The Detour: Turning the Tide Paperback – Import, 26 November 2020

An absolutely wonderful, honest tale of an adventure-of-a-lifetime. Is the author lucky AF? Yes. A joy to read. I’ve bought and shared this book with nearly everyone I know, and we are all very impressed. If the author ever decided to write additional anything, I would absolutely purchase and share…

The Detour is a spiritual journey packed with adventures, tragedy, friendship, traveling guidance, funny facts, low budget trip tips, humour, detailed descriptions of scenery and amazing meetings with random people. Ben's writing is evolving through the book and is just getting better and better. The first half reads like a mix of diary and traveling guide. Anyone interested in traveling many months on a low budget would love to read this. The second half is my favorite part. The writing and storytelling get more fluid. That’s where the talent of the author really gets to shine, leaving the reader with an urgent need for more when he realizes the last page turned. One of my favorite quotes goes like this, p. 339 : "I just prayed Tony Blair could keep his mouth shut long enough for me to get inside." Can’t wait for the next opus!

This book is a much read.

I loved the writing style of storytelling with down-to-earth commentary on places and people Ben met during his highly unusual journey overland from Thailand to the UK via Nepal, Tibet, Afghanistan, Iran and more. He tells the tales of adventure, madcap ideas, characters and encounters with such charm and dry humour. His trip was clearly made possible by his dogged determination, inner strength, charm and incredible luck. And strong feet!I really like how he highlights the generosity and kindness of the poorest strangers he met along the way. The book is gripping from the first page to the last. I couldn’t wait to find out what he’d get up to next, who he would meet and where he would sleep. Now I’ve finished I’m turning straight back to page one to read it again.Ben sounds like a very compassionate young man. He must be an extraordinary guy to have completed this journey at the young age of 19. I’m sure he made many other intrepid trips in the 15 years since he made this detour. I will be looking out for more books of his adventures.

Excellent read especially during these times of limited travel due to covid restrictions. I followed Ben's route on a map and really enjoyed seeing how it overlapped or was near to any of the trips I have made in the past. Fantastic descriptions brought the places alive and I felt I was there on his shoulder. It certainly gives great clues on how to travel enjoyably for minimum cost.