Book Review: Three Men on Motorcycles

The book describes the bike ride of three men to Ladakh. It is every bullet owner’s must ride to place so the destination was no surprise. The  descriptions of the places visited are thus predictably stereotypical. What is refreshing is the style of writing. Joshi has written it as a friend would narrate his trip stories to you over a cup of coffee (or a drink if you prefer). I liked the casualness of writing. The exaggerations of experiences is fairly endearing, like the love of tandoori chicken, and losing twenty odd sunglasses in the trip. It can be anyone’s story. It is thus very relatable. What I didn’t like was the intervention of Bharathi in the wake up calls. After the first one or two episodes, it became repetitive and boring. It is a part that could have been easily edited out. The links to images from the trip are embedded within the book. And although I didn’t enjoy looking at the images on my kindle, it was good enough to tempt me to explore the website later. (www.ketanjoshi.net) I think this in itself speaks volume for the writing.

The book is a also a good read for the first time traveler to Ladakh. It provides some tips about what to expect and, how to budget travel as well. Overall a good read. Like most self published books, the trouble is that it is not edited and proof read enough. But to give him credit, this one is better than most others that I have read.

(I read a kindle edition, but his website says that a paperback has also been launched. )