• HOME
  • BLOG | TRAVEL EXPERIENCES
    • NATURE AND LANDSCAPES
    • HIKING, OUTDOORS AND ACTIVE TRAVEL
    • CITIES, CULTURE AND ART
    • FOOD AND WINE
    • TRAVEL TIPS
  • DESTINATIONS
    • EUROPE
      • AUSTRIA
      • BELGIUM
      • FRANCE
      • GREAT BRITAIN
      • GERMANY
      • GREECE
      • ITALY
      • PORTUGAL
      • SPAIN
      • SWITZERLAND
    • ASIA
      • INDONESIA
      • JAPAN
      • MYANMAR
      • PAKISTAN
    • SOUTH AMERICA
      • ARGENTINA
      • BRAZIL
    • OCEANIA
      • NEW ZEALAND
    • AFRICA
      • GAMBIA
      • SOUTH AFRICA
  • LEARN ITALIAN FAST
  • ABOUT
    • WORK WITH ME
    • CONTACT
  • Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

  • Twitter

Wild About Travel

Travel Tales by a Travel Addict

  • HOME
  • BLOG | TRAVEL EXPERIENCES
    • NATURE AND LANDSCAPES
    • HIKING, OUTDOORS AND ACTIVE TRAVEL
    • CITIES, CULTURE AND ART
    • FOOD AND WINE
    • TRAVEL TIPS
  • DESTINATIONS
    • EUROPE
      • AUSTRIA
      • BELGIUM
      • FRANCE
      • GREAT BRITAIN
      • GERMANY
      • GREECE
      • ITALY
      • PORTUGAL
      • SPAIN
      • SWITZERLAND
    • ASIA
      • INDONESIA
      • JAPAN
      • MYANMAR
      • PAKISTAN
    • SOUTH AMERICA
      • ARGENTINA
      • BRAZIL
    • OCEANIA
      • NEW ZEALAND
    • AFRICA
      • GAMBIA
      • SOUTH AFRICA
  • LEARN ITALIAN FAST
  • ABOUT
    • WORK WITH ME
    • CONTACT
Home » Blog » A Journey Through Asia with Tiziano Terzani

A Journey Through Asia with Tiziano Terzani

//  by Simon//  1 Comment

I owe it to Mirella, one of my best and longstanding friends, if I got to know journalist, travel writer and chronicler Tiziano Terzani. A few pages were enough to understand Mirella’s enthusiasm towards Terzani’s books as well as her admiration for him as a person, for Terzani is one of the most interesting voices to discover Asia from early 1970s till 2004, when he passed away.

Burma Village

Terzani was unquestionably a man of great intelligence and deep sensitivity. Born in Florence in 1938 from a family of humble origins, he graduated in Law, attended the  Stanford University in California from 1967 to 1969 where he learned Chinese, paving the way to what would become a unique career as a foreign correspondent in Asia for the German weekly magazine Der Spiegel and, later, an acclaimed writer.

A journey across Asia through they eyes of Tiziano Terzani

I have never been to China nor Japan, and while I’m attracted by the ‘Land of the Rising Sun’, so far I feel no wish to explore China. What little I traveled in Southeast Asia didn’t give me strong emotions nor did it arise a great enthusiasm, and my latest attempt to fall in love with this area of the world failed miserably in Burma, between sense of guilt and the wish to escape.

Burma Women at Work

Reading ‘A Fortune-Teller Told Me‘ and ‘In Asia‘ (unfortunately, so far the book doesn’t seem to have been translated in English) was an eye-opening experience. I could see – at least in part -, through the deep knowledge of a man who spent 30 years in Asia, his tales about the culture, his take on the devastating effects of Westernisation, why I felt uncomfortable in Thailand, Burma, Malaysia. Through Terzani’s narrative, I could eventually seize what prevented my heart to be caught.

Conscious of my limits and inability to look at Southeast Asia without prejudiced eyes, I traveled across Asia through Tiziano Terzani, fascinated by his stories of a world which has almost disappeared. I followed with admiration Terzani as a real traveler, a man at the forefront of the main historical events in Asia, mingling with common people in the everyday life, drawn by an insatiable curiosity which led him to relentless social investigation.

Village in Burma

He wanted to see what lays behind the appearance and to catch reality beyond the many layers of smoke provided by the official channels. A wonderful storyteller, Terzani is a must-read for travel addicts and anyone genuinely interested in understanding Asia.

I am only at the beginning, for Terzani published several books and I’m not yet sure which one to choose next, probably ‘Giai Phong! The Fall and Liberation of Saigon’. One of the few western reporters to stay in Saigon after the fall of the city to the hands of the Vietcong, I reckon the reading is a priceless record of Vietnam’s history, a look at the past to get the present.

 

More resources:

New York Times: Tiziano Terzani, Writer Who Had a Keen Eye for ‘New’ Asia, Dies at 65

The Independent:  Tiziano Terzani, Veteran foreign correspondent

The Telegraph: Tiziano Terzani

The Guardian: Tiziano Terzani. Distinguished Italian journalist who mourned the corruption of Asia by the materialistic west

Shimbun: Tribute to Tiziano Terzani

 

 

Simon

Travel addict and passionate about photography, Simon Falvo started Wild About Travel back in 2009. Leveraging her strong PR background, she developed an extensive knowledge of Digital Communications and Social Media Marketing. Besides travel writing Simon holds workshops and trainings, she collaborated with tourism boards for digital marketing campaigns and participated as a speaker at several events.

Category: UncategorizedTag: good reads

Previous Post: « Craco, Enthralling Ghost Town in Basilicata
Next Post: The People of Burma: A Photo Essay »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Natasha von Geldern

    at

    Terzani’s books sound like a great read – I will look it up!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Time limit is exhausted. Please reload CAPTCHA.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

about me

simon-falvo

Hi, I’m Simon!

A solo and independent traveler for over 20 years, and a 50+ girl young at heart.

I worked for over a decade in Investment Banking, then a few years in one of the largest international PR groups. In 2009, after a burn-out, I left the corporate world and started a new adventure.

MORE

book your stay



Booking.com

book a tour / skip the lines

questions about italy?

Send me an e-mail

 

featured posts

Vie di Dante - Views from Dante's Train

Dante’s Train: A Beautiful Train Ride From Faenza To Florence

Ski resorts in Switzerland

Ski Holidays in Switzerland: How to Pick your Ideal Mountain Resort

Portovenere, View on the Gulf

Discover the Best Things to do in Portovenere, Italy

Footer

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • About Me
  • Work with Me
  • Cookie Policy

Copyright © 2021 · Mai Lifestyle Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Reject Read More
Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.