A Journey through Indo-China (2014)

 

A Journey through Indo-China by David Bowden & Mick Shippen was published by John Beaufoy Publishing in September 2014. It is a paperback published in a large format, ca. 23 x 28 cm.

In this beautiful book, Bowden & Shippen take the reader on a journey through five countries in Southeast Asia, whose names are listed in alphabetical order on the front cover: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, and Vietnam.

A message on the back cover explains the purpose of the book:

“A Journey through five remarkable countries, portraying through words and photographs the people, the sites and the scenery that make up this endlessly fascinating region.”

The main text is divided into five chapters, one for each of the five countries. Inside the book, the order is not alphabetical. Here is the table of contents:

** Chapter 1 – Vietnam: Country of inspiring natural beauty

** Chapter 2 – Cambodia: Home of the great Khmer civilization

** Chapter 3 – Thailand: Land of intrigue and adventure

** Chapter 4 – Laos: Country of mystery and intrigue

** Chapter 5 – Myanmar: Land of the golden zedis

In each chapter, the text is divided into several shorter sections by subheadings, which is very reader-friendly. Each chapter begins with the same four sections: (a) a general presentation; (b) geography and climate; (c) a brief history; and (d) the capital. The remaining part of the chapter depends on the country. Each country gets around 50 pages. The whole book has 256 pages.

The book opens with an introduction by Philip Coggan (for more information about this person, see below). The book ends with an index. There is no bibliography.

The text is lavishly illustrated with maps and photos. All illustrations are in colour. There are seven maps: two maps show all five countries: a political map and a physical map. In addition, five maps show the five countries one by one. In some books you have to look for the illustrations, because they are so few. In this book it is difficult to find a page which has no illustration. 

Bowden & Shippen (and their book-editor) have paid great attention to the layout, i.e. the combination of text and illustrations. In most cases, the text ends at the bottom of the page with a full stop (a period). The common situation where a sentence begins on one page and continues on the following page is almost never found in this book (there are a few exceptions, for instance in the introduction, in the chapter about Vietnam, and in the chapter about Thailand). Each page is an independent unit. This feature is very reader-friendly.

As far as I know, the text is written by both authors. It is a joint venture. But this rule does not apply to the illustrations. The photo credits are as follows:

** Vietnam – all photos by Bowden, except a few

** Cambodia – all photos by Shippen

** Thailand – all photos by Shippen, except a few

** Laos – all photos by Shippen

** Myanmar – all photos by Shippen, except one

There is much to like here. The text is clear and concise, and the quality of the illustrations is high. Obviously, it is impossible to cover a country in depth in 50 pages. Therefore Bowden & Shippen can only give us the basic facts, the highlights, the main features and attractions in each of these five countries, but they do this quite well. Their choice is generally sound.

This “Journey” is not a guidebook, but tourism is a major element and the authors do on occasion offer specific advice for travellers: a museum is recommended on page 80; a hotel on page 225; and a cruise-ship on page 233. But practical suggestions such as these are not the main purpose of this book. Perhaps I can call it an appetizer.

The armchair traveller can enjoy this book and never go anywhere. The real traveller can be inspired by this book to visit one or several or maybe all the countries covered here. To do this you will need a real guidebook in order to find more comprehensive information about your destination, unless you prefer to rely on the internet or chance.

While there is much to like here, not everything in this book is as it should be. I have to mention a few things which bother me. There are general problems and specific problems.

GENERAL PROBLEMS

(1) The title of the book is A Journey through Indo-China. There is a problem with the title. Indo-china is the region located between India and China, and it comprises seven countries: the five countries covered in the book plus Malaysia and Singapore. But the latter two countries are not covered here. The decision to exclude them is not explained anywhere.

The authors offer a false definition of the term Indo-China. If they had called the book A Journey through five Countries in Southeast Asia nobody could have complained about the title. As it stands now, the title is misleading.

(2) Who are the people behind the book? Bowden & Shippen are not identified anywhere. Looking at the book, I guess they are travel writers and photographers, but I would like to know a bit more: when were they born? Where were they born? Assuming they no longer live in the country where they were born, I would like to know where they are based now.

A search on the internet reveals that Bowden was born in Australia and that he is currently based in Malaysia. However, I still do not know when he was born. Searching the internet, I came across a website established by Shippen himself. According to this website, he is currently based in Thailand. But even here on his own website he does not reveal where or when he was born.

What is the reason for this wish to be so anonymous? If you want to publish books and articles, you cannot at the same time insist on being anonymous. Why does the publisher publish a book in which the main contributors are not identified in any way?

(3) Who is Philip Coggan? On page 8, at the end of his introduction, he is identified as “a writer and former diplomat with extensive experience in Southeast Asia.” This is not much, but of course it is better than nothing. However, I would like to know a bit more.

A search on the internet reveals that there are in fact two persons out there in the public light with the same special name: Philip Coggan. One is a columnist for the Economist and a former journalist at the Financial Times. This is probably not the one who wrote the introduction to this book. The other is a former diplomat who was born in Sydney, Australia, in 1950, and who has written some books about Cambodia, using the name P. J. Coggan. This is probably our man.

Since there are two writers out there with the same special name, it becomes all the more important to identify the one we have here; and all the more ridiculous that this book is surrounded by so much anonymity.

(4) Searching for information about the contributors, I discovered that Bowden has written a book about Malaysia and a book about Singapore: Enchanting Malaysia (2012) and Enchanting Singapore (2012, 2014). Both were published by John Beaufoy Publishing, i.e. the publisher of the book under review here.

Armed with this fact, I have to say: the omission of Malaysia and Singapore is not strange or unfortunate, it is simply inexcusable. The authors had the chapters about these countries ready, but for some reason they - or the publisher - decided to exclude them. A most unfortunate decision.

(5) As stated earlier, there is no bibliography. For each country, I would to see at least three items: a book about history, a book about the current situation, and a guidebook. For five countries, the total would be fifteen titles. With Malaysia and Singapore included, the total would be 21 titles, which could easily be listed on a single page. But Bowden & Coggan do not offer us anything. The lack of a brief bibliography is unfortunate.

SPECIFIC PROBLEMS

(A) In his introduction, Philip Coggan takes over the false definition of Indo-China and uses it to make a false statement when he says “Indo-China is the land of … Buddhism and orange-robed monks, of monasteries and temples and tall golden pagoda-spires” (page 6).

If Malaysia and Singapore are included among the countries of Indo-China, as they should be, it is easy to see that this statement is totally false.

(B) Having taken one step into the world of pure fantasy, Coggan decides to take one more when he says (page 6):

 

“The universality of Buddhism and its teachings of non-violence and compassion provide a clue to the extraordinary pleasantness of interpersonal relations in every single country of the region: cause no harm, smile.”

 

The smile is famous, but behind the smiling façade there is often a dark and sinister reality. The notion that the history of the region is peaceful because of Buddhism or any other reason is absurd. The peoples of this region have been waging war against each other for centuries, and this fact is mentioned several times in this book. Here is one example: the Burmese invaded and destroyed the old Thai capital Ayutthaya in 1767 (page 114). Here is another: during the 19th century Cambodia was slowly disappearing, because Thailand was taking over the land from the west, while Vietnam was doing the same from the east (page 69).

Coggan’s statement is not only absurd, it is refuted by facts which are mentioned in the book. This makes me wonder: did he actually read the book before he wrote his introduction? It is hard to understand that a former diplomat can write such utter nonsense.

Hostility between the nations of Southeast Asia is not only a thing of the past: in January 2003 angry Cambodians burned down the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh. They believed a Thai actress had declared that Siem Reap and Angkor Wat belong to Thailand. This event is not mentioned in the book.

During the years 2008-2011 there were several armed clashes between the army of Thailand and the army of Cambodia. These battles along the border are not mentioned in the book.

(C) I have to object to the last paragraph of Coggan’s introduction where he writes (page 8):

 

“And so Indo-China goes on: in the villages time is measured by the turning wheel of a bullock cart, as it has been for centuries.”

The statement “Indo-China goes on” is true, but also trivial. This statement is true for every region of the world, and therefore it is meaningless. To illustrate the life in the rural areas he uses a special metaphor. An almost identical passage appears on page 206 in the chapter about Myanmar:

 

“In rural Myanmar time is marked by the slow turn of bullock cart wheels.”

 

Perhaps Coggan borrowed his metaphor from this chapter? Perhaps he did read the book before he wrote his introduction. If this is the case, I have to say: he did not learn or understand much from it.

(D) In the chapter about Vietnam we are told the Vietnam War “raged from 1961 to 1975” (page 12). While the latter date is right, the former date is wrong. There are two wars: the First Indo-china War, against the French, took place 1946-1954; the Second Indo-china War, against the US, took place 1954-1975.

The French defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954 is mentioned on page 18, and the location Dien Bien Phu is mentioned on page 30. How can the authors think the Vietnam War begins in 1961?

On page 19 Bowden & Shippen try to explain why they have chosen 1961 as the beginning of the war:

 

“America’s involvement officially started in 1961 when military advisors were sent to assist the South Vietnamese in their struggle against the north.”

This explanation does not help. They year 1961 is still wrong. The real US involvement in this area began in 1950 when the US began to pay for the French war in Indo-china. From 1950 to 1954, the US paid up to 80 per cent of the French expenses on the war. Even with this significant US economic support, the French cause was a lost cause. After the defeat at Dien Bien Phu they packed their bags and went home.

The US took their place. After many years of devastating war, the US had to face the same result as the French: they could not win the war, so they evacuated the area in 1975.

(E) Norodom Sihanouk is mentioned several times in the chapter about Cambodia (pp. 69-70). But what happened to him later on? Bowden & Shippen do not tell us anything. In my opinion: if an author begins a story about someone, he has to tell us the end of the story as well, if it is possible. An author should not leave a story unfinished. Bowden & Shippen tell us the beginning and the middle of the story, but not the end. Here are the missing details (briefly):

Sihanouk was born in 1922 and he was king two times: 1941-1955 and 1993-2004. He abdicated in 2004 because of poor health. He was replaced by one of his sons. He died in 2012. Incidentally, Sihanouk is not listed in the index.

(F) In the chapter about Thailand there is a section about Bangkok. A caption on page 117 reads:

 

“The Skytrain carries commuters above the congestion, making the city a breeze to get around. There is also an efficient underground system called the MRT.”

This caption is true and false at the same time. There is a Skytrain, also known as the BTS, but there are only two lines. There is a subway called the MRT, but there is only one line. The BTS and the MRT are effective, but cover only a fraction of the huge capital. If you are going to or coming from a part of Bangkok not covered by them, it is not “a breeze” to get around.

(G) A caption on page 129 reads:

 

“Visitors to Kanchanaburi can travel by train through beautiful countryside to the Hell Fire Pass Memorial Museum, an honourable tribute to the war dead.”

You can take the train from Kanchanaburi to Namtok. But Namtok is the end of the line. The distance from Namtok to Hell Fire Pass is about 15 km. You will have to take a car or a bus to get to Hell Fire Pass. While the information about the train is wrong, I agree with Bowden & Shippen when they recommend a visit to this location.

(H) In the section about Patong Beach in Phuket there is a picture of a jet-ski (page 149). It is a beautiful picture, but something is missing here. The authors fail to mention (and to warn the reader against) the widespread jet-ski scams which are perpetrated in this destination. Try to google “jet-ski scams in Phuket” and see how many hits you will get!

(I) In the chapter about Laos, Bowden & Shippen mention and show the Li Phi waterfall, also known as Tat Somphamit (page 201). I have no objection to this, but I am sorry to see that they fail to mention and show the largest and most dramatic waterfall in the south of Laos: Khon Phapheng waterfall, which is located where the Mekong River flows into Cambodia.

(J) In the chapter about Myanmar, there are two pictures of the famous cruise-ship the “Road to Mandalay.” We are told it is run by Orient Express Hotels (page 233). This was true. However, this company has recently changed its name to Belmond. Try to google “Belmond” if you wish to find more information about river cruises in Myanmar.

(K) I have to add a comment about golfing, which is for some reason considered a sport. This topic is mentioned once in the chapter about Cambodia (pp. 80, 81) and once in the chapter about Thailand (page 128). I can accept that. I can live with that. However, in the chapter about Vietnam it is mentioned no less than four times:

** Page 34 – Lang Co (text)

** Page 39 – Montgomerie Links (text)

** Page 45 – Dalat Palace (photo)

** Page 47 – Ocean Dunes Golf Club (photo)

Is it really necessary to mention golfing four times? I think this is overkill and I object to hearing so much about the blessings of golfing. In particular because the authors completely ignore the negative effects of golfing:

An average golf course in a tropical country such as Thailand needs 1,500 kilos of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides per year and uses as much water as 60,000 rural villagers.

For more information, see for instance Kit Wheeler & John Nauright, “A global perspective on the environmental impact of golf,” Sport in Society, vol. 9, no. 3, July 2006, pp. 423-443; see also Ben Adler, “The case against golf,” The Guardian, 14 June 2007. Try to google “the global anti-golf movement” to find more information about this topic.

CONCLUSION

How many stars does this book deserve? It is a difficult decision, because I have mixed feelings about it. When I look at the illustrations, I want to give it five stars. But when I consider the title and the text, I cannot be so generous.

The title is misleading. Two chapters are missing (Malaysia and Singapore). The introduction is hopeless. The text is flawed in several ways, and there is no bibliography. Therefore I cannot give this book more than three stars.

***

David Bowden & Mick Shippen,

A Journey through Indo-China,

John Beaufoy Publishing, 2014, 256 pages

 

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