I have been asked to review so many different types of books over the years. I have to say that the book I’m about to share with you is one of the most interesting I have had the chance to delve into.
If you follow this site and get my emails, then you probably know that I write about travel every couple of weeks or so. I love to travel and have been traveling since I was a child.
So it was with great interest that I choose to read this cool travel log, written by Stephen Troy and his wife, Leanne, about many of their five star travel trips across the world.
If you love to travel and learn the history of different parts of the world, you need to check out this book and the rest of my review below.
Would a Maharajah Sleep Here by Stephen Troy and Leanne Troy
Diary Of a 5 Star Traveler
Publisher: iUniverse (August 14, 2013)
ISBN-13: 978-1475988154
ABOUT:
Inspired by a movie, television show, book, or stories from friends, we may find ourselves daydreaming about trips to exotic locations with exciting adventures. For some lucky ones, these dreams become reality. Would a Maharajah Sleep Here? presents firsthand stories of luxury travel and discovery by two fun and experienced travelers.
Authors and travelers Stephen and Leanne Troy provide accounts of historic exploration, luxury hotel stays, and encounters with interesting people around the world. Each trip is private and planned in great detail to make sure each and every adventure is unique and experienced in five-star luxury.
Chronicling their exploits at the end of each day, the Troy’s describe checking into the finest hotels in the world and getting whisked away for incredible tours of some of the world’s greatest treasures. In addition to personal anecdotes, this travelogue shares information about sites, history, culture, and food in countries around the world. The Troys reveal the good, the bad, and, of course, the fun and funny events that they encountered on their trips around the globe”
Would a Maharajah Sleep Here: Diary Of a 5 Star Traveler by Stephen Troy
One of the things that struck me about this book is that the author makes it perfectly clear they love to travel in style. Without apology, this book outlines beautiful experiences that you get when you spend top dollar. In fact, the name references the opulence and experiences that a maharajah would look for in travels.
Written in chapters with a different country per, this book originally started with email conversations to family and friends while on their various trips. Each country is broken down into the day of travel. It is highly detailed with personal stories, vivid descriptions, humor, and even a bit of sarcasm.
In writing the book this way, we are taken along on the journey and can see with them the remarkable destinations many of us simply dream about.
There is beautifully detailed history about the cities, the culture, the hidden treasures that abound across the world. Even in countries like India, you will see how they define glorious riches right next to the shacks and poverty. It is interesting and enlightening to read about the author’s various trips over the years.
Digressing….
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I’m going to digress for just a moment and speak directly to the authors. Skip below for the rest of the review, if you choose.
Stephen and Leanne, I was very taken with many of the stories and experiences you had while visiting India. You see, I spent many years in Thailand when I was young and I could relate exactly to the things you were seeing in the stories that you told. A couple of stories come to mind that you may be interested in hearing.
In your book, you wrote how the children were enamored with Leanne and you were curious as to why that was. One of our vacations was to a little island known then as Ceylon, now named Sri Lanka.
We traveled that island for 7 days or so with a private tour guide, similar to what you experienced in India. At the time I was a young girl with whiteish sun-bleached blonde hair from living in the pool in Bangkok, plus I am Nordic/German. So anywhere we went, and especially in the cities in Sri Lanka, I was followed, surrounded by throngs of people, especially women, touching me and praying over me. Our guide was very distressed because actually it was a little frightening sometimes and he wanted to make sure that I was protected at all times since that was his job.
So we asked him why it was such a big deal as I certainly was not the first white skinned person to be there and his answer is that it was the hair.
You see, they do not see people with light color hair often and when they do it is considered to be a blessing and good luck to touch one with the golden hair. Light colored eyes are also a rarity and I, of course, had both.
I would suspect that Leanne is light haired which would make sense as to why they wanted the pictures. And as a side-note to that, is you can see how much culture has changed in the last 40+ years as when I was traveling in Southeast Asia, most people shied away from cameras. Height could also be a reason, if she is tall for a woman.
Another thing I just want to touch upon was your story about the crematorium. I too witnessed a burial, however mine was a Buddhist burial in the South China Sea in a town called Hua Hin.
We often went for a long weekends or weeks at a time to a beach house there. It was one morning, very early, my sister and I were on the beach and we witnessed three monks carrying another monk wrapped in white cloth.
They walked to the edge of the ocean, held a short ceremony, said some prayers, and then walked into the ocean carrying the body. They then released the deceased monk, allowing him to be carried out into the sea. Afterward, they floated flowers into the water.
It was rather disturbing since we spend many hours in that water each day. However, it was also very interesting to witness that type of natural burial. Living in Bangkok, we would see the monks every day as they would come to our apartment building and surrounding homes begging for food. Each family would place some food in their bowl until they have enough for a meal, or several meals. They may also collect food for other monks at the temple. Then, and only then, will they be able to return to their temple and proceed to eat.
I hope that my little stories help to answer a few things about your stories and questions.
Now back to my topic.
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The Rest of My Review
Overall, if you love to travel or have the desire to, but not the ability to, this book can take you on a trip between the pages. It’s interesting, well developed, and you get to learn about places like Bhutan, Morocco, Buenos Aires, Peru, Dubai, Poland and Russia, and many other locations along the way.
I’m still reading this book! 300 Pages of meticulous detail of culture and history, stories, along with the author’s impressions of all of these marvelous countries. This is the type of book you savor, so you can absorb the detail and visit vicariously. Definitely one to check out to spark the travel bug in you!
Disclaimer: Chris has personally reviewed the product listed above. She has not received any monetary compensation for her review but did receive a free book so she could evaluate and use it for this post. Her thoughts & opinions in this review are unbiased & honest and your opinions may differ.
Hi! I’m Chris! Just a Midlife Wife sharing about life’s journey; screaming and kicking through it while supposedly aging gracefully…
Focusing on healthy living, low carb & keto, things I am loving right now, and life in general.
