Some people find themselves by sitting still. Ren found himself by leaving.
He quit his office job in London, loaded up a rucksack, and bought a one-way ticket to Bangkok—a year long search under the flickering neons of Southeast Asia for Life, Love, and Meaning.
But with hustlers, mercenaries, jailers, and a Brotherhood of Nigerians along the way, the search took longer.
And took him further.
Set in the 80s and 90s, when Burma denied visas to journalists, Beijing had one budget hotel, the USSR still existed, and the best currency was Johnny Walker Red, this memoir of wanderlust is a coming-of-age story for anyone who’s ever suspected that certainty is overrated; and that the only way to find out where you belong is to throw away the map.
Take a look at the Table of Contents for clues about Ren’s route, or read the About page for information about the author.
Editorial Note: Based upon the Ren’s UK origins, British spellings and idioms are consistently used throughout this work. Though, when choosing Rubies and Rucksacks for the title of the book, someone warned me that ‘rucksacks’ is not American word. I checked, and Google replied, “Did you mean backpacks?” So, I tested the title on a friend, and she thought I said ‘Rubies and Rough Sex.’ I assured her that there was only a little bit of rough sex in it.