My last recommendation is The Lunatic Express by journalist Carl Hoffmann. In the midst of a mid-life crisis, he decided to take a long journey. But rather than opting for a pleasure trip, he wanted to “travel around the world as most of the people in the world did, putting their lives at risk every time they took off on overcrowded and poorly maintained conveyances because that was all they could afford or there were no other options.”
His personal “lunatic express” took him on passenger buses along the treacherous mountain roads of the Andes, on overcrowded ferries among the islands of Indonesia, on minibuses in Africa and trains in Mumbai and China — to name a few of his adventures and misadventures.
Obviously, he lived to write about this trip. He grew used to not having personal space, cleanliness, silence, and safety for long periods of time and realized that these are unbelievable luxuries. “After so many days on crowded buses and boats, it was becoming clear that more than anything else, money bought insulation and protection. From wind and rain and heat, from other people, from noise, from pollution.”
So, throw this one in the suitcase for sure. Then no matter how long the flight delay, how heavy the traffic, how uncooperative the weather – at least you won’t be traveling on the lunatic express!