Planet         Backpacker
  "From flying monkey gods and amorous donkeys to tales of a bus caravan speeding through a terrorist-infested desert, Downes puts you right there with him."-- Ben Gohs, Charlevoix Courier
  "From flying monkey gods and amorous donkeys to tales of a bus caravan speeding through a terrorist-infested desert, Downes puts you right there with him."-- Ben Gohs, Charlevoix Courier

Travel tales for those born to wander
Click on the photo for a short video about Planet Backpacker.
 "From flying monkey gods and amorous donkeys to tales of a bus caravan speeding through a terrorist-infested desert, Downes puts you right there with him." -- Ben Gohs, Charlevoix Courier

"I just finished it about an hour ago and thought it was freaking amazing." -- Backpacker Peter Richards
  "From flying monkey gods and amorous donkeys to tales of a bus caravan speeding through a terrorist-infested desert, Downes puts you right there with him."-- Ben Gohs, Charlevoix Courier
  "From flying monkey gods and amorous donkeys to tales of a bus caravan speeding through a terrorist-infested desert, Downes puts you right there with him."-- Ben Gohs, Charlevoix Courier
Welcome Travelers
   Thanks for checking out my website.  My site offers stories about travel to cool places around the world -- places you've always dreamed of visiting.  It also includes excerpts from my book, 'Planet Backpacker.'  As you can see from the menu, there are stories about bumming around the world, cycle tours, and backcountry experiences, often with my wife, Jeannette Wildman.
   Look for a new book, 'Travels With My Wife,' to be published in the winter of 2012-2013.
   Wishing you many fine adventures -- Bob Downes
Warning: This book could cause your feet to wander...
   But if that's no problem, "pass the goat dick, please," and lean back for laughs and low adventures with "Planet Backpacker: The Good Life Bumming Around the World."
   Thebook by Robert Downes celebrates the backpacking lifestyle enjoyed by an estimated 100,000 travelers out wandering around the world at any given moment.
  'Backpacking' is a style of travel that involves using native transportation, staying in local digs (guest houses, hostels, pensiones), and visiting exotic destinations on the cheap.  In America, 'backpacking' tends to mean a backcountry camping experience, but in Australia and Europe it more commonly refers to the kind of trip that college kids take during their gap year.
   Increasingly, backpacking is a passion for travelers of all ages, and certainly the best way to see the world at the lowest cost.
   In 2007, Downes set off on a solo trip around the world, biking across Europe on a mountain bike and backpacking on through Eastern Europe, Egypt, India, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia.  The resulting book got its start as a blog, written one excerpt at a time in more than 100 of the grubbiest internet cafes on the planet.
   Downes notes that backpacking around the world is one of the last epic adventures possible for the average person to achieve.  'Planet Backpacker' offers plenty of hard-earned wisdom on that score, along with advice on how to make your own trip a success.
Check out my book -- available at amazon.com and Apple iBooks, $4.99. Click photo for Kindle.
Click on the logo to order 'Planet Backpacker: The Good Life Bumming Around the World" from Amazon Kindle -- $4.99 for the illustrated ebook.
Click on the logo to order 'Planet Backpacker: The Good Life Bumming Around the World' as an Apple iBook from iTunes.  With more than 75 illustrations, $4.99.