East of Croydon

Travels through India and South East Asia inspired by her BBC 1 series 'The Ganges'

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About this listen

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of East of Croydon written and read by Sue Perkins.

A few years ago I was asked if I'd like to make a documentary on the Mekong River, travelling from the vast delta in Vietnam to the remote and snowy peaks of Tibet.

Up until that point, the farthest East I'd been was Torremolinos, in the Costa Del Sol.

Here's the thing:

I am scared of flying.
I have zero practical skills.
I can't survive if I am more than a three minute walk from a supermarket.
For the last seven years I have suffered with crippling anxiety
I bolt when panicked.
I cannot bear to witness humans or animals in distress
I have no ability to learn languages.
I am a terrible hypochondriac

And I am no good with boats.

So I said yes.

Adventure Travel

Asia

Entertainment & Celebrities

Travel Writing & Commentary

Women

Celebrity

Adventure

Funny

Feel-Good

Thought-Provoking

Witty

Comedy

Adventure Travel Asia Entertainment & Celebrities Travel Writing & Commentary Women Celebrity Adventure Funny Feel-Good Thought-Provoking Witty Comedy

Critic reviews

Alongside laugh-out-loud travel stories, the book also provides a moving account of her coming to terms with her father's death

Vivid, laugh-out-loud, moving

Alongside a wealth of vivid and hilarious travel stories, Sue also writes movingly about coming to terms with the recent death of her father as she stands beside the Ganges

The former Bake Off presenter journeys far out of her comfort zone on travels from India to Indonesia, sharing entertaining travel stories and a moving account of grieving for her father

An unvarnished, endearing and very funny account

Part memoir, part travel guide. A fab account full of wit and emotion

Her misadventures deliver laughs aplenty, but she's also engaged with the places, politics and crucially, the people. Enjoyable, interesting and often moving

Praise for Spectacles:

Drama, tears and laughs - Spectacles has got it all. A brilliant, touching memoir suffused with love, it reminds you that life is best lived at wonky angles. I ADORED it (Jessie Burton, Bestselling author of)

Very funny . . . It seems there are two Sue Perkins: the TV one, who gabbles and pratfalls, and the sensitive one who aches. The first of course, exists to protect the second. They can both write. The first writes comedy, the second tragedy; in this sense, reading her memoir is very like meeting her

Most relevant

Loved this travel book with a difference. I love Sue's ability to really share her experiences so personally.