Books

First-Time Asia: A Rough Guide Special (Rough Guide, pounds 7.99) by Lucy Ridout and Lesley Reader

First-Time Asia accurately, and amusingly, defines the travel bore as one "who gets his jollies by insisting to newcomers that the only way to have a really authentic Asian experience is to stay in a particular rat-infested, flea pit, tottering on stilts over a mosquito swamp". Having twice-cancelled holidays in Asia at the last minute through irrational fears, I needed a book like this.

My overriding worries were: being alone and being a woman; being alone and being ill; and being alone and not able to make myself understood. First-Time Asia, confronts these head on.

My fears as a woman are not unfounded, it appears. Harassment, verbal and physical, is unfortunately alive and flourishing across the continent. To counter this, the authors, both women, offer advice such as adopting a mythical husband: "Some women travellers wear a ring, carry his photograph and pictures of the mythical kids with which to bore potential pests."

But there is little hope for me if I fall ill. I am advised to take along a good book on travellers health, which "can make for interesting if gory reading while you are squatting over the toilet for the twentieth time that day".

I know that trying out the local lingo can be fun, but not being able to speak a word? Reassuringly, English is widely accepted as the language of tourism in Asia, and Bahasa Indonesia is officially recognised as the easiest language in the world - I'll try Indonesia first.

While this guide is not comprehensive, it is far more useful than the ramblings of any travel-bore.