Always a Traveler, Never a Tourist: In Search of People and Places on the Road Less Traveled

by Judy Bloomberg

Judy Bloomberg has been an intrepid traveler for over 50 years, visiting 115 countries in every corner of the world. This book is a collection of 294 of the best (mostly full-page) photos from those trips, focusing on the most exotic destinations on all seven continents (and the people who inhabit them), along with insights and anecdotes about traveling off the beaten path. From colorful festivals like the Goroka Show in Papua New Guinea and Carnival in Rio to daily life in places like Lake Titicaca and rural Ethiopia, these photographs beautifully capture the amazing diversity of peoples who inhabit our world. A perfect gift for any armchair traveler.

Genres: Travel, Photography, Nonfiction, Art

252 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 26, 2021

About the author

Judy Bloomberg has been an intrepid traveler for 50 years, and has explored over 120 countries on all seven continents. Whenever possible, she immerses herself in the culture and daily life of the places she visits through home stays, volunteer work, and participation in the celebrations and life cycle events of the inhabitants. When not traveling, she lives in Massachusetts with her husband, Mark, and plans her next adventure.

Reviews

[Judy Bloomberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ll be completely honest. I wrote it and I’m really proud of it. It’s the capstone of 50 years of travel off the beaten path, to about 115 countries on every continent. I tried to select photos that really captured the spirit of indigenous peoples all over the world and gave an insight into a traditional way of life that is, sadly, rapidly vanishing.

[Joe Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful book! Bloomberg really has an eye for photographing people, and these pictures highlight how much amazing cultural diversity there is in the world. I may buy a couple more for my friends for Christmas.

[Roberta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a beautiful book filled with pictures and descriptions of very interesting places that Ms. Bloomberg visited in her trips around the word. Perfect book for your coffee table collection

[Franny Holt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a feast for the eyes and wonderful book for any armchair traveler. Focuses on photography of some of the world's least visited places, like Ethiopia, Bhutan, and Papua New Guinea ... places I'd love to visit, but probably never will. I loved all the photographs of people in traditional dress, living life in such a traditional way. Also contains wonderful photos of places like Antarctica (where there are no people, but lots of penguins).

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing photos of indigenous peoples from some of the world’s most remote countries.

[Beverly Katz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The picture of the woman on the cover is priceless! I couldn't wait to read the book to see what other wonderful photos awaited inside, and I was not disappointed! There are wonderful faces from all over the world - Ethiopia, Peru, Papua New Guinea, Viet Nam and so many more. Many travel photographers focus on beautiful scenery or wildlife, but Bloomberg has a fascination with people and it is wonderful to see the diversity of people that exist in the world. Her photos of daily life in the least visited places in the world is truly enlightening, and her images of people at the world's most colorful festivals (like the Goroka Show in Papua New Guinea) are absolutely jaw dropping!

[Judy Gross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Because I am not a world traveler, this book gave me a vicarious experience of our world. It is filled with beautiful illustrations showing native garb and face painting.

[Judy Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The photographs in this book are amazing! So many different out of the way places. Papua New Guinea, Ethiopia, Mongolia, Bhutan ... These are places that most of us will never have a chance to visit, but it is really wonderful to experience them as an armchair traveler.

[Josette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the photos in this book! Great book for traveling vicariously to some of the world's most exotic places.

[Carol Sheingold · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that will continue to delight for many years. I seem to find something new or interesting each time I open it. Photographs taken from places I will probably never visit, but have wanted to know more about - each one captures not only a personality or moment in time, but often the soul of its subject. I especially like the author's interesting - but not laborious - introductions to each section. They provide a geographical, historical, cultural, and/or religious context for the photos that follow. The colorful photos are stunning in many cases, and always interesting and informative. The book opens up the world in a new and different way for me.

[Cindy Coan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spectacular photos

I throughly enjoyed Judy Bloomberg's, Always a Traveler, Never a Tourist. Her book is full of spectacular photos from her worldwide travels. She takes us through the streets and into villages and markets where she has captured authentic moments of the local people from "roads less traveled". We are able to visit places like Bhutan, Viet Nam and Cuba through her photos.

Bloomberg's book is a beautiful collection of culture, color and customs. Enjoy!!

[Bob Payne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The focus of this book by a traveler who has spent fifty years journeying off the beaten path is not the words but the page after page of images, mostly of people, whose portraits open a world of far places. The relatively few words she does use, however, are perceptive, such as a reason for visiting other cultures is “to learn how we are different and (perhaps even more importantly) how we are the same.”

[Becky Brittain · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such an interesting and beautiful book There are so many places in the world that one might consider travelling to and now thanks to Judy, we are moving away from our comfort zone and have made a list! The photos are of the peoples were captivating an called to us to visit some. This is a beautiful coffee table book that will give to several friends for holiday gifting.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book makes me want to travel to far-off places! The photographs of indigenous people in the forgotten corners of the world are just breathtaking and make me want to know so much more about the people behind the faces.

[Lois Debs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for the armchair traveler!

[Karin Tramm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Judy Bloomberg does a beautiful job spinning her travel tales through the magic of photography. Thanks Judy for an eye opening virtual trip around the world!

[Marj Pechet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautifull book which I proudly display on my coffee table.I have only visited 20 countries so I was thrilled to read Ms.Bloomberg’s commentaries on places most of which were unfamiliar to me.In addition she has quite a discerning eye in capturing our common humanity.I highly recommend it especially for a gift for the holidays.