‘Travel at its best - life enhancing’ Bear Grylls
'Ash is a great storyteller, whose book weaves together adventure, big ideas and inspirational tales from around the world.' Levison Wood
'A beautiful, insightful and thought-provoking book with the power to change how you see travel - and life'. Pip Stewart
Why We Travel is a smart-thinking travel book, which uses travel as a window into human motivations. It explores what we can gain from venturing out into the world.
It threads together reflective memoir, evocative travelogue, research, conversation, advice and big ideas. Some of the travels are epic adventures; others are closer to home; and some are journeys of internal exploration.
Each journey is a window into one of 12 motivations for travel: Curiosity, Inspiration, Happiness, Creativity, Serendipity, Hardship, Service, Healing, Wonder, Empathy, Eroticism, and Hope. By unpacking these motivations, and digging into the science of where they come from, this book asks how travel intersects with the rest of our lives, answering key questions such as:
Why do we travel? How do we do it better? Can it help us to live more fulfilling lives?
Why We Travel will give you a fascinating insight into where your motivations come from and inspire you to think about travel from a new and exciting perspective.
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‘Underpinning the tales of derring-do, high adventure and reportage in this carousel of a book is a deeper tale – of how travel became a profound journey of self-discovery for the author, drawing him closer to loved ones and offering a philosophy for life.’
" - Wanderland"
'Ash Bhardwaj is a superlative companion. He's courageous, informed and eternally curious, but also empathetic and fully engaged with those he encounters. From the baking sands of Sudan to the virgin snows of the Alps , the political faultlines of the old Soviet Union to a soul-retrieval on the banks of the Ganges, Ash immerses us in his adventures, while taking us through the very many different motivations for travel. Why We Travel is a breathtaking tour through time and place, and I loved every second of the ride.'
" - Map Addict and On the Red Hill