Two Friends on Many Roads: Travel Tales from Near and Far is a tastefully knitted collection of travel stories written by authors, Srianthi Perea and Romany Kadurugamuwa.
Good travelogues are personal narratives of travels, presenting a glimpse into the experiences, reactions, and revelations of the traveller. This, I believe, the two authors of Two Friends on Many Roads: Travel Tales from Near and Far have achieved in spades. Each writer covers intriguing destinations and events in the USA, Canada, the Sultanate of Oman, Jordan, Turkey, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Greece, Sri Lanka, India, Vietnam, Japan and Thailand.
Among numerous journeys, Perera takes the reader along to witness the whirling dervishes of Istanbul who gyrate to release the ego hoping to be close to God. With her, we observe the riotous colour of marigolds floating on the Ganges River alongside spiritual practices in the sacred city of Varanasi. Then, we’re by her side as she precariously balances atop a donkey on her way up to a mountain monastery in Petra, Jordan.
Authors Srianthi Perea and Romany Kadurugamuwa
With Kadurugamuwa, we vicariously absorb the joy and euphoria when the Berlin Wall, the most notable symbol of division between communist and capitalist Europe, came down in 1989. We’re beside her as she takes a moment to reflect at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, as she strolls among the palaces, gardens and numerous Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines in Kyoto, Japan and while she photographs the Arch of Titus in Rome.
Keep the reader engaged
Unusual sights and locations abound like Perera’s visit to Golda Meir’s home, now a museum situated within an educational campus in Denver, Colorado or her unexpected chance upon the fascinating Dushanbe Tea House in Boulder, Colorado serving among other things, “tea cocktails” – tea infused with alcohol, an alien concoction for us Sri Lankans!
I wanted to joyfully join Kadurugamuwa on a ride in a driverless taxi in San Francisco and on an Uber ride at a traffic light stop in Delhi to impulse buy a book from a preteen salesman who had an uncanny psychic ability to select the exact book she wanted!
Perera, a freelance journalist-cum-writer resides in the USA and Kadurugamuwa, a recently retired reference librarian as well as a freelance writer splits time between homes in Sri Lanka and the USA.
Being lovers of the written word in their respective careers, the authors hold an exceptional ability to keep the reader engaged in relishing their adventures by their rich and varied writing styles, sharing of sensory details of memorable places and interesting people they encountered. The narratives are peppered with humour and quirky snippets of conversations which add another pleasing dimension. The authors also artfully insert cultural and social observations, myths, historical and political backgrounds to add balance and depth to their travel tales.
An engrossing blend
The adventures are interspersed with diverse food–from a cup of strong, burning tea Bedu-style in Petra, Jordan, then more tea, dainty sandwiches with shrimp mousse and other mouth-watering culinary delights at the Fairmont Empress in Victoria, British Columbia; a whole Elephant Ear Fish thrown in to the lunch mix in Vietnam; the familiar aroma of freshly baked maalu paan from a village bakery in Karandeniya, Sri Lanka; a feast of Japanese delicacies in Tokyo; sharing a “pizza al taglio topped with marinated artichoke, arugula, mozzarella, and fontina cheese,” (Kadurugamuwa, pg 136) in Rome, Italy and many more.
If you are into diverse entertainment media or enjoy a multi-genre reading habit, then you will love the references to films, TV series, music and books. I found it an engrossing blend! : The Last Crusade, Pursuit of Happyness , Stamboul Train, Murder on the Orient Express, Jason and the Argonauts, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Sound of Music, The Big Valley, Little Women, Travels with Charley, Becoming, Faust, North: The Musical, Jim Reeves and Elvis all make appearances within these captivating travel tales.
History and trivia buffs will be satisfied with rich details woven into the destinations to connect past events with the authors’ experiences. We learn that in California’s Redwood Forest, the oldest redwood trees could be more than 2,200 years old. Apparently, an impressive fact is that these trees are “carbon-storing powerhouses able to stockpile 890 metric tons of carbon per acre, which is the equivalent of removing 700 passenger vehicles from the road.” (Kadurugamuwa, pg 148-149) The sorrowful history of slave labour comes alive at a sugarcane plantation in Vacherie, Louisiana: “…sugar and slavery went hand in glove. Sugar slaves were purchased from the auction block at the New Orleans slave markets that received a steady supply of the human cargo from West Africa.” (Perera, pg 173)
Explore the world
Whether one has a strong desire for travel or a curiosity for cultures, global events and issues beyond one’s immediate environment, this book will refreshingly instruct and entertain. At a personal level, there were many places in the travelogue that I am yet to explore, thus piquing my interest to excitedly google architectural structures, events and locations as I read along.
As the book’s Introduction disclosed, the book is as much the authors’ celebration of over half a century of friendship as it is to the appreciation of travel. The travelogue chapters span many decades from 1986 to 2023.
In a postscript, the authors mention that their stories are like “snapshots frozen in time, they have not been revised since the original visits,” encouraging readers who are inspired to experience their efforts to seek updated information on the locations and events.
These travel tales are highly recommended not only for travel bugs but also for those who enjoy being transported around the globe while in the comfort of their homes and who champion a sense of kinship and appreciation for the many peoples of this world.
