I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Author Mark James Murphy takes readers on a journey to find the means of leaving the rat race behind and living a life of travel and adventure in his book “Travel For As Long As You Wish: The Blueprint for Budget Travel, Backpacking, and Escaping the Rat Race.”

The Synopsis

Learn how to escape the 9 to 5 and live your dream life, without delaying any longer!

What if you could say goodbye to the daily grind and fill every day with adventure and experiences, packed with true value and meaning right now?

From humble North-East roots, in the industrial city of Sunderland, U.K to becoming an artist, adventurer and teacher, Mark James Murphy did exactly that and wants to show how it’s possible for everyone.

This book gives you the ultimate tools and knowledge to get unstuck from the rut of the rat race once and for all and travel for as long as you wish. Whether you are young and inexperienced in travel or a seasoned globetrotter or you have retired and have more time on your hands to explore the world, this book will give you the very latest travel advice and explore the following topics:

How to prepare for your trip, what and how to pack

The latest digital devices for traveling and useful apps

Insightful personal experiences from my own adventures

Reasons why we want to travel and what meaningful travel is

Why you can travel with very little money

How to find your own value and generate finances from this as you travel

Avoid scams while in a new country

Great tips and discount information for senior travelers

Plus: Unique travel destinations for 2023 and beyond, some of which you may never of heard of before!

Escape your day job and travel the world now. Don’t wait until tomorrow, make this book a vital part of your collection and live your dreams today.

The Review

This was a truly well-researched and valuable guide to travel for newcomers and experts alike. The author’s honesty and hopeful tone in the book helped to elevate the information the author provided, and the imagery of the author’s own personal experiences and memories help to illustrate these lessons and themes the author imparts to the reader.

As someone who has always dreamed of traveling the world, the concept behind this book was definitely appealing. The thing that stuck out to me was the author’s emphasis that this was not a book you would read once and walk away from, but instead, return to over and over again as the need to fine-tune one’s road trip goals comes up in life. The exploration of the journey and self-exploration as being part of the travel experience was inspiring, and the way the author challenges the reader to confront our fears and shed the doubts that always prevent our goal of traveling and experiencing new cultures was both bold and inviting.

The Verdict

Thoughtful, engaging, and insightful, author Mark James Murphy’s “Travel For As Long As You Wish: The Blueprint for Budget Travel, Backpacking, and Escaping the Rat Race” is a must-read nonfiction travel guide that you won’t be able to put down. The educational purpose of the book balances out the relatability and emotional connection readers make to the author and his experiences in travel, and the thought-provoking look into travel itself will keep readers invested in the author’s story as time goes on. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!

Rating: 10/10

About the Author

Mark James Murphy is an artist, teacher, adventurer, and writer. He was born in Sunderland, North-East England in the early 1980s. He has solo traveled extensively throughout the world and in 2017 decided to leave behind his job and apartment in the UK to teach English in Vietnam, South East Asia, for almost five years, describing it as the best moment of his life so far. There he also continued developing his practice as an artist and printmaker, documenting his travels through the medium of linocut. In 2019 he fulfilled a childhood dream when he backpacked for two months throughout the whole of India, ending up in a remote village in the Himalayan foothills. He has played football with local kids in the Sahara desert, lived with Hmong people high in the mountains of North Vietnam, and worked as a farmhand in Southern Spain. Mark is currently based just outside of London.