The Lesser Known Travel Tips memoirs are a hilarious series of travel misadventures and dubious personal introspection by Australian author Simon Yeats, who from an early age learned that the best way to approach the misfortunes of this world is to laugh about them.
Welcome to the August 22nd stop on the blog tour for Lesser Known Travel Tips Series by Yeats with Goddess Fish Promotions. Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for spotlights, reviews, more guest posts, and a giveaway! More on that at the end of this post.
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Author Guest Post
How to handle negative criticism.
When faced with criticism, is it always wise to think how would James Dean handle criticism? I don’t know; he killed himself because he was not smart enough to be wearing a seat belt while speeding in his car. So, I simply imagine that anyone who criticizes me is no different from James Dean. Even though the critic probably thinks they have more smarts, talent, and clout than me. They are probably still not smart enough to take care of some basic things in this life, like wearing a seat belt while driving a car. So why should I care what they think? This has been the epiphany that traveling and having worldly experience has given to me. I am astoundingly confident that no one else in this world has been through what I have been through. Has not seen what I have seen, done what I have done, or been where I have been. This is not arrogance, it is common sense. It is simply the fact that while any person has the right to criticize my writing, or my colorful language, or my poor and naïve decision making in life, I also have the right to criticize them back and would destroy any critic with one simple question, “really, well what have you done in life?” So handling negative criticism is easy. Which is why I choose to write memoirs versus making up fictional stories that require a much more difficult response than simply, “think arguing with a taxi driver standing in the middle of an intersection in Hong Kong in the pouring rain while naked in a bathrobe is stupid, well have you ever done it? Don’t knock it till you try it.”
About the Books
The Lesser Known Travel Tips memoirs are a hilarious series of travel misadventures and dubious personal introspection by Australian author Simon Yeats, who from an early age learned that the best way to approach the misfortunes of this world is to laugh about them.
Simon shares his comedic insights into the unusual and uproarious elements of living life as an Aussie ex-pat and having a sense of Wanderlust as pervasive as the Spanish Flu in 1918 or hordes of Mongols in 12th Century.
From how to keep yourself entertained when unwittingly forced to watch 11 hours of live sumo wrestling in Japan, to surviving heartbreak in India at the hands of a French flight attendant, to 48 hours spent in Nepal that qualify as the funniest most gut wrenching travel experience since Captain Bligh was set adrift in the Pacific, to his unsuccessful attempts at avoiding going to a brothel in Thailand. From what to do when several people converge to rob you after midnight on a deserted Copacabana Beach, to how to save the Sierra Mountain Range from a wildfire outbreak due to a lack of quality toilet paper, to where not to go in Tijuana when trying to locate the origins to stories of the city’s mythical adult entertainment, to how to save yourself from drowning when caught in a storm while sailing off the California coast. From how to outwit the Italian police while trying to find parking in downtown Genoa, to how to negotiate exploring the Roman ruins of Plovdiv, Bulgaria while on crutches, to how to impress the German Mafia with 80s dance moves, to how to leave a lasting impression on a crowded bar in Gothenburg, Sweden after combining alcohol and antibiotics.
Simon Yeats has gone into the world and experienced all the out of the ordinary moments for you to sit back and enjoy the experience without the need to break a leg, contract Dengue fever, or rupture a pancreas.
How to Start a Riot in a Brothel in Thailand by Ordering a Beer and Other Lesser Known Travel Tips
by Simon yeats
Published 18 October 2023
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir
Page Count: 216
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!
Book 1 of the hilarious book series that those in the know will want to read on the train to work so they laugh so freaking hard that they scare away the other commuters allowing them to have two seats to themselves.
Life was not meant to be easy, Simon Yeats’ father used to tell him. Well, it sure as hell was not meant to be this crazy and funny. Australian ex-pat Yeats, as all he has ever been called since High School, shares his stories of travel misadventures and dubious personal introspection with comedic insights into the unusual and uproarious elements of living his life abroad. All while having a sense of Wanderlust as pervasive as the Spanish Flu in 1918.
From how to keep yourself entertained when unwittingly forced to watch 11 hours of live sumo wrestling in Japan, to surviving heartbreak in India at the hands of a French flight attendant, to 48 hours spent in Nepal that qualify as the funniest most gut wrenching travel experience since Captain Bligh was set adrift in the Pacific, to his unsuccessful attempts at avoiding going to a brothel in Thailand.
Simon Yeats has gone into the world and experienced all the out of the ordinary moments for readers to sit back and enjoy the experience without the need to pay for overpriced drinks in Bora Bora, break a leg trekking in the Dolomites, or rupture a pancreas diving on the Great Barrier Reef.
Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon UK
Excerpt
My family’s most cherished vacation when we were all kids was a trip we took to the South Island of New Zealand in the southern hemisphere Autumn of 1980. All our relatives live on the north island where my mum and dad both grew up on dairy farms. So, we had already made a trip or two to Auckland in my young life. My parents had emigrated to live in the tropical heat and brutal humidity of the northeast of Australia before any of us kids were born and given a choice in the matter.
There are four of us in my family. An elder brother, an older sister, me, and a younger sister. Each of us is quite different in our personality and our interests. My older sister is the athlete. My younger sister is the diplomat. My brother is the brainiac. Me? Well, I tend to just sit back and let my siblings be in the limelight.
You can imagine me as being the little kid running around in the playground under a mop of red hair being extra polite with all the other kids and no one teasing me at all for having red hair. Something close to that.
But among me and my siblings, none of us ever stole a car and took off for a joy ride. None of us have ever been arrested by undercover police for trying to sell them synthetic crack cocaine we had cooked up in the basement. None of us ever got in trouble for mislabeling someone by using the wrong pronoun. I mean, sure, I once got in trouble for calling my headmaster the C-word, but, other than that small blemish on my record, I considered myself an exemplary student. Our mum and dad were amazing parents to raise us all so well.
We were a very content family growing up in the 70’s and 80’s while living in the sweltering pizza oven, otherwise known as North Queensland. What about central air conditioning? Oh, how entitled and twenty-first century of you to ask. Rubbing an ice cube across the forehead and asking my younger sister to blow against it. Does that count? Central air conditioning? No. There was none. Just like there was extraordinarily little to do in my hometown. Watching paint dry as a kid living in Townsville brought out the same level of unbridled fascination that I now see with adults viewing porn.
The reasoning behind there being nothing to do is obvious. It is not safe to do anything where I lived. Australian country towns are just holding pens for human beings surrounded by a natural species menagerie of death.
How to Avoid Getting Mugged in Rio de Janeiro by Singing Songs by The Police and Other Lesser Known Travel Tips
by Simon Yeats
Published 1 December 2023
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir
Page Count: 254
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!
Book 2 of the hilarious book series that those in the know will want to read in the waiting area of a job interview so they laugh so freaking hard that it will impress the CEO to such an extent that he offers them a corner office and double the vacation time given to all the other employees.
Life was not meant to be easy, Simon Yeats’ father used to tell him. Well, it sure as hell was not meant to be this insane and amusing. Australian ex-pat Yeats, as all he has ever been called since High School, shares his stories of travel misadventures and dubious personal introspection with comedic insights into the unusual and uproarious elements of living his life abroad. All while having a sense of Wanderlust as pervasive as the Bubonic Plague in the 1300s.
From what to do when several people converge to rob you after midnight on a deserted Copacabana Beach, to how to save the Sierra Mountain Range from a wildfire outbreak due to a lack of quality toilet paper, to where not to go in Tijuana when trying to locate the origins to stories of the city’s mythical adult entertainment, to how to save yourself from drowning when caught in a storm while sailing off the California coast.
Simon Yeats has gone into the world and experienced all the out of the ordinary moments for readers to sit back and enjoy the experience without the need to lose a testicle while running with bulls in Pamplona, survive a taxi ride in Buenos Aires, or damage their liver at Oktoberfest.
Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon UK
How to Survive Making Yourself Look Silly While Dancing with the German Mafia at a Bavarian Nightclub and Other Lesser Known Travel Tips
by Simon Yeats
Published 28 December 2023
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir
Page Count: 244
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!
Book 3 of the hilarious book series that those in the know will want to read before taking their driving exam at the DMV so they laugh so freaking hard that the driving test supervisor is so overawed that they just pass the applicant without giving them the test.
Life was not meant to be easy, Simon Yeats’ father used to tell him. Well, it sure as hell was not meant to be this outrageous and hysterical. Australian ex-pat Yeats, as all he has ever been called since High School, shares his stories of travel misadventures and dubious personal introspection with comedic insights into the unusual and uproarious elements of living his life abroad. All while having a sense of Wanderlust as pervasive as Cholera in the 1850s.
From how to outwit the Italian police while trying to find parking in downtown Genoa, to how to negotiate exploring the Roman ruins of Plovdiv, Bulgaria while on crutches, to how to impress the German Mafia with 80s dance moves, to how to leave a lasting impression on a crowded bar in Gothenburg, Sweden after combining alcohol and antibiotics.
Simon Yeats has gone into the world and experienced all the out of the ordinary moments for you to sit back and enjoy the experience without the need to rupture a disc sleeping on an airport floor, pay exorbitant travel insurance premiums, or succumb to Dengue fever in Indonesia.
Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon UK
About the Author
Simon Yeats has lived nine lives, and by all estimations, is fast running out of the number he has left. His life of globetrotting the globe was not the one he expected to lead. He grew up a quiet, shy boy teased by other kids on the playgrounds for his red hair. But he developed a keen wit and sense of humor to always see the funnier side of life.
With an overwhelming love of travel, a propensity to find trouble where there was none, and being a passionate advocate of mental health, Simon’s stories will leave a reader either rolling on the floor in tears of laughter, or breathing deeply that the adventures he has led were survived.
No author has laughed longer or cried with less restraint at the travails of life.
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Giveaway Alert!
A randomly drawn winner will be awarded a $25 Amazon/BN gift card.
a Rafflecopter giveaway| Jul 30 | Momma Says: To Read or Not to Read | Aug 1 | Literary Gold |
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| Oct 15 | Sapphyria’s Books | Oct 17 | Sea’s Nod |
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Cheers mate for featuring my book series on your blog. The fourth book in the series comes out September 10th, with an even longer title. Because if I have figured one thing about how to laugh about life and enjoy it, it is that if everyone is telling me I need to have a short snappy title on my books then I need to use a lengthy, convoluted one. Those in the know do not want to live a life dictated by other people who have zero investment in the outcome. Hope the readers enjoy a different take on traveling the world and being my own person.
Cheers for featuring my book series on your blog. Hope your readers will laugh their arses off. Life is short folks. Real short. Enjoy every damn scary, crazy, mindless minute of it because we do not get a second crack.
Thank you so much for featuring the LESSER KNOWN TRAVEL TIPS series on your site.
Sounds like a great read.
Sounds like a good read.
This sounds like an interesting book.
There are three books in the series. The fourth is released on Sept 10. How I ended up being the one chosen to have this much go wrong while I traveled is beyond me.
Sounds excellent
If you want to kick your shoes off, grab a glass of wine and just sit back and laugh so hard the wine goes up your nose then this is the book series for you.
This looks really good.