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A self confessed bookworm. I needed a place to debrief after reading, so here it is!

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

An Idiot Abroad: The Travel Diaries of Karl Pilkington - Karl Pilkington, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant

The companion guide to the hysterical television show of the same name, in which Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant force their arrestingly simple pal Karl Pilkington on a global journey
 
"He'd have been happier in medieval times in a village where you didn't travel beyond the local community."  —Stephen Merchant
A cult celebrity due to his role in The Ricky Gervais Show, the most-downloaded podcast ever, Karl Pilkington has been accused of being a comic creation, so unburdened is he by complex thought—but that is truly just him. The trio's newest project mines Karl massive provinciality: put simply, Karl is not big on traveling. Given the choice, he'll go on vacation to Devon or Wales or, if pushed, eat English food on a package tour of the Mediterranean. So what happened when he was convinced by Gervais and Merchant to go on an epic adventure to see the Seven Wonders of the World? Does travel truly broaden the mind? Find out in Karl Pilkington's hilarious travel diaries.


I have watched a few of the TV episodes before and loved them.  I was very surprised to find that the book is exactly the same as the shows, it even included the dry but hilarious conversations between Ricky, Stephen and Karl. I think having watched part of the series gave me a better understanding of who Karl is as a person and his attitude, the book might start off a bit confusing without this background.

I loved reading about Karl's always eventful trips away, and was ridiculously jealous of the places he got to visited. I thought he gave a comical and one-of-a-kind insight in to each of the places he visited, although I felt that Machu Picchu was a little rushed and didn't have the same level of detail that the others had.  

I loved reading about Karl's trip to each of the 7 Wonders, and this made me want to visit each of them myself even more. A great read for those who love to travel.

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