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the joys of wanderlust
In 1973, Paul Theroux embarked on an epic journey by train across Asia. In 1975, he published his classic account of that trip, “The Great Railway Bazaar.” This incredible travel story put Theroux on the literary map.
Thirty-three years and some 40 books later, he has re-traced that original journey. He shadowed most of his original route across Europe and into Asia. He recounts the experience in “Ghost Train to the Eastern Star.”
He was able to re-create most of his original itinerary. Theroux prefers rail travel. It allows him to savor the sights. Readers encounter the multitude of people that he meets. We eavesdrop on their conversations as he finds out who they are and what they think.
He is a sympathetic listener and a keen observer. These strangers sense that he is an open person. They talk to him about their lives. He asks them what they think about America. Their responses are thought-provoking.
A Turkish scholar observes that “American experts are the problem … they were wrong about the Soviet Union and wrong about Iraq.” Theroux quizzed this professor about possible motives for dispensing poor advice? His response: “Scholars need to validate the status quo, or they lose their funding.”
After Turkey, the author’s next stop was Georgia, the U.S. ally and a former Soviet republic that was invaded last week by Russia. He observes that “with a vocal Muslim country on every border, Georgia was a natural ally of Bush’s so-called war on terror, though I did not meet any Georgian who agreed with American policy.”
Theroux continued east through central Asia on his “Ghost Train.” He gained entry to oil-rich, isolated Turkmenistan which he describes as “desert wasteland, scrubby bushes, and dusty boulders, an emptiness of lizards, and a landscape like cat litter.”
From Uzbekistan he is forced to fly over the troubled tribal areas where Osama Bin Laden is reputed to be hiding. He lands in India and resumes his train trip.
Arriving in Sri Lanka, he arranges a visit with the legendary science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, who passed away earlier this year. Clarke was quite ill, but they still managed to have a fascinating conversation.
After a quick flight across the Bay of Bengal, Theroux lands in Myanmar, formerly Burma, and revisits places he enjoyed on his first trip there.
He heads onward to bustling Thailand, primitive Laos, repressive Singapore, depressing Cambodia and vigorous Vietnam.
China merits barely half a page from Theroux: “Who wants to hear people boasting about their greed and promiscuity?”
The author is older and wiser, yet full of mischief. He is delighted to watch a passenger on his train car reading one of his books. He views her reading with the sense of vicarious delight that we experience as this exotic journey unfolds through his eyes.
Vick Mickunas
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