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Rick's new book, “On the Hippie Trail: Istanbul to Kathmandu and the Making of a Travel Writer”

Posted by (Duluth 🛶) on

I have to admit that this sounds pretty interesting, and I will definitely be reading it. It releases on February 4, 2025. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/Uhnr3XhzAUj3jsQD/

Here's a blurb from Facebook:

Stow away with Rick for a glimpse into the unforgettable moments, misadventures, and memories of his 1978 journey on the legendary Hippie Trail from Istanbul to Kathmandu — the ultimate trip for any backpacker in the 1970s. Rick was 23 years old when he made the trek, and like a travel writer in training, he documented everything along the way. From taking wild bus rides through Turkey to enduring monsoons in India, the experience ignited his love of travel and forever broadened his perspective on the world.

“On the Hippie Trail” contains Rick's journals from 1978 — the last year the trip was possible — and full-color travel photos from this trek of a lifetime through Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Nepal, plus a brand-new preface and afterword reflecting on the historical context of the moment and how the journey changed his life.

Posted by
15082 posts

Oh that sounds like fun! I was much more sedate and way less adventuresome in 1973....did my first Europe trip with an American Express tour (kind of like Rick's MyWay tours)- $600 for 2 weeks to Madrid, Paris and London, including airfare!

Thanks Mardee, this looks like a fun way to spend some time in the gloomy month of February!

Posted by
8586 posts

Oh, what a cool first trip to Europe, Pam! I was desperate to go to Europe back then, but was clueless how to do it. I didn't make it till I was 40.

Yeah, I think it sounds like a fun read!

Posted by
241 posts

I read the paperback version last year. I got a kick out of the sections that talked about all the many souvenirs he was buying. He shopped way more than I do or maybe ever did. He’s changed his tune since then.

Posted by
8586 posts

Craig, that was a different book, right? It may have been a precursor to this one but this one doesn’t release till next month.

Posted by
611 posts

Mardee: The content is the mostly the same, but the one to come out next month has a new preface and afterword. Now I wish I had waited to read it because I'd love to read what Rick has to say in the new sections! Cheers.

Posted by
2692 posts

Craig, sounds like you read the ARC (advanced reading copy). I received that too from a RS store order about a year ago (or maybe longer?). I think they were giving them away with orders for a time.

Posted by
335 posts

Reminds me of the other thread "What was your hippie trail?", where (IIRC) Carol talked about traveling to the other side of the World with her older brother and friends when she was young.

Posted by
5636 posts

Thanks for linking that article, *phred." I'm midway through reading *On the Hippie Trail" so it is perfect timing to read the review.

The article mentions this phrase, which struck me when I read it in Rick's book:

"Like a skier craves moguls, I need India.”

As a teenager, I was a timid skier. A few well-spaced bumps were my challenge. I wished I could get the rhythm to take real moguls, but never craved them. I was content that I had learned to navigate the moderate blue slopes, while my younger brothers took on the blacks.

In travel, there have been no black diamond slopes down the Hippie Trail for me. My own visit to India was a business trip. The Pudding Shop was a sight on a Rick Steves tour.

But I am glad that (with no small help from Rick) I walloped my own norms and graduated beyond my green slopes of weekends tacked on to business travels. I'll never brave the black diamond slopes of travel, but I sure am enjoying the gentle bumps of the blues.

And reading Rick's book, I can appreciate the knocks and bruises it took to navigate those Hippie Trail moguls. Fun reading, from the lodge at the base.

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