It’s refreshing to finally see an honest and humble account of one’s travels. So many travel books these days are filled with ludicrous feats: sailing across the English channel in a bathtub, riding across Europe in a child’s bike with training wheels, etc. etc.
The esteemed author appreciates that his stories of tiny Lilliputians and the intelligent horse-like Houyhnhnms are mildly interesting, but not remarkable really when we have the wonders of Bali at our fingertips on Instagram. Most of all we can be glad the the author has spread the wisdom of English governance and the culture of Europe to these distant lands.
One minor disappointment that led to the rating of ‘three stars’: I have utter faith in our author’s honesty throughout, barring the mention of ‘Japan’. What a ridiculous contrivance.
Much better second time round, though I suspect the Houyhnhnms live in a dystopia