Hotspots and Dodgy Places

About the Book

He visits a bizarre flower-show in Pyongyang, crosses confusing ethno-religious fault lines in the Balkans and Lebanon, drinks tea with friendly Yemenis near Osama bin Laden’s ancestral village, explores prehistoric caves with Tuareg tribesmen in Libya, and plays Indiana Jones among pyramids shortly after a rebel attack on Khartoum. Through long-forgotten characters, bizarre coincidences of history and personal stories of individuals he encountered, Wee Cheng turns faraway lands alive, and convinces the reader that these are more than just places in the news.


About the Author

Singaporean Tan Wee Cheng is a self-confessed travel junkie who had visited more than 170 countries. He is listed in the 2008 Book of Singapore Records as the Singaporean who had been to the most number of countries. He has a weak spot for controversial places and a tendency to get into minor troubles, such as getting arrested by corrupt police in Bulgaria, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and the rebel state of Transdniestria (Moldova).

Wee Cheng worked in the financial sector in Singapore, the UK and China. He currently teaches in this area at the local Universities.


His first book The Greenland Seal Hunter, also a collection of travel stories, was published by Marshall Cavendish in 2005.