental pain and frightening, continuous loss of all sorts of bodily fluids. At this point, it became a book not to be put down, even though you know the author survives.I had my suspicions about what he suffered from, but that's because of my medical background. Turns out I was close, but not quite on spot.I was awed by Mark’s bravery, humor and determination to survive despite the increasing odds that he wouldn’t. The story of how he managed to get back to England in incredible pain, with no sleep, no food and little water, and most especially without any treatment (there were no MDs qualified to treat him) is unbelievable. His ability to make interesting observations, find kindness in strangers and even make fun of his situation may have helped him survive and definitely helps the reader! Even after getting to a hospital at home did not guarantee his survival, as his treatment threatens to kill him.This book begins as a series of travel misadventures, but quickly morphs into a remarkable journey, seasoned with dry humor, and a testament to the human spirit, which runs strong and true in the author.PS You have to get to the very end to discover what ailed Mark.

If You Love Adventure Books, Travel Stories & Tales Of Far Away Places this is A Great Book for You! If You Like Soul Searching, Life Changing, Formidable Journeys, then this is a Must Read!If You've Enjoyed the Humor of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," the Gritty Personal Soul Searching of "On The Road," and the Globe-Treking Challenges & Setbacks in "The Motorcycle Diaries." Then THIS is a HILARIOUS, Adventurous (and perilous) Tale you're sure to enjoy! ( If You've ever been off Traveling Yourself! You'll probably Relate! ;)Writer Mark Giblin cleverly shares his life changing, exhilarating and amazing backpacking escapades with you, the reader. You will Laugh and You will Gasp at the Recounting in this Adventure Book! Five Stars! & Two Thumbs Up! for "Speed Bump Himalayas" Buy It & Read It Today! :)Update: We Have Already Purchased 6 Copies Of This Amazing Travel Adventure Book For Friends! Everyone Has Loved Reading It!

Wow. I read it in a day. You lurch through the chapters like a man staggering along a mountain trail. Then I implored a friend to read it, who also polished it off in one sitting. It may be a cliché, but it’s real page-turner. An ‘if you don’t laugh you’ll cry’ technicolour-vivid account of what it’s like to be very bored, very hot and very scared in a place where you only have yourself to rely on.Amazing to think how much has changed since these pre-internet days.Now you can preview your whole Tripadvisor-rated adventure before you even set off. You’re travel-insured to the brim of your high-tech backpack and can email home, Whatsap your friends, and Google what’s wrong with you. And have an app which speaks the local language while you blog the whole trip as it happens, illustrated with string of selfies.No safety nets here. Just two lads who have gone on holiday by mistake. In turns hilarious, poignant and terrifying. The second half descends into quite a different tale. You may not know what baby squirrel breath is now, but I found myself doing as I read the final chapters.It’s a great read, and I’ve already bought more copies for friends.It stays with you as well, so next time you’ve got a gippy tum on holiday and retire to your air conditioned room for a nap, think of Mark…

This is the most breathtaking travel story I've ever read!The year is 1987: Two young Englishmen flee the boredom of English suburbia, not to seek the meaning of life, but rather to find some fun and excitement in India. They very soon discover that they have travelled straight into Murphy’s Law, because the adventure backfires and nothing seems to go their way. And far up in the mountains, the bad luck peeks and Mark experiences that he has really got himself a one way ticket to hell and back!The story is hilarious and exciting and gloomy and sad at the same time. But most of all very well written, with that lovely English understatement and humour which the author has loads of.I read the book in a snap, as we say in Norway.

This book makes me laugh so much I have read it three times. Many a commuter has given me a sideways glance as I cry with laughter on the bus at the idea of Sean Hughes on a donkey or scrabbling around on a sinking boat. If you’ve seen Sean Hughes on the tele, you’ll know what I mean.Most travelers tales are sickeningly upbeat with feel-good epiphanies on mountain tops, tales of heart burstingly wonderful romances and awesome nights at full moon parties. Mark’s book is very different - he tells traveling tales of a different kind. Describing the head cracking boredom, shite food, and anti-climaxes of a trip you probably shouldn't have taken so brilliantly. I know the feeling he describes so well of sensing that somewhere nearby there is something brilliant going on - if only you could be there and not in some place full of tumbleweed rolling around and a grandfather clock ticking.How Mark is still alive I cannot fathom. The book takes a frightening turn and the horror of what happened to him, even though it is told with brilliant humour, feels so visceral as you are reading it. Of course, you know he’s still alive as you are reading it because he’s written the book. And thank goodness he is and he did, because it's brilliant.I have never read a book FOUR times, but I might make an exception for this one.

What an incredible book. I'm not a 'grab them by the horns adventure reader' normally, but this ticks the box on so many levels. Adventure, humour (buckets of it) but also some life and death moments where my heart was literally in my mouth. You don't often stumble across a book that you can't put down, the author writes a tight story; one that keeps you riveted. It's not a huge read either - I knocked this over in a week in my spare time. I don't think the author wrote the book with the intention of being brave or particularly courageous, but the upside is that this is exactly what it delivers. Inspiring to consider his survival tactics and the resilience gene that must be prominent. Great writing style. It's like he's in the room with us telling the story and we're hanging off the edge of our seats. Fantastic read.

Brilliant read - I couldn't put it down until I got to the end.I was captivated by the author's experiences in India, really bringing alive the sights and sounds of the place. I laughed out loud at the crazy escapades of Mark and his friends and the mad situations they found themselves in. Equally so, it moved me to get a bit emotional over the sad struggle the author went through from when things starts to go bad and his quest to get to safety. There is poignancy over his relationships with others, some good, some not so good. Overall, this is one of the best books I have read for a long time.