Travel Literature

Travel Literature

Part 1

To me the extract from Old Glory: A Voyage down the Mississippi was the most effective. To me it is attention grabbing from the start when there was the part where he compared the raccoons to a school boy and a beggar, he says they are good at somethings but not at others. He says this when he said that they were "Supremely talented, in a schoolboy way, at night exercises, at noisy raids on garbage cans, at climbing trees, they had no gift at all for crossing roads. Bright lights mesmerized them, and they died careless hobos' deaths on the wooded edges of tiny unincorporated towns." This added some humor into the text already. To me some of the most important parts of a Travel Log are things like humor, interesting happenings and being able to relate, which I mean like when you say "that could happen to me". But things also have to be close to the truth and not exaggerated to get it right or else you won't believe a word of the text.

Part 2

A Cross Country Tour

I cruised along in my car, the highway was relatively empty with only a few 16 wheelers and travelers like me. Besides the roadkill every once in a while and some big dairy farms once every twenty five kilometers where wasn't much, maybe those diners too. I turned on the radio and skimmed through the stations, there were your news stations, pop stations and so on. I stayed on a  country station and hummed to the tune of the song. I checked my gas meter and saw it was running low but I was fifteen kilometers to the nearest town and my remaining gas would only last eight. Either I had a long walk ahead or I had to be really, really lucky. I decided to get as far as I could then try my luck.

Eight kilometers and an empty gas tank later I pulled over to the side of the road. I got out and I tried to flag down some cars for some help but none would stop, but God help me when I looked and saw what was maybe, ten or twenty bikes riding towards me. The riders looked bad to the bone, part of a biker gang most likely. I hoped they would keep on going but of course, that didn't happen they stopped. Their leader, or at least what looked to be approached me. I was expecting some mean words or something from them but maybe that was my naivety. He flashed me a great big smile. His voice was deep and rich, not unlike that of Morgan Freeman's. He said five words. Five words that were those of an angel's.

"Do you need help son?"

Turned out they were quite nice guys despite everything that's said about them. They even gave me some gas, free of charge. I thanked them and they went on their way, even giving me an extra gasoline can in case I needed it. And so, I started up my car and drove on, towards Juarez.

The Tyler Hike Recording(s) (Openings)

Openings

Part 1

To me opening 7 appealed to me, I mean don't you want to know what happened to the man and what is going to happen to him? It opens up the story in a abrupt but interesting way and the description of the state of the man is attention grabbing. The rapid fire conversation going on between the flight attendant and the protagonist is enough to tell you why the protagonist was in there but not enough to slow down the pace set by the opening. The short closing of the opening (or prologue?) is enough for me to want to know what is going to happen to him and what has happened to him.

Part 2

I can't die. Are you happy now? I've said what you wanted me to say.

No?

Still listening to me?

Yes?

So you want to know what happened and what I know is going to happen?

So to clarify the "I can't die" statement let me explain who I am and what I am.

I'm immortal and invincible, trapped forever in my bodily age of seventeen, though I'm technically twenty two right now as of this recording. My name is Tyler Hike though I didn't remember that at the beginning, just after I woke up, after I escaped from you. I know you're just documenting me and that the more secretive side of your agency will handle the data afterwards and they want to know what I've been doing from my own view, even when you know everything. In case you don't know the project and specimen, which is me, was called Zeus. Power and Invincibility packed into one package, one body. No matter what happens come explosions or gun fire, I'd just knit myself together again, well more specifically the things in my blood. They'll heal me no matter what happens. I could push my self to the limits and beyond because of the things in my blood. I'm no longer human, I'm better than human, better than you. But you're going to keep me locked up here because I'm tired of fighting, tired of running, tired of escaping. You may laugh at that but I don't really care since it's true.

So I'm going to tell you everything I have seen, everywhere I've been, everything I've done.

But let me warn you I don't give a damn about anything you can do to me, since you can't kill me, not since I killed Heckler. Now I'm just going to tell you about everything. I'm not going to do anything to help me escape.

At least not yet.

(I went over the limit at 319 words but is that fine?)

The City of Singapore

The City of Singapore

The City of Singapore, beautiful

The sound of its people, oh so peaceful,

The Colours and lights of downtown

The crowded sounds of Chinatown,

There is not a service

Where workers are nervous,

The Bubble Tea

Wish it was free,

But it

Is not.