Post: #76

(10-15-2012 05:17 PM)Gaston Wrote:  "The new Aeroflot CEO Vitaly Savelyev said all new stewardesses would be "very striking, very eye-catching girls"

Guys, just give that statement a simple thought for a second.

Could any of you imagine the American Airlines CEO saying the same thing?

Post: #77

Damn, fucked up the quoting again.

Delete

Post: #78

(10-15-2012 03:37 PM)Menace Wrote:  

(10-15-2012 03:23 PM)Partizan Wrote:  

(10-15-2012 03:15 PM)Menace Wrote:  What's the fastest and most efficient way to get into this region? Fly to Ulaan batar and then by bus or train? Are there many foreigners in these places? I wouldn't think so, but we may have RVF agents lurking at every corner. I think aside from the girls, the natural beauty here would make a nice vacation as well...fishing in the lakes, camp fires, etc.

All depends on what part of the US you are coming from. Turkish Airlines and Aeroflot do very good deals if you are coming from Western Europe like me.

Anyway here is a taster of your typical provincial Russian girl.

http://englishrussia.com/2012/10/14/girl...ore-111959

and crazy stuff in the provinces

http://englishrussia.com/2012/10/14/craz...ore-112023

Well, I doubt that the typical provincial Russian girls looks like that; those have got to be exceptions. I'd be coming from the East coast of the US. So maybe US --> Istanbul --> Irkutsk (or something like that). I'm wary of flying Aeroflot.

Neil, I'll pay for your airfare out there if you come.

Haha, Don't worry I'll take the 8 day train from Holland over an airplane. Way more fun.

Post: #79

Vorkuta how did those 2 authors get involved with girls using hard drugs? That book sounds good.

Post: #80

(10-16-2012 05:32 AM)houston Wrote:  Vorkuta how did those 2 authors get involved with girls using hard drugs? That book sounds good.

By looking for drugs themselves. I suppose if you're trawling clubs looking to score some of Luang Prabang's finest export you get involved in the scene.

Post: #81

(10-15-2012 01:52 PM)Gaston Wrote:  

I missed all of these posts on Russia and Mongolia. After reading Vodkaberg, and now seeing these hot Eurasian chicks, I might have to book me a ticket.

Just bought The Exile in paperback to read as well.

Post: #82

Damn, some great info in here. Great review on that book Vorkuta. I'm going to get it and devour it. Russia is high on my list. Love your idea of 2-3 guys from here going to some remote town in Siberia, spending a month or 2 or 3 and then writing a book. If you do that around next summer, I may be very interested to join you guys.

The talent here http://englishrussia.com/2012/10/14/girl...ore-111959 is simply amazing. Is that a selection of the best girls there or just the average? If that's the average, then I wonder how the top girls look like...just mind blowing stuff!

Love also the direction Aeroflot is going with their uber sexy stewardesses! http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-U5Y8Yvz27Lo/Ta...+girls.jpg
Sooooo refreshing!

Post: #83

very interesting!

Post: #84

Now that i'm studying up on how to write better books/stories it's easier to see the flaws in my own book but also in others.

In the past week I have read two books from English teacher X.

Vodkaberg (kindle version):
I highly disliked this book. I really wanted to read a cool book about all kinds of adventures an English teacher can get into in Russia in the early 2000's but I was highly disappointed.
I hated the formatting of the book. I'd expected a lot better from an English teacher. The paragraphs were separated by whitespace so every paragraph read like it was a 4 sentence limerick. This annoyed the fuck out of me. Nearly every book I read in my life has had its paragraphs separated by indents. This makes a book very readable and doesn't make it look like a internet blog post. After reading 4 or 5% of the book I already thought about putting the book down after turning each page but I kept on soldiering on for another 45%. I have the strong feeling he just slapped together all his ultra short blogposts since every page had a short story with a title. He probably didn't bother to read the book and to look for repeating subjects/situations.

The story itself:
I quit reading after 50% of the book. That's about 200 pages. So for 200 pages I gave him the chance to come up with a actual story. Nearly every page, yes, nearly EVERY page had a story about him getting wasted on ultra cheap alcohol and suffering from major mind numbing hangovers after which he started drinking again in the morning. Every two or three pages he would say either that he fingered some tramp on the dancefloor or got into trouble with the lowlifes he was hanging around with.
Another recurring theme was his friend Slappy getting drunk beyond belief and arguing and some times physically fighting with his wife. He would either wake up in a puddle of vomit (his or his wives) or get into a fight with his wife. Not much else is known about him.
The girls English teacher X hangs out with seemed to consist of drunken sluts with massive personality disorders or girls with disturbing drinking and whoring habits at young ages. Although this sounds like a good reason to read a book and you might expect some highly exiting stories. None of this happens since all the stories are 2 to 4 paragraphs long before he moves on to something else, probably being drunk and having hangovers. We learn hardly anything about the main characters. The times that he gives some minor details about the girls are already forgotten when he writes about other stuff for 20 pages and then returns talking about the girl again in one or two sentences. At this point you barely remember the name of this one dimensional character. He does this all the time and it was very confusing. In the end you don't really give a damn about which girl he writes about since they're basically all clones of each other. I did like how he uses descriptive names instead of real names.

I understand he wants to keep his anonymity but dammit you can tell something about yourself other then you being American and a teacher in an unknown place in Russia in a crappy apartment. The book and it's characters aren't going anywhere at all. I constantly had the feeling that you can start at any point in this book without missing anything important. The book tells the tale of 9 years as a teacher in the same city and if you miss the first 3 or 4 years you haven't actually missed anything. This was in my opinion the biggest flaw of the book, that and the fact that the stories kept repeating itself. How many times can you tell you got stupidly drunk and in trouble because of it? 1 time? yes, 5 times? yes. but over a hundred times? Hell no!
If I had to write about every time I got drunk or bought beers in my book I would have to add another 100 pages. It's just not that interesting to know.

Besides that, the book is morbid, extremely vulgar with lots of tales of vomit,blood, diseases and even a short story about penis cancer with all it's disgusting and unnecessary details. The writer has a dark and negative way of story telling and this kept annoying me. There was hardly anything positive happening in the book nor would he tell something I got any feeling about besides shaking my head in disbelief. I'd give the book two stars out of five.

English teacher X - How to survive abroad.(Kindle edition)

I read this one after Vodkaberg and it blew my mind. It's a really good book and a must read for ANYONE thinking of traveling or living abroad. It's the most comprehensive travel/living abroad guide I've read in my life. I would recommend it to all RVF readers. There's isn't a situation that is not covered in the book and most of the advice is really good.

I could hardly believe that it's written by the same writer but him explaining that he lays of the booze nowadays and has a steady GF explains a lot. The only thing I didn't like about it was again his negativity. If someone with no knowledge of traveling would read it, he would never ever leave his safe suburban life/country. English teacher X warns and gives advice for everything thinkable but again it's filled with negativity and makes you think the world outside your hometown is out to kill you in every way possible and that all locals in the country you visit conspire against you.
For me, who has visited some 50something countries on a budget thus having to live in rather unsafe areas sometimes it all sounded too much like a doom scenario. It's juist not as bad out there as he makes us believe. perhaps he based it too much on his experiences hanging around cheap tramps and Russian flatheads for too long.

He doesn't like a PUA/Gaming world and doesn't make a secret about it. Although he has some good points, he is yet again too negative about it and even a bit moralizing in a beta way.

Still, it's a must read for every RVF member with a kindle. best thing is that the book is free.

Post: #85

I'm in the middle of Vodkaberg, and I pretty much agree with Neil's review. I will probably finish it, because it does have some funny moments in-between all the drinking and puking and hooking up.

Post: #86

Read Roosh's boon and NN's. I thought I just had Neils book left but this thread just added 3 new books to my amazon list. Does anyone here have the kindle paperwhite? Not sure if I should chip in the extra 60 for the 3G one. Is it worth it?

Post: #87

I think 3G would just be a disturbance for me. Still, I dont yet own one. But will be getting all these books as soon as I do..

don't want my family to see me reading Bang Poland on the porch this summer.

Post: #88

(02-14-2013 10:33 PM)EL PADRINO Wrote:  Read Roosh's boon and NN's. I thought I just had Neils book left but this thread just added 3 new books to my amazon list. Does anyone here have the kindle paperwhite? Not sure if I should chip in the extra 60 for the 3G one. Is it worth it?

Thanks for out interest in the book.

I have recently purchased the Paperwhite and I'm loving it.
I would never pay for the 3G to be honest. Like how many times do you need to download books when your not around your or any wifi spot? I bet that doesn't happen much. Save those 60$ for a good night out on town.

Post: #89

I will definitely check out the books in this thread.

I don't know a lot of books in a similar vein, but Tom Torero's daygame book ("Daygame") totally fits with this thread. It's basically his story starting as a pasty Oxford AFC and ending as a pasty daygame god.

There is some progression of his character and how he views social interaction and dealing with people, and there's cool little nuggets of pickup theory in there as well.

I'm not done with the book but I'm enjoying it. I recommend the book but unfortunately only a paperback exists

Post: #90

Any new books out there worth reading?

Post: #91

Hey Rio

I just read through this whole thread - which of them did you read in the end and which were best?

I've read most of Roosh's already.

I don't fancy the look of Private Dancer - isn't it about some loser getting scammed by bar girls?

V.

Post: #92

I have a copy of the exile to read, but I didn't read any recommend. The few that caught ny eye are not available on the kindle. Unfortunately, the travel writing niche seems to be dominated by women and faggots.

Post: #93

English Teacher X gives a pretty accurate portrayal of the life of MOST English Teacher's abroad. His comics on his old website were also hilarious, while he might be negative, its accurate.

Post: #94

Although fictional, "My Uncle Oswald" by Roald Dahl is one of the OG books involving banging women of all different nationalities. The book's main protagonist is all about banging, traveling, making huge money and living an epicurian life, all shortly after the turn of the 20th century.

Post: #95

One book that I do not/not recommend is: A weak American in Russia and Ukraine. It's by Walter Parchomenko.

Amazon suggests this as a recommended for those browsing English Teacher X and Naughty Nomand. But the book sucks, very little adventure or drinking or women. Just a lot of condescension by the author.

Post: #96

Massive bump.

Anyone got any good suggestions?

I've recently read these three. I'm kinda on a tear for low-class travel shit.

Do Travel Writers Go to Hell?: Dude quits his job to write a lonely planet book for Brazil. Ends up having to make up a lot of shit to finish on time. Solid read, the parts where he is in NYC are pretty lame though, dude has a tendency to try to come off as cool as possible. Really liked the actually Brazilian parts though.

Requiem for a Vagabond: The 3rd English Teacher X book. It's good, different from the others but a cool look at how an English Teacher ages. He seems to be doing better than most 40+ English teachers though.

Mad Outta Me Head: This is by Colin Post, I think he's a well-known expat in Colombia. It's the memoir of this Irish dude who got arrested in Colombia in the 80s (maybe 70s). He spends a few years in a local prison before returning to the streets of Colombia without a passport. Spends the next few decades teaching English. Some crazy stories in here, mainly fueled by his addiction to heroin. Dude does some shit that is incredibly fucked up, but it's a really good read. Would recommend the most out of the three.

(12-19-2013 08:04 AM)Ardbeg Wrote:  One book that I do not/not recommend is: A weak American in Russia and Ukraine. It's by Walter Parchomenko.

Amazon suggests this as a recommended for those browsing English Teacher X and Naughty Nomand. But the book sucks, very little adventure or drinking or women. Just a lot of condescension by the author.

Yeah "A Weak American in Russia and Ukraine" isn't really about debuchary. It's more of a cultural book, it reads like a collection of blog posts. Not a must-read unless you've got a hard-on for Russia. Although in that case you'd probably already know most of what he talks about.

Post: #97

I read the first two, but not Colin Post's book.

I stopped following his work because he kept putting up stories about his gf (now wife) beating the crap out of him, and then he would delete them. She made him delete a bunch of his previous articles that she didn't like as well. Then he married her. I just couldn't get behind the guy after all of that, but maybe I'll give the book a shot eventually.

Other than that I haven't come across anything new in the "travel bang" section lol. Hopefully some good ones are out there though.

Post: #98

^I bought and read Post's book about the Irish guy, it was a very good read, I also read his book about his time spent doing tours of Bogota's brothels, I don't think its available online anymore but that was a pretty good read as well.

Post: #99

I was going to buy the Bogota Brothel Tours book but like all of his other good stories, his wife made him take it town.

He had some pretty good stuff in the past on his site, too. Too bad it's gone.

Post: #100

Hands down the best Colombian drug smuggling autobiographical story is Smugglers Diary by Kendell. Colin Post reviewed it on his Expat Chronicles site. Amazing true story of an 1970's American smuggler caught in Colombia with a few kilos of Coke....and his escapes from Colombian prisons and living on the streets of Bogota.