OZtralia.tv Blog

For A Chuckle Read These

By: Phoenix Arrien

Ha, ha, ha, ha….yes, ha, I am reading…hahaha…two of the funniest travel books in a long time. The Jetlag travel guides (I have two of the series of three) and they are keeping me in stitches.

Written by very witty Australian comics, Phaic Tan and San Sombrero are take-offs of those travel guides that tell you where to go, what to do, how, why and take all the fun of discovery out of everything - though they can be useful when we want to be efficient or have little time in a place.

Phaic Tan is a funny-bone sojourn to a country somewhere in Asia, probably, where “…just a handful of hardy travelers, aid agencyworkers and hostage negotiators…” visit. It is the “birthplace of the trouser press and irritable bowel syndrome.”

A few choice passages:

X-Rated

Those bringing pornographic material into the country should be prepared to declare it and, in some cases, make photocopies for the customs staff. Similarly X-rated video tapes will be confiscated by officials from the Culture and Information Department and not returned until they have been screened at their New Year’s Eve party.

Phaic Tan has strict quarantine regulations so you are not allowed to bring pets, unless they are for personal consumption.

The other book, San Sombrero, is a land of carnivals, cocktails and coups, somewhere in, er, Latin America.

“Apart from September to November (prime hurricane months), July and August (…ferocious heat…) pretty much anytime of the year is good for a visit to San Sombrero. However the wet season is best avoided because the heat can be intense and many roads impassable. June is considered a better option as the clouds of stinging hornets will often provide partial shade from the sun’s rays.

Oh I love it, I love it. If you don’t then you can probably handle more serious topics like astro-physics or just haven’t visited these places. You can bu ‘em for a little flight reading at Amazon.