Unique Silk Road Experience

Following Marco Polo's Silk Road is about a couples passion for travel. It provides an autobiographical account of their travels through the Middle East and Asia. They followed the broad route taken by the legendary Venetian explorer Marco Polo. Starting in Venice, the book follows the Lawrenson's adventures as they travel through Turkey, Syria, Jordon, Iran, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kashmir, India, Nepal and China to eventually reach Beijing.

50,000 people a month Google "Silk Road" and the numbers are increasing. Travelling the Silk Road has never been more popular. Everyone with a zest for adventure travel is heading to China before the "old China" is lost in it's rush to modernise. Brian Lawrenson and his wife Jill recently spent three months travelling the Silk Road and have written Following Marco Polo's Silk Road that describes their adventures. It is a book about their passion for travel.

It provides an autobiographical account of their travels through the Middle East and Asia. They followed the broad route taken by the legendary Venetian explorer Marco Polo.

There are so many wonderful places on earth that many people just don't know exist
But more important than the natural environment is the diversity of the peoples, their cultures and the experiences that you have along the way.
"There are so many wonderful places on earth that many people just don't know exist," Lawrenson says. "But more important than the natural environment is the diversity of the peoples, their cultures and the experiences that you have along the way."

Starting in Venice, the book follows the Lawrenson's adventures as they travel through Turkey, Syria, Jordon, Iran, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kashmir, India, Nepal and China to eventually reach Beijing. Completed over a number of years, the collected journeys include a recent account of the Taliban's influence in Pakistan's Swat Valley, a flash point in the ongoing struggle against extremist ideology in western Asia. This happened during a three week Jeep journey through remote parts of Pakistan.

Other experiences include riding camels along part of the Karakorum Highway in China, reaching the hard-to-find Shipton's Arch (the world's tallest natural arch) in China, travelling in India by taxi and crossing Iran during the Iran-Iraq war. These stories make this a unique book that provides a low-cost escape from news of the current recession.