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Adam Fletcher

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Don’t Go There: From Chernobyl to North Korea—one man’s quest to lose himself and find everyone else in the world’s strangest places (Adam's Adventures) Paperback – January 24, 2018

by Adam Fletcher (Author)

3,386 ratings

Book 1 of 5: Adam's Adventures

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What’s the strangest place on earth? Can you go there on a holiday?

Bestselling travel writer Adam Fletcher tries to find out, only to be plunged into a blizzard in China armed with just a pack of biscuits; chased by a Croatian police boat from the shores of Liberland (the world’s newest country); stalked by the Sheriff of Transnistria (its most corrupt); power washed in Chernobyl (it’s most radioactive); comes face-to-face with two dictators in North Korea (its most dystopian), and much more.

But this quest to understand the world (and himself) will threatens his sanity, safety and world view. Will he make it back? What do you give the dictator that has everything? What if a place everyone says to avoid is actually one you never want to leave?

Don’t Go There is a hilarious travelogue full of interesting characters, uncomfortable moments, unusual destinations, and British humour that will appeal to lovers of Bill Bryson, Douglas Adams, and David Sedaris.

Editorial Reviews

Review

SHORTLISTED best travel book of 2018 - Rear View Mirror

"In this hysterical memoir, we follow Adam as he visits some of the strangest, and least hospitable places on the planet" - Hostelworld

"...genial and amusing guide to a series of less-than-glamorous destinations." - Perceptive Travel

"what starts out with a few chuckles ends up in providing a torrent of laughter as Fletcher hits his stride" - The Ready Traveller

"A laugh out loud, easy going read with a moments of poignancy and honesty." - Sage Adventures

"An interesting read." - Beards and Triathlons

"An absolute delight to read. The author has the light, poignant touch of a Bill Bryson, a David Sedaris or a Peter Mayle," - ★★★★★, Reader, Amazon.co.uk reviewer

"Loved it! Engaging, hilarious and fun to read. Can't wait to check out the next." - ★★★★★, Laura, Goodreads reviewer

"A panoply of exciting, bizarre, and often inspiring tales, that paint a vivid picture of some of the most interesting places on Earth." - ★★★★★, Hector Malcolm, Goodreads reviewer

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Independently published
Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 24, 2018
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 230 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1976969964
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1976969966
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.58 x 9 inches
Book 1 of 5 ‏ : ‎ Adam's Adventures

Best Sellers Rank: #1,300,615 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,522 in Traveler & Explorer Biographies
- #3,300 in Travelogues & Travel Essays
- #27,589 in Memoirs (Books)

Customer Reviews:
3,386 ratings

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Adam Fletcher

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Adam Fletcher is a bald Englishman living in Berlin, Germany. He mostly writes travel and memoir, and has authored both seven self-published and traditionally published books.

He’s sold more than 350k copies of them, not all of which were to his mother, he hopes. She no longer lets him into her garage.

His work has been featured in The Guardian, New York Times Modern Love, Die Zeit, and more. He thanks you for your time and wishes you well.

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3,386 global ratings

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Customers find the book engaging from start to finish, with fascinating travel stories and keen insights into cultures. Moreover, the writing style receives positive feedback, with one customer noting the author's great way with words. Additionally, the humor is appreciated, with customers laughing out loud at the witticisms, and one review highlighting the hilarious dialogue between Adam and Annett.

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Readability Insight Humor Writing style

85 customers mention "Readability"85 positive0 negative

Customers find the book engaging from start to finish, describing it as a wonderful travel read full of fascinating stories.

"This is one of the most hilarious books I've read in a long time. Think Dave Barry meets Rick Steves...." Read more

"...There are very good observations on travel in general, the idea that you may be able to go home again, and the very decent idea that adventures are..." Read more

"...I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and immediately began sharing what I was learning with friends...." Read more

"...If it's true, it's valuable, honest, and for many, interesting enough to spend a few bucks on." Read more

68 customers mention "Insight"66 positive2 negative

Customers find the book highly insightful, particularly appreciating its keen insights into cultures and providing a thoughtful glimpse into life in difficult countries.

"...I won’t comment on it. It is worth reading for humor, philosophy, and information not generally known...." Read more

"...paragraph, I found a laugh-out-loud, but highly insightful and informative book, with insight not only into the facts and absurdities of the places..." Read more

"...But still, this seems like a good solid truthful telling about places most of don't have the stomach to visit...." Read more

"Loving this series, travel, humour, informative and insightful. What more could you want." Read more

66 customers mention "Humor"62 positive4 negative

Customers enjoy the book's humor, finding it great with delightful witticisms that make them laugh out loud, particularly appreciating the dialogue between Adam and Annett.

"...His prose made me laugh out loud, over and over again (samples below). I felt like underlining the whole book...." Read more

"...The dialogue between Adam and Annett is hilarious. She is the sensible one, the one who believes in making plans and thinking before starting out...." Read more

"...However, with each unfolding paragraph, I found a laugh-out-loud, but highly insightful and informative book, with insight not only into the facts..." Read more

"...and describes them with a little bit of empathy and a great deal of penetrating wit...." Read more

33 customers mention "Writing style"30 positive3 negative

Customers enjoy the writing style of the book, with one customer noting it is easy to read, while another appreciates the author's great way with words.

"...and absurdities of the places described, but insights into the author’s self-deprecating self...." Read more

"...the pleasure seeking tourist gladly ignores and describes them with a little bit of empathy and a great deal of penetrating wit...." Read more

"...The author Adam is from UK and lives in Berlin. I love his style of writing. Only boring chapter was Liberal and so I mostly skimmed through it." Read more

"...Mr.Fletcher humanizes people and helps you understand that we have more in common than we realize...." Read more

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Global Prof
Hilarious and insightful -- must-read for off-beaten-track travelers
Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2019
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This is one of the most hilarious books I've read in a long time. Think Dave Barry meets Rick Steves. With some great life lessons thrown in for good measure.

Fletcher is a balding Brit in his 30's who lives in Berlin. A self-described couch potato, he decides to get out of his rut and travel to places that will take him out of his comfort zone. Such as Istanbul during riots, Moldova, a Hare Krishna camp in Argentina, a 48-hour "overnight" bus ride in China during holiday season, Hebron, etc. His prose made me laugh out loud, over and over again (samples below). I felt like underlining the whole book.

But it's really the self-knowledge that Fletcher gains that makes this more than an entertaining read. He concludes that being bored with one's own (first-world) culture is a luxury. Most people in countries that malfunction are struggling just to survive. He doesn't really try to analyze why countries malfunction; rather, he observes with a careful eye and lets us draw our own conclusions. "I'd lost sight of he extraordinary privilege inherent within boredom. Most people in the world don't get to decide whether or not to engage in politics. Don't feel so safe and secure and bored that they actively go out looking for danger, just to feel more alive."

A few other gems:

"That was what travel was for. The unfamiliarity of being where you don't belong frees you from any expectations about how things there are supposed to work, and, in turn, how you will react to them."

[About food at an ashram] "It didn't leave you feeling bloated and guilty like the bloody crime scene that was the rest of Argentinian cuisine."

"I was the sort of writer who talked about writing much more than getting around to doing any of it. Like an armchair sports fan, I preferred to cheer literature on from the safety of the sidelines, where I didn't have to get myself sentence sweaty."

"He had a face that seemed to be able to produce thunder, amongst other bad weather, all of which could be unleashed upon you at his discretion."

"Annett is not into children in the same way people are not into being hit with rocks."

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Ron K
Go There But Remember to Come home
Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2018
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Don’t Go There by Adam Fletcher is described as “From Chernobyl to North Korea-- One Man’s Quest to Lose Himself and Find Everyone Else in the World’s Strangest Places.” The subtitle probably suffers from a politically correct faux pas; in chapter one Adam is losing himself in Turkey but companion Annett is with him. It is not “one man’s” quest until Adam manages to piss Annett off. However, it is a travel novel and for the constant traveler such as myself, this book is automatically interesting. Reading this will introduce potential travelers to practices that might be a culture shock to the unprepared. For instance, in Chapter One Annett and Adam are in Turkey where during anti-government demonstrations they observe much of the population protesting in the streets by banging on kitchen pots and pans. Fletcher describes this as a time-honored tradition going back to 1923 during the time of Kemal Atatürk.

The pair has an adventure on a bus in China that takes place over more than forty hours. That is forty hours on a bus that is not moving. Drivers are waiting for authorities to lift a barricade. There are lessons for the reader. When traveling in the lesser developed world (the countryside of China) take plenty of food and water. This was a familiar situation to me, one which I nearly copied a few years ago in Cambodia.

Similar cautions apply when traveling in Africa. Adam and Annett traveled to Ghana. They toured schools run by a volunteer agency and discovered an interesting phenomenon. Locals assumed that the two could be the source of donations for further education. When they tried to explain they were in Ghana as tourists on a vacation, the answer was “You came to Ghana for vacation?” The questioners adopted a tone of amazement when asking this question.

The excursion to Israel glosses over an important point. Travelers who previously visited several Muslim countries are going to have problems getting through immigration checks and procuring a visa. Adam and Annett even crossed from Jerusalem into Palestine controlled areas. This section is heavier on philosophy than humor but is still worth reading.

The dialogue between Adam and Annett is hilarious. She is the sensible one, the one who believes in making plans and thinking before starting out. She is not shy about blaming Adam when things go wrong, in other words frequently. Her criticisms mostly contain a lot of wry humor. Adam is a guy who thinks about something, launches, and then reacts to the flow of things. Adam is also remarkably averse to work. He has found a way to make money as a nomad with a computer. Annett has a job which requires her physical presence; this also serves as an anchor for Adam so that he is not perpetually traveling. The pair has a residence hub in Berlin where they can recover from developing world realities between trips.

This is a hilarious travel book. I don’t see any danger of revealing spoilers. I want to comment on some of the conditions they meet and how they deal with problems, but they are only samples. The book is full of practical issues and occasionally some philosophizing on the nature of war, income inequality, and what should be international human rights. Even the philosophizing is hilarious as it provokes serious thought.

A part of any traveler’s journey, desired or not, is the wonderful interactions with other travelers and expatriates. I am being sarcastic; I avoid prolonged social engagements with other travelers. Adam and Annett have the benefit of supporting each other. This is also good advice, companions at least act in a predictable way. Again, there is a lot of humor as Adam and Annett meet some complete whackos.

The Hare Krishna Ashram in Argentina experience broke up the Adam-Annett team as far as further travel outside Germany. Annett was tired of not having creature comforts available. Adam went on to visit Chernobyl, a couple of micro-nations, and Romania. There is an interesting section on his return to his hometown in England. There are very good observations on travel in general, the idea that you may be able to go home again, and the very decent idea that adventures are everywhere. It is just a point of view.

If anything in the book is a spoiler, it is the details of a trip to North Korea. I won’t comment on it. It is worth reading for humor, philosophy, and information not generally known. I gave this four Amazon stars because the first part of the book was hilarious up until the time Annett went back to Germany. Adam traveling alone is not as interesting. But he does get his groove back so the novel ends on a high note (with humor) also.

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S.C. DiSylvester
Informative and Enjoyable Read
Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2018
Verified Purchase
I bought this book by mistake. (Sorry Adam.) I thought Bill Bryson was the author. Then I started reading it and quickly realized my favorite author did not write the book but was only recommending it. However, with each unfolding paragraph, I found a laugh-out-loud, but highly insightful and informative book, with insight not only into the facts and absurdities of the places described, but insights into the author’s self-deprecating self. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and immediately began sharing what I was learning with friends. I will buy a copy for my son, who has long aspired to be Adam, not knowing someone like Adam exists in reality. I will read the other books written by Adam, and look forward to his future works as well.

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79 people found this helpful

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Van Traveler
Wild original travel stories worth reading for many
Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2018
Verified Purchase
Interesting topic, but so much reality can be daunting, or tiring, or discouraging. But still, this seems like a good solid truthful telling about places most of don't have the stomach to visit. If it's true, it's valuable, honest, and for many, interesting enough to spend a few bucks on.

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Bill Breuer
Witty and original - but if you are looking for an insightful travel book, forget it
Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2018
Verified Purchase
This is a truly witty and humorous book. It takes you to places the pleasure seeking tourist gladly ignores and describes them with a little bit of empathy and a great deal of penetrating wit. I personally would wish that Mr Fletcher would observe less his own navel and more the weird places he visits. Generally, when he tries to meditate on his experiences or understand the places and people he visits, he shows either painful ignorance or naivete or both.. Mercifully, these passages are relatively short and not too oppressive.
Absolutely a fun read! But don't look for enlightenment.

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Elsa
Travel from the comfort of home
Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2024
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Loving this series, travel, humour, informative and insightful. What more could you want.

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Jan
A genuinely loud out loud funny book!
Reviewed in Germany on February 6, 2018
Verified Purchase

This is a genuinely loud out loud funny book. But beyond the jokes it also makes you think about the weirder parts of our big human experiment. For example, I had no idea a bunch of libertarians were trying to create their own country on the Donau (Liberland), that North Korea has twenty thousand statues of their "Dear Leaders", or that it was Belarus that suffered most from the Chernobyl disaster.

The author has a talent for phrasing simple, ordinary moments in a refreshing way. A few random examples:

"Two boys appeared, like rabbits pulled from the situation’s hat. I have no idea where they came from. Possibly a pothole."

"I didn’t want to tell Annett about my “protesters are always right” theory because she’d been known to argue using facts, while I came from more of an anecdotal background."

"My brain scurried around unlocking the vaults of my memory, searching through all the things I’d ever done wrong, presumably, so it could confess to these upfront before the waterboarding really got going."

Every page has a gem like these. It was a joy to read, especially the Israel chapter, where the author's airport ordeal actually made me cry with laughter (and possibly pity).

I hope he keeps on travelling. If so, I'll be keeping him company.

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Kindle Customer
Oddly satisfying!
Reviewed in Australia on October 3, 2021
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The intial attraction of this travelogue was the roster of unusual destinations. The surprise was the author's ability to remain open-minded throughout the challenges that his travels and his travel companions presented. During his adventures he also thoughtfully examined his relationship with his longterm girlfriend as well as the myths he had created for himself about his past. His honesty was really refreshing. The result of his reflections could perhaps be summarised by the old phrase " Wherever you go, there you are." This seems to me to be a timely reminder that whilst travel can, of course, be educational it can also be a means to undervalue the responsibilities and/or the gifts of everyday life. I will most certainly be investigating the writer's other works!

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reader
Entertaining and informative
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 20, 2018
Verified Purchase
I am a voracious reader of travelogues/memoirs from every part of the world (and I have to say that
the great majority of them make for somewhat hackneyed reading), but Adam Fletche r’s
Don’t Go There is one of the few that are an absolute delight to read.
The author has the light, poignant touch of a Bill Bryson, a David Sedaris or a Peter Mayle, and his style is fast-paced and witty, which makes the book wryly entertaining. But at the same time his tales are highly informative, and the oddities and disasters he experiences in the strange places he journeys through cast considerable light on the nature of the people and the way the countries are run.
Interlaced into all his stories is a streak of fun that has you smirking throughout, and this is cleverly balanced with the occasional flash of philosophic or sociological insight of considerable depth.
With talent such as this, I am surprised he has not yet been picked up by a mainstream publisher or journal.

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jd
Love Adam's writing style
Reviewed in Canada on January 28, 2021
Verified Purchase
Adam doesn't ever slow the book down when trying to tell the reader about which ever place he's in. There's no over done moments of realization instead it really just feels like were following a guy that could be any of us through these countries. I was worried it was going to be an eat pray love situation but instead was pleasantly surprised with Adam's British humour. Bought the second book already.

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Cliente Amazon
Entertaining modestly
Reviewed in Italy on October 5, 2018
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Easy reading but not fabulous.

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Top reviews from the United States

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5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious and insightful -- must-read for off-beaten-track travelers

4.0 out of 5 stars Go There But Remember to Come home

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative and Enjoyable Read

3.0 out of 5 stars Wild original travel stories worth reading for many

4.0 out of 5 stars Witty and original - but if you are looking for an insightful travel book, forget it

5.0 out of 5 stars Travel from the comfort of home

Top reviews from other countries

5.0 out of 5 stars A genuinely loud out loud funny book!

5.0 out of 5 stars Oddly satisfying!

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and informative

5.0 out of 5 stars Love Adam's writing style

3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining modestly

Hilarious and insightful -- must-read for off-beaten-track travelers

Go There But Remember to Come home

Informative and Enjoyable Read

Wild original travel stories worth reading for many

Witty and original - but if you are looking for an insightful travel book, forget it

Travel from the comfort of home

A genuinely loud out loud funny book!

Oddly satisfying!

Entertaining and informative

Love Adam's writing style

Entertaining modestly