Bombay to Beijing by Bicycle

"Congratulations," said Dr Chawla. "You are having the malaria."

And so begins Russell McGilton's comic adventure as he attempts to cycle from Bombay to Beijing in the quest of writing his travel opus.

Pedalling furiously for China, McGilton's tour de force rides the reader through an honest handlebar view on the absurdities and fragile wonders of travel from the saddle. He rides, he falls, he gets chased by wild dogs, eats things he shouldn't, battles tropical hallucinations and finds himself at the hands of the curious Dr Chawla.

Not quite the Lonely Planet guide to sun and sex.