Tim Cahill
1 Needs funnier hyenas
A collection of 25+ "amusing and hilarious" stories from various travel writers. Okay, there a some slightly amusing stories in this compendium of travel and the best story is "The Snake Charmer". For a best of humor moments, this collection is sadly void of the humor. Not to say the stories for the most part weren't nice little snippets of their travels, but overall it falls far short of being outright boisterious. The high points of interest are Snake Charmer, Monstrous Dildo, and the explosive release while attending a mass gathering of India peoples for a religious observance. Many of the stories range in length of 4-7 pages, hardly enough to get you interested and then they end abruptly. The book is worth reading, certainly, but not one I'm likely to reread. For me, the first half of the book was much better than the second half.
2 Hyenas Laughed at Me for Buying this Book
I'm a big fan of the Traveler's Tales Series, having read The Best Travelers' Tales, Spain, Greece, Australia, etc. After reading the VERY FUNNY "Snake Charmer of Guanacaste", a short story that is also in the Best Travelers' Tales, I was expecting more of the same humorous situations in travel. This book, however, sorely underdelivers. It is hard for me to recall a single other funny story in this book, with the possible exception of the Monster Dildo. Which isn't even as funny as it sounds. Now I'm not one for forced humor, but there are obviously funnier stories about traveling than those listed here (I know I have several of my own).
The biggest disappointment, however, is this book's contrast with the vastly superior Best of and individual country books. I feel shortchanged and as if the hyenas are laughing at ME.
3 Hyenas Laughed at Me and Now I Know Why
Hyenas Laughed at me and Now I Know Why is a collection of twenty-eight humorous travel stories written by various travel writers. These stories educate, terrify, and entertain readers with cultural miscommunications and misadventures in various exotic locations.
These tales vary from quirky ironic situations such as William Dalrymple's I am an Englishman where the author must translate English with a heavy Indian accent to English to downright dangerous, funnier after the fact, stories such as Patrick Fitzhugh's The Snake Charmer of Guanacaste in which the author must convince another man that a snake is indeed dangerous. Many of the situations are funny after the fact or because they didn't happen to you. Some of the stories will even make you grimace and shake your head but ten minutes later you will find yourself relaying the story to your best friend or your spouse.
It is difficult to choose a single favorite story as all of the stories were enjoyable. I enjoyed Elliott Hester's When Fists Flew on the San Juan Special at the shear idiocy of the entire chaotic flight. I was enthralled and appalled throughout Jono Marcus' It's Dar es Salaam and I Am Not Dead as the author described his ordeals with criminals, police corruption., and border crossings. I think I even learned a lesson or two during that story. I felt a sense of ironic kinship with both Rikke Jorgensen's Ravioli, French Style with unwanted extras in her lunch and Bradley Charbonneau's Hungry? Where that author just wants some chicken.
This book is intended to entertain. Some of the stories contain some potty humor or rather underpants from hell humor. Thus, this book is intended for a somewhat mature audience. Furthermore, some of the stories could scare younger readers into never setting foot outside their own home town. Nonetheless, this is a hilarious book to read while you're on a plane, sitting on the beach, or lounging on your couch. I think this book would even be suitable for one of those days when you need to be reminded that someone somewhere is having a worse day than you.
4 "Milk through the nose" funny at times
Got this book for Xmas just before going on a three-day trip and finished it on the plane in about three hours. GREAT stuff! If you've ever strayed more than 100 yards from your home, you can relate to these tales of disaster, frustration and fear...comic disaster, frustration and fear, of course. Lots of memorable pieces, but the ones that stick out for me are Rolf Potts' great tale of bag-snatching in Thailand; Elliot Hester's battle-royale aboard the San Juan special; and the funniest one of all...a newcomer named Mark St. Amant's sleep-deprived account of a perpetually clog-dancing, karaoke-singing Japanese neighbor in Florence. (Some of his descriptions will have you rolling on the floor and kicking your feet, wondering if he'd been sniffing glue prior to writing it, just like a certain monkey that appears in the story.). All in all, a fantastic read, expecially if you're setting out into the cruel, comic world.
5 Hilarity on Wheels
This latest humor volume from Travelers' Tales is more than just clever, witty, and sometimes crude--it's downright hilarious! The volume includes very enjoyable pieces from emerging travel writing icon William Dalrymple, the irrepressable Elliot Hester, the ever clever Doug Lansky.
The culturally uptight and easily offended should be warned about two of the best and funniest stories in this top notch anthology, "Saigon Games" by Richard Sterling, and "Snap Happy and the Nagas" by Bennett Stevens. The former has dangerous politically incorrect fun with downtrodden street thieves in Vietnam. Don't try this at home! The latter pokes irreverent fun at himself amidst the madness of the world's largest display of reverence--the Kumbha Mela in India--in what just may be the world's most embarrassing moment.
There are 26 more stories from around the world to enjoy, each offering their own unique view to the limitless variety of available humor hazards facing the modern traveler. Great book to take on the road (lightweight) or add to your bathroom humor collection.
6 Hilarity on Wheels
This latest humor volume from Travelers' Tales is more than just clever, witty, and sometimes crude--it's downright hilarious! The volume includes very enjoyable pieces from emerging travel writing icon William Dalrymple, the irrepressable Elliot Hester, the ever clever Doug Lansky.
The culturally uptight and easily offended should be warned about two of the best and funniest stories in this top notch anthology, "Saigon Games" by Richard Sterling, and "Snap Happy and the Nagas" by Bennett Stevens. The former has dangerous politically incorrect fun with downtrodden street thieves in Vietnam. Don't try this at home! The latter pokes irreverent fun at himself amidst the madness of the world's largest display of reverence--the Kumbha Mela in India--in what just may be the world's most embarrassing moment.
There are 26 more stories from around the world to enjoy, each offering their own unique view to the limitless variety of available humor hazards facing the modern traveler. Great book to take on the road (lightweight) or add to your bathroom humor collection.
