BAD KARMA is for the young and young-at-heart who will enjoy the author’s brash take on lesser known spots in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. 

As Australian Tamara Sheward and sidekick, Eli, indulge their adventurous appetites with sometimes reckless abandon, their escapades highlight many pitfalls that await travelers out on their own, the ones who want to experience the “real” Southeast Asia. 

The 300-plus page paperback is an eye-opener that the things we take for granted in our home countries are rarely accessible in far away lands (such as fast food establishments like the famous McD, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken, etc)  

Wickedly funny, even if the Aussie slang requires some translation, Sheward reveals the less than ordinary side of these once little-known places to tourists.  

If anything, visitors should always carry extra local currency, especially farangs (foreigners) who are easy targets for inflated prices e.g. bus tickets, visas, etc.  

The colorful travelogues on the people, visitors and locals alike, give travel writing that “edge” on normally flat narratives.  

Reminds me of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice by Tahir Shah, minus the expletives! 

- Bridget Azeez