Wild Animals and Wedding Outfits

Book excerpt: Wild Animals and Wedding Outfits is the true story of Anna, who comes from a family of eccentric adventurers and longs to travel, but has somehow got to her mid-thirties without plucking up the courage to set out on her big adventure. She dreams of seeing animals in their natural habitat, of exploring the Amazon jungle by canoe and meeting tribes who worship strange gods and heal each other with folk medicine. But she worries that she is not intrepid like her great grandmother. And is it possible to have a big adventure and still find accommodation with an en-suite bathroom and luxury shampoo? Anna finally meets her chivalrous knight, Bill, who helps her to set off on their trip through 14 countries, includingIndia, Sri Lanka, Sikkim, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Australia, Peru, BoliviaandChile. En-route they get into hilarious scrapes, have some spiritual revelations and make some lifelong friends on the way. It is a rite of passage for Anna, who finally feels like a proper grown up by the end of the trip. Their adventure includes: - being chased by wild elephants in India meeting the King of the Vedda tribe in Sri Lanka seeing the pink river dolphins of the Amazon surviving the ordeal of a trek through the monsoon rainforests of Laosin search of the Akha tribe (with very poor bathroom facilities). Monty Halls, star of BBC TV's Great Escape Series says, "A whimsical tale that has at its heart a classic love story. Anna and Bill are the most amenable of travel companions, and by the final chapter you feel that you know them as friends through shared experiences on the long road. All truly good books provide some warmth in one's life, and this one really is a glowing little ember."