Until 1998, I had only dreamed of foreign travel. Then one day, thinking about a trip to Southeast Asia, I skimmed through stacks of travel books in the nook of a quiet bookstore. There I came upon Traveler's Tool Kit which instantly propelled me into the wonderful world of travel.
The wealth of information in Rob Sangster's book gave me the confidence to travel to Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India for three weeks. Traveler's Tool Kit (I think of it as "TTK") showed me what to expect overall and enabled me to be open to customs and behaviors different from my own.
Most important to me, however, was the "voice" of TTK; a voice I carried with me throughout that first trip. Sangster fully appreciates the needs of the novice traveler. He identifies common apprehensions, validates them, and then alleviates them.
Although TTK it is a relatively thick book, I toted it with me throughout my journey. Each evening, following a long day of exploration, I would soothe myself by "listening" to Sangster's voice again. Rereading sections of TTK I had highlighted helped me fully absorb what I had experienced and prepared me for the next day's outing. I felt as if I were exchanging anecdotes with Sangster.
Traveler's Tool Kit helped me get in touch with my real reasons for traveling and enhanced my capacity to build terrific memories.