By Any Means

Though it was published nearly a year ago, I caught Charley Boorman's adventure travel book, By Any Means, for the first time today, specifically to read the section on Cambodia. He was gushing in his praise for Hanuman's own Nick Ray, who acted as the fixer for Boorman's whistle-stop tour through the country, and by the time he left, Boorman had fallen in love with Cambodia. Doesn't everyone? The book was also a companion to the television series of the same name on BBC2, which was why Nick was on board as they travelled down from the Lao border and onto to Thailand via Siem Reap on a variety of transport including rocket boat, 250cc dirt-bikes, wooden boats and a bamboo train. Effectively that was the focal point of the tv series, travelling from Wicklow to Wollongong by any means of transport that was available. The more diverse the better. Full of typical enthusiasm and humour, Boorman devotes fifteen pages to his Cambodia adventures as well as half a dozen photos.