The return journey is much better than the first one, with a lot more countries covered. I love the way Paul chats with the ordinary people he meets en-route and is able to juxtapose with historical context. The chapter on Cambodia and PolPot was very instructive indeed. I also enjoyed the comparisons made between the poor of India and South East Asian countries like Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. I was looking forward to his stay in China but he somehow completely bypasses it in his narrative. I am not sure what went on there as he is not very forthcoming. His favourite country seems to be Japan, although India seems to have mystified him as well.
In short the long journey is a glimpse into Paul's personality. Let me try and sum it up, he is romantically traditional (trains), has pretensions of autocracy (Turkistan), exhibits surefire sense of life philosophy (Indian), takes a certain pride in poverty (Cambodia), suffers from borderline paedophilia (Japan), and a healthy distrust of state policies (Russia).
In short the long journey is a glimpse into Paul's personality. Let me try and sum it up, he is romantically traditional (trains), has pretensions of autocracy (Turkistan), exhibits surefire sense of life philosophy (Indian), takes a certain pride in poverty (Cambodia), suffers from borderline paedophilia (Japan), and a healthy distrust of state policies (Russia).
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