'It was an empty landscape now with huge horizons in every direction, a compressed, steam-rollered desert where man had no place. We lacked the skills to carry out even the most basic fixes. If the van stopped working we were stuck. No one knew where we were and our last mobile signal had been 150 miles ago.' Fifty-something and tired of arguing with John Humphrys over the day"s headlines, BBC journalists Geoff and David found themselves eagerly volunteering for redundancy. But rather than easing into retirement with the odd round of golf, they decided to buy a van and drive off to Mongolia. Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time… In an epic journey through Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Siberia and across the Gobi Desert, they discover more about each other in a few weeks than they did sharing an office for years. Lying in wait are crooked cops, bent border guards and terrible roads, but also welcoming and curious locals, eager to help the pair on their mission.

autor: David Treanor

wydawca: Matrix Digital Publishing

issn: 9781848394148

data: 2010.11.23

cena: 51.42 PLN

kategorie: Podró¿e / 

  

There were five rules of Twitchhiker: I can only accept offers of travel and accommodation from people on Twitter. I can"t make any travel plans further than three days in advance. I can only spend money on food, drink and anything that might fit in my suitcase. If there is more than one offer, I choose which I take. If there is only one, have to take it within 48 hours. If I am unable to find a way to move on from a location within 4 hours, the challenge is over and I go home.   Bored in the bread aisle of the supermarket one day, Paul Smith wondered how far he could get around the world in 30 days through the goodwill of users of social networking site Twitter. At the mercy of these rules, he set his sights on New Zealand - the opposite point on the planet to his home in Newcastle. All he had to do next was explain the idea to his new wife. In an adventure wrapped in nonsense and cocooned in daft, he travelled by road, boat, plane and train, slept in five-star luxury and on no-star floors, shmoozed with Hollywood A-listers and was humbled by the generosity of the thousands who followed his journey and determined its course.

autor: Paul Smith

wydawca: Matrix Digital Publishing

issn: 9781848393653

data: 2010.08.02

cena: 43.76 PLN

kategorie: Podró¿e / 

  

There is so much to look forward to in the months ahead - to lengthening evenings, bike rides past fields of sunflowers or wild meadows of bluebells and poppies (just like the seventies Flake ad) and several months of fetes, vide greniers (car boot sales) and barbecues in friends" gardens. And I cannot wait to get back to see if Andy Lawton has called… After reaching the heights as a successful fashion editor, Karen said goodbye to all that and set about renovating a run-down house in rural Poitou-Charentes, in central western France, and living a simpler life. Her idyll is almost complete when she is blissfully ensconced in her fully plumbed, tiled, floored and "warm as the hug of a pashmina" Maison Coquelicot - until, that is, a gang of macho Portuguese builders, a procession of Brits behaving badly and the ghosts of boyfriends past begin to arrive on her doorstep. Karen soon finds her (dancing) feet in the small rural community when she discovers the key to acceptance is le danse country. And after a few shuffles and twirls she meets the love of her life - he has dark, shaggy hair, four paws and a wet nose…

autor: Karen Wheeler

wydawca: Matrix Digital Publishing

issn: 9781848393714

data: 2010.08.02

cena: 43.76 PLN

kategorie: Podró¿e / 

  

For generations of Britons, Singapore was the international crossroads of the Empire, the ultimate colonial posting, the stimulus for writers such as Joseph Conrad, Somerset Maugham or Noel Coward. Can today?s hightech 24-hour city with its gleaming skyscrapers and high standard of living provide a similar kind of inspiration to a visitor? John Malathronas penetrates the Oriental psyche and discovers the hustle among the stuffiness, the thrill behind the Confucian ethic and, ultimately, the joie de vivre in what has been unjustly dismissed as ?a shopping mall with UN representation?. Still more importantly, during his quest, he realises that this overcrowded, multicultural, multifaith city-state can teach us a lesson about living together in harmony and with mutual respect.

autor: John Malathronas

wydawca: Matrix Digital Publishing

issn: 9781848395435

data: 2007.08.06

cena: 0.81 PLN

kategorie: Podró¿e / 

  

Sam and Bud were ordinary first-time homebuyers in their early thirties. Their intention, in moving to France, was to create a simple life in a place where they could spend time with their children. The home they actually bought was a 17th century chateau in the Loire valley with over thirty rooms. Chateau Du Bonchamps had been the seat of noble families as far back as 1507. With only modest savings, Sam and Bud launched the exciting project of restoring this extraordinary building to its former glory. Over several years they renovated 10,000 square feet of house, installed countless bathrooms, painted 156 windows, put the 40-acre park and gardens into some semblance of order and started a bed and breakfast against resistance from the locals. Their hardwork prevailed; their chateau quadrupled in value. The things we dream do not always fit nicely with the realities of everyday life. This is an insightful glimpse of what it truly means to leave everything behind to persue a dream.

autor: Sam Juneau

wydawca: Matrix Digital Publishing

issn: 9781848395114

data: 2007.06.04

cena: 40.72 PLN

kategorie: Podró¿e /