Book Review - Adrift - A Junket Junkie in Europe

Author: Puneetinder Kaur Sidhu
Publishers: Leadstart Publishing
Price:150/-

As most of you know, I am an incurable travel addict. I have to go on a trip at least once every 3-4 months or I am left feeling extremely dissatisfied and restless with my life. I am also a sucker for travelogues so when Blog Adda had "Adrift – A Junket Junkie in Europe" up for review I grabbed it in a flash!

"Adrift – A Junket Junkie in Europe" is written by Puneetinder, a thirty something travel enthusiast who spent a very happy summer traveling through Europe. As someone who has just spend a month travelling across UK and Canada, I was very keen to read what a fellow travel enthusiast had written!

Personally, the reason this book apealed to me was because my and Puneetinder’s views on travel are very similar. Like her I am perpetually afflicted with the travel itch, the never ending desire to explore, experience and relish whatever the world has to offer us both in terms of travel destinations and culinary delights. Like her, I also treat travel as an escape from the mundane and sometimes unpleasant realities of life. It is a “soothing balm and the light at the end of the tether” as Puneetinder rightly points out. Like me Puneetinder also believes in letting her heart rule her mind as far as travel goes and believes more in unchartered random travels that characterize a true travel gypsy rather than following a fixed boring itinerary.

One fine day, Puneetinder decides that she is not too satisfied by the way life is turning out. Naturally she chooses travel to escape her problems! She had an unutilized air ticket to London which she promptly puts to good use. Before she sets out, she lays down a few cardinal rules of travel such as “I shall avoid all tour operators” (something I whole heartedly agree to!); and other equally important dictates’ such as avoiding all summer romances on the way,avoiding consumption of fast food and seeing too many places in a day!

While in London, her aunt in Germany offers her indefinite stay at her house provided Puneetinder cooks Indian meals for the family! Puneetinder promptly takes up the offer and hence begins her travels across Europe as she hops from one country to the next, staying with various cousins and friends scattered across the continent. 

In true sense of adventure, she shuns journeys by air or rail and instead uses “Mitfahrzentrale “a car pooling service that enables her to travel across Europe in a much more cost effective manner. Among other countries, she covers Sweden, Hungary France and Austria where she falls head over heels in love with Vienna.

The style of writing is very simple yet the descriptions make you feel as if you are actually seeing the places through her eyes. Her joy as she savors the different cultures, cuisines and places is almost palpable. The book is rather a delightful amalgam of anecdotes and interesting descriptions of the places she has been to. She shows us the “Asli Europe” as Shahrukh khan says in DDLJ. Puneetinder has a wry sense of humor and a very happy go lucky attitude - two things that always make a good traveler , and the two things that make this book such a pleasure to read.

I do have one complaint regarding this book. The book doesn’t have a normal Index but a few lines explaining what each chapter contains. While some people might appreciate this, I don’t really like the idea much! It was like knowing the end of a movie before you even begin to watch it! I like to keep the expectancy alive as I read a book.

However this book is a delightful read for anyone who has even the slight love for travel running in their veins!

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