Audiobooks by Graham Field

I Could Have Been A Dreamer: Cycling China in the Wrong Gear and Bound for Thailand

Cycling China in the wrong gear and bound for Thailand In this, the 2nd Audio book of the Rambling On trilogy, the load gets lighter and the speed slower, but Graham Field’s objective remains the same: he is fully focused on making the route to his demise as pleasurable as possible. And so the quest to his Chinese destiny begins. Now relieved of the whiskey, the road nevertheless continues to be an uphill struggle, not helped by the sub-zero winter temperatures. But being towed behind trucks and loaded on to buses evens out the ratio of endurance and pleasure. Along the way, Graham proves that, with a little manipulation, a dream can become a reality. Above the suffocating city pollution, he finds a clearer view of China upon a 2,000-year-old trading route through Shangri-La to Tibet. This revered road tempts with a Chinese whisper: an alluring ascent that calls to be ridden in a solitary trance of wonderment. As the author pushes on, he promises himself, should he reach that pinnacle of personal achievement, the run-off reward will be relaxation. With the descent into Thailand there is a change of gear. The gulf widens as he searches for the perfect beach retreat, refusing to be palmed off as a sex tourist. One day at a time, that’s how a journey progresses, that’s how a diary is written and a tale is told. It’s far less daunting that way. This audio book contains bonus outtakes from the recording sessions

Graham Field (Author), Graham Field (Narrator)

Audiobook

I Should Have Left the Whiskey: Cycling Asia with Heavy Baggage and Relative Density

I Should Have Left the Whiskey is the first book in the Rambling On trilogy – compelling tales from a time when motorcycles were left in the shed and global exploration slowed to the pace of cycling. These diaries divulge two very different journeys in Asia: because progressing into enlightened India required some back-pedalling through darkest Thailand en route to China. After impulsively purchasing a bicycle in Bangkok and taking to the frantic city streets, Graham was hit by the realisation that life in the fast lane could have an impact on his health. Pedalling away from the madding crowd, he hauled his heavy load to mountain settlements lost somewhere in time. Desperate and dehydrated, he was subjected to all that the lonely road bestows upon the soul. It soon became apparent that whiskey was not the best choice of refreshment. However, he rebelliously refused to abandon the bottle or the mission, keeping his glassy eyes fully focused on what was ahead. A year later, having eliminated some of the heavier baggage from that journey, he found himself in southern India. Surely, this coast-hugging, palm-shaded backwater route would be a breeze … but the easy road is not always the right path. Had reckless decisions taken him beyond his abilities? With flashbacks, foresight and the riotous brutal honesty that is confined to a diary, all will be revealed.

Graham Field (Author), Graham Field (Narrator)

Audiobook

I Should Have Left the Whiskey: Cycling Asia with Heavy Baggage and Relative Density

Graham Field (Author), Graham Field (Narrator)

Audiobook

Not Working: Diary of an English Migrant Attempting Early Retirement in Bulgaria

The summer wine didn’t last, it’s time to open the autumn whisky… In this follow-up to the much-loved Near Varna, join Graham Field as he continues his search to find the good life in Bulgaria. Preparing for the first winter in his new home, ready to embrace the slower pace of early retirement, he soon discovers that it’s not working. From floods to explosions, from protection rackets to hospitalisations, from coping with the death of his hero to trying to find solace in a confusing and abstract relationship, this is a frank, funny and always heartfelt story of how not working doesn’t always work out, and it might just be Graham’s wildest ride yet. Not Working is the second instalment in Graham’s celebrated Near Varna series, the hilarious and honest account of one man selling up, buying time, and investing in a new and leisurely life because, much like the readers of this diary, he is in no hurry to get to the end. Wonderfully disseminating all the machinations, logistics and travails of what it means to move to a brand-new country for the first time, Not Working soars up from the humour and wordplay readers have grown to love in Graham Field's books to a new level of prose, one both poetic and profound.

Graham Field (Author), Graham Field (Narrator)

Audiobook

Near Varna: When you've found you greener grass. part 1

Why do we travel, what are we looking for, and will we recognise it if we find it? With the author’s 50th birthday looming, there seemed a need for something significant to happen. Not seeing an expiry date on his birth certificate made it hard to gauge when to have a mid-life crisis, but he’d almost definitely left it too late. On Midsummer’s Day Graham embarked on what he expected to be an unadventurous European tour on a KTM Adventure motorcycle to contemplate the imminent homelessness he was facing. With the feeling that the oyster his world had previously been was now merely resembling a shell of its former self, decisions had to be made. This is a tantalising insight into the mind of a wanderer who found the greener grass that had evaded him over a lifetime of travel. Discovering a place he thought didn’t exist led him to take a reckless gamble based on a gut feeling. This is the author’s fourth published diary, always humorous, insightful, reflective, anecdotal and, ultimately, brutally honest. On first impression, Bulgaria met every need, the best of every country he’d found in his explorations - uncrowded and untamed, with snow-capped mountains and Black Sea beaches, exotic neighbours in Islamic Turkey, sun-baked and bankrupt Greece, mystic Romania and recently unsettled Serbia. Twenty-five years after the fall of communism, the European Union’s most easterly member felt like a place where east met west. As the summer passed, it soon transpired there was far more to immigrating than simply relocating. Nirvana is a place where, once found, roots grow, and the pace of life slows to seasonal changes. But ties have to be severed before you can unplug, sit back and watch with wonder as the planet rotates , all whilst trying not to drink too much. This book is a welcome return to a style of travel writing that offers the reader something both achievable and inspirational, and it’s the carefully crafted narrative at the centre of it which drives it so crucially.

Graham Field (Author), Graham Field (Narrator)

Audiobook

Different Natures: And the Spaces In-Between

Different Natures takes you on three journeys. Each gives an honest and passionate insight into the evolution of a compulsive traveller. Looking for direction with the wrong eyes spawned Graham's lust for wandering, the miles cleared his vision and the hunger for longer distance grows with an insatiable appetite for new experiences. Based on his diaries spanning a twelve-year period of travel from the Arctic Circle to Mexico, Graham Field's journeys are his life. Inevitably these experiences increase his awareness as he passes through various natures of both a reluctant maturity and the extreme environments between his destinations. From midnight sun to darkest nights, there's as much diversity in these tales as common threads.

Graham Field (Author), Graham Field (Narrator)

Audiobook

Eureka

Who tries to ride deep into Iraq just to see if the news reports are accurate, ends up joining a street demonstration against someone else's government, or sticks their arm between the jaws of a wild mountain wolf-dog?After the success of his first book, In Search of Greener Grass, Graham Field hits the road again with his bargain-basement KLR650, recording his experiences in his inimitable and revealingly honest diary style. The Caucasus region is often overlooked by travelers, but Graham may inadvertently be about to change all that.A single pivotal event can transform any journey, and accepting rather than fighting that moment can have glorious consequences for the traveler. In this instant the result ensures a fantastic exploration of eastern Europe and beyond, the discovery of a hidden gem in Georgia, and meanderings that leave us all much richer.Ultimately, Eureka is an almost accidental realization that we cannot control our mood on the road, but merely embracing it can be the most enlightening travel experience of all.

Graham Field (Author), Graham Field (Narrator)

Audiobook

In Search of Greener Grass

Destined to appeal to anyone with a passion for bikes, travel and adventure, In Search of Greener Grass is a fascinating account of the author's adventurous travels by motorbike and his life as a whole. Written with a refreshing self disparaging, dry and cynical wit, this is part handbook - Graham's journey is covered from the pitfalls of pedantic preparation to the dilemma of disposing of a bike with which Graham formed a deep bond on the way to journey's end - and part life story, full of anecdotes and life enhancing realisations collected over a quarter century of travel on and off the road. Graham's narrative is full of light-hearted but insightful observations, occasional wisdom and sporadic alcohol-fueled inspiration. His account is a little rebellious, but generally defiant. The book describes the enlightenment he found, insecurities discovered, banter, babblings and bollocks that perhaps should have stayed inside the crash helmet. Riding east to Mongolia and then a bit further, discovering truths, doubting their accuracy and reassessing it all again. Graham rides into the semi-researched but mostly unknown, stops briefly before compulsively moving on again, deciding that contentment must be around the next corner, occasionally finding it and then missing it.

Graham Field (Author), Graham Field (Narrator)

Audiobook