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The Two Week Traveller
Born with an insatiable wanderlust and inspired by an addiction to travel writing, but restricted by the demands of a full time job, Matthew Lightfoot set out to explore the world using his annual holiday allowance.
The Two Week Traveller tells the tales of his adventures in almost 150 countries.
Often described as ‘one of those people that things just happen to’, he lives up to his reputation with a collection of humorous, hair-raising and thought-provoking travel tales that span the entire globe.
Being chased by rogue elephants and robbed at gunpoint by a stoned policeman; accidentally cycling down an airport runway and getting trapped in a voodoo ceremony are the type of activities Matthew Lightfoot gets up to on his holidays.
Inspiration for budget travellers, self-drivers, trip planners and anyone who loves to travel but also has to work. And everyone who understands that the journey is as important as the destination.
The Two Week Traveller. When a fortnight on the beach isn’t enough.
The Two Week Traveller tells the tales of his adventures in almost 150 countries.
Often described as ‘one of those people that things just happen to’, he lives up to his reputation with a collection of humorous, hair-raising and thought-provoking travel tales that span the entire globe.
Being chased by rogue elephants and robbed at gunpoint by a stoned policeman; accidentally cycling down an airport runway and getting trapped in a voodoo ceremony are the type of activities Matthew Lightfoot gets up to on his holidays.
Inspiration for budget travellers, self-drivers, trip planners and anyone who loves to travel but also has to work. And everyone who understands that the journey is as important as the destination.
The Two Week Traveller. When a fortnight on the beach isn’t enough.
306 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 13, 2019
28 people are currently reading
559 people want to read
About the author
Matthew Lightfoot
5 books11 followersBorn with an insatiable wanderlust and inspired by an addiction to travel writing, but restricted by the demands of a full time job, Matthew Lightfoot set out to explore the world using his annual work holiday allowance.His first book,The Two Week Traveller, tells the tales of his adventures in almost 150 countries.Often described as ‘one of those people that things just happen to’, he lives up to his reputation with a collection of humorous, hair-raising and thought-provoking travel tales that span the entire globe over a period of 30 years.Being chased by rogue elephants and robbed at gunpoint by a stoned policeman; accidentally cycling down an airport runway and getting trapped in a voodoo ceremony are the sort of tales Lightfoot vividly recounts in the Two Week Traveller.
Matthew's second book, Snapshots, describes the round-the-world journey during which he wrote his first book, using thirty years of travel snapshots to jog his memory. His present day adventures take us on a campervan journey across New Zealand, to being castaway on a Fijian Island, then from the mysterious nation of Paraguay, across the countries of the high Andes by bus to South America's Pacific coast. Along the way, a series of long forgotten images lead us on a photographic exploration of the author's past adventures around the world. Lightfoot attracts incidents and his tales embark on a fast-paced tour of the people, history, cultures and eccentricities of cities around the globe, as memories are rekindled through photos appearing randomly on a laptop screen.From Kathmandu to Marrakech and Lapland to Mumbai, Snapshots introduces us to an entertaining cast of Transylvanian wolfmen, child goddesses, murderous street urchins and hairless dogs, as the author dodges international terrorists and Sunday morning rioters, gets slapped by a ghost, drinks narcotic mud from a bucket, and is caught up in a bar brawl between the US Navy and an assembly of dwarves.
Matthew's third book 'Out of the Cage' was published in 2024. After 38 years of employment, the author escaped the confines of corporate life with the intention of travelling the world. Instead of adding to his adventures in 150 countries, he found his movements restricted by the lockdowns imposed in response to the Covid pandemic.Nearly three years after leaving work he finally set forth again to discover whether it's still possible to travel independently and unplanned in a post-Covid world.
Whether travelling through Europe in a motorhome, or South East Asia and India by dilapidated buses, overnight trains and slow-boats, Matthew continues to attract the incidents and adventures featured in his first books. This time though, the travel style is slow, long term, unplanned and on a budget...what could possibly go wrong?
The author's fourth book is a departure from the format of his earlier work. The Art of Part Time Travel is a guide to making the most of your annual holiday. It's not so much what he did, as how he did it! Matthew utilised every possible trick and hack to maximise use of his precious holiday days and now he shares the knowledge gleaned over 30+ years of travelling the world. Master the Art of Part Time Travel and start planning the trip you always dreamed of taking but thought that you just didn't have time!
Matthew Lightfoot's books aim to inform as well as to entertain, and combine richly detailed story telling with evocative descriptions which transport the reader to off-the-beaten-track locations around the globe. His books are for anyone who loves to travel, whether on a two week work break or a round-the-world odyssey, and, most of all, for everyone who knows that the journey is as important as the destination.
Facebook page -The Two Week Traveller Book features videos and photos from Matthew's adventures.
You can also follow him on Twitter and Instagram @2WeekTraveller.
Matthew's second book, Snapshots, describes the round-the-world journey during which he wrote his first book, using thirty years of travel snapshots to jog his memory. His present day adventures take us on a campervan journey across New Zealand, to being castaway on a Fijian Island, then from the mysterious nation of Paraguay, across the countries of the high Andes by bus to South America's Pacific coast. Along the way, a series of long forgotten images lead us on a photographic exploration of the author's past adventures around the world. Lightfoot attracts incidents and his tales embark on a fast-paced tour of the people, history, cultures and eccentricities of cities around the globe, as memories are rekindled through photos appearing randomly on a laptop screen.From Kathmandu to Marrakech and Lapland to Mumbai, Snapshots introduces us to an entertaining cast of Transylvanian wolfmen, child goddesses, murderous street urchins and hairless dogs, as the author dodges international terrorists and Sunday morning rioters, gets slapped by a ghost, drinks narcotic mud from a bucket, and is caught up in a bar brawl between the US Navy and an assembly of dwarves.
Matthew's third book 'Out of the Cage' was published in 2024. After 38 years of employment, the author escaped the confines of corporate life with the intention of travelling the world. Instead of adding to his adventures in 150 countries, he found his movements restricted by the lockdowns imposed in response to the Covid pandemic.Nearly three years after leaving work he finally set forth again to discover whether it's still possible to travel independently and unplanned in a post-Covid world.
Whether travelling through Europe in a motorhome, or South East Asia and India by dilapidated buses, overnight trains and slow-boats, Matthew continues to attract the incidents and adventures featured in his first books. This time though, the travel style is slow, long term, unplanned and on a budget...what could possibly go wrong?
The author's fourth book is a departure from the format of his earlier work. The Art of Part Time Travel is a guide to making the most of your annual holiday. It's not so much what he did, as how he did it! Matthew utilised every possible trick and hack to maximise use of his precious holiday days and now he shares the knowledge gleaned over 30+ years of travelling the world. Master the Art of Part Time Travel and start planning the trip you always dreamed of taking but thought that you just didn't have time!
Matthew Lightfoot's books aim to inform as well as to entertain, and combine richly detailed story telling with evocative descriptions which transport the reader to off-the-beaten-track locations around the globe. His books are for anyone who loves to travel, whether on a two week work break or a round-the-world odyssey, and, most of all, for everyone who knows that the journey is as important as the destination.
Facebook page -The Two Week Traveller Book features videos and photos from Matthew's adventures.
You can also follow him on Twitter and Instagram @2WeekTraveller.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 22, 2019
A well written book of travel adventures in numerous countries, some of which are funny, others quite moving and many rather scary! Before starting the book, after reading the authors intro about having visited so many countries, I was initially concerned (yet interested) how these could be captured without interrupting the continuity of the narrative. But all the stories are interlinked by the chapter and subject titles, which enabled a perfect flow of the ending of one chapter to a beginning of the next. The narrative is very descriptive and as I was reading I could picture in my mind the scenes of the adventures as they were being played out. I liked the fact that amongst the tales, there was exactly the right balance of interesting facts of history and information about the location being visited. Whilst I read the full book in only a few days (as I found it hard to put down), it could equally be read in short sittings due to the style of the writing. I am sincerely hoping that there will be a follow-up book by this author!
October 30, 2019
I enjoyed this book and found it represented quite a unique angle compared to usual travel books. The author has travelled all over the world using only his two week work holidays and had some amazing adventures along the way. It's a well written account, with a range of tales which are scary, funny and informative. There was just the right balance between anecdotes and background info on each country, and although it covers multiple trips in different regions, there is a logical flow via the chapter subjects. The descriptions of places allow you to imagine being there, though I'm glad I wasn't in some of the situations he experienced! An entertaining and informative read.
October 2, 2019
PLEASE BUY THIS BOOK!!!
This book is what we have all been waiting for.. Such a laugh out loud yet informative at the same time. Excellent read...can almost imagine you are with the author on his travels. Well written and hilarious. Please please please do book 2
This book is what we have all been waiting for.. Such a laugh out loud yet informative at the same time. Excellent read...can almost imagine you are with the author on his travels. Well written and hilarious. Please please please do book 2
November 4, 2019
I was recommended this book by a friend and was a little dubious as it's the author's first book and I tend to limit my reading to more established authors. However, in the spirit of everyone having to start somewhere I decided to buy it and I'm really glad I did! It seems the author has come to writing later in life, having amassed over 30 years of travel anecdotes, and I was left wondering why he didn't do so sooner. The premise is that he's used his annual holiday allowance from work to travel to some surprising and frankly dangerous places over the years and not surprisingly had a few adventures on the way -some as a result of bad luck, others probably bad judgement!
It's an easy to read, entertaining account with a good few laughs on the way but also sections which I found quite poignant and others where you wonder how he got out alive. He conjures up images of the places he's in well, and, being a history buff, I enjoyed the back stories included covering things like the Pol Pot era in Cambodia and the Rwandan genocide. Really good book. Recommended.
It's an easy to read, entertaining account with a good few laughs on the way but also sections which I found quite poignant and others where you wonder how he got out alive. He conjures up images of the places he's in well, and, being a history buff, I enjoyed the back stories included covering things like the Pol Pot era in Cambodia and the Rwandan genocide. Really good book. Recommended.
January 28, 2023
We bumped into Matthew and Kirsty at a little bar in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, when Matthew mentioned he’d written a few books. They were such friendly and down to earth people, so I picked up a copy. Started reading out of politeness, and kept reading because this is a genuinely great memoir - funny and surprising and written with a warm humility and respect for the people and places they meet along the way. Loved it :)
January 6, 2024
A mild travelogue told as anecdotes - usually at the expense of the author, and with great respect to his travel companion. None were overwhelmingly funny or interesting, but it made for great late night reading for the same reason. Nicely tied up at the end, Lightfoot has traveled to far more places than most people ever will.
February 11, 2020
A quick and easy read. Starts out slow and a little boring but after 50 pages it finds its footing and is a pleasure to read. A guys takes a two week adventure travel vacation with his gal for 20 plus years. He has a sense of adventure and of course not everything goes smoothly. This book is about his hic-cups while on vacation, robberies, accidents, encounters with many wildlife creatures. He gets into some pretty good predicaments.
February 19, 2025
Seeing that I'm on a limited time schedule for vacations, this book's title somewhat appealed to me. Like Lightfoot, which seems an apt name for a travel writer, I prefer to rent my own car and go to places I like on my own schedule. Plus, it keeps me from getting car sick. : D His many but short adventures have further motivated me to go to places around the world even if for a short time. The memories are worth it, and as they say, "At the end of life, memories are that you have left." (Unless you have Alzheimer's.)
December 31, 2022
Great writing style and some funny stories from around the world. The whole point of the book is that you can really go anywhere and do anything in a two week holiday and on that point I found the book very inspiring.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews