Socialist Dreams and Beauty Queens: A Couchsurfer?s Adventures in the New Venezuela
Couchsurfer, hitchhiker, and rogue wanderer Jamie Maslin embarks on a couchsurfing adventure to the homeland of “firebrand,” “populist,” “anti-American” president Hugo Chavez: the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Alone in the crime capital of the world Maslin immediately finds himself in trouble—arrested by knife-wielding police officers and inoculated with an unwanted vaccination. After a terrifying start in Caracas, he soon leaves the teeming city and travels to the places tourists never see, staying on the couches of people he befriended online just days earlier, and meeting everyone from fervent social revolutionaries to the country’s wealthy elite. He sets off in search of mile-high waterfalls, flat topped jungle plateaus, rolling deserts, and the famous lightning that appears suddenly in the sky with no rain or thunder. Visiting sprawling slums and opulent mansions, Maslin offers a fascinating and timely social, cultural, and historical introduction to a country increasingly in the headlines.
Often irreverent, frequently informative, and habitually funny, this is the remarkable account of a young adventurer’s journey through a breathtakingly beautiful and dynamic country where the politics of oil and social revolution are never far from the surface.
1116657235
Socialist Dreams and Beauty Queens: A Couchsurfer?s Adventures in the New Venezuela
Couchsurfer, hitchhiker, and rogue wanderer Jamie Maslin embarks on a couchsurfing adventure to the homeland of “firebrand,” “populist,” “anti-American” president Hugo Chavez: the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Alone in the crime capital of the world Maslin immediately finds himself in trouble—arrested by knife-wielding police officers and inoculated with an unwanted vaccination. After a terrifying start in Caracas, he soon leaves the teeming city and travels to the places tourists never see, staying on the couches of people he befriended online just days earlier, and meeting everyone from fervent social revolutionaries to the country’s wealthy elite. He sets off in search of mile-high waterfalls, flat topped jungle plateaus, rolling deserts, and the famous lightning that appears suddenly in the sky with no rain or thunder. Visiting sprawling slums and opulent mansions, Maslin offers a fascinating and timely social, cultural, and historical introduction to a country increasingly in the headlines.
Often irreverent, frequently informative, and habitually funny, this is the remarkable account of a young adventurer’s journey through a breathtakingly beautiful and dynamic country where the politics of oil and social revolution are never far from the surface.
11.99 In Stock
Socialist Dreams and Beauty Queens: A Couchsurfer?s Adventures in the New Venezuela

Socialist Dreams and Beauty Queens: A Couchsurfer?s Adventures in the New Venezuela

by Jamie Maslin
Socialist Dreams and Beauty Queens: A Couchsurfer?s Adventures in the New Venezuela

Socialist Dreams and Beauty Queens: A Couchsurfer?s Adventures in the New Venezuela

by Jamie Maslin

eBook

$11.99 

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Overview

Couchsurfer, hitchhiker, and rogue wanderer Jamie Maslin embarks on a couchsurfing adventure to the homeland of “firebrand,” “populist,” “anti-American” president Hugo Chavez: the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Alone in the crime capital of the world Maslin immediately finds himself in trouble—arrested by knife-wielding police officers and inoculated with an unwanted vaccination. After a terrifying start in Caracas, he soon leaves the teeming city and travels to the places tourists never see, staying on the couches of people he befriended online just days earlier, and meeting everyone from fervent social revolutionaries to the country’s wealthy elite. He sets off in search of mile-high waterfalls, flat topped jungle plateaus, rolling deserts, and the famous lightning that appears suddenly in the sky with no rain or thunder. Visiting sprawling slums and opulent mansions, Maslin offers a fascinating and timely social, cultural, and historical introduction to a country increasingly in the headlines.
Often irreverent, frequently informative, and habitually funny, this is the remarkable account of a young adventurer’s journey through a breathtakingly beautiful and dynamic country where the politics of oil and social revolution are never far from the surface.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781629140667
Publisher: Skyhorse
Publication date: 03/04/2014
Sold by: SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format: eBook
Pages: 304
File size: 2 MB

About the Author

Jamie Maslin is a writer and traveler. He has hitchhiked from England to Iran and couchsurfed all over Venezuela. He is the author of Iranian Rappers and Persian Porn and Socialist Dreams and Beauty Queens. He lives in Australia.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements vii

Prologue xiii

Chapter 1 Bloodsuckers, Boob Jobs, and Bizarre Names 1

Chapter 2 “Papers, please!” (Without the Please) 16

Chapter 3 Feline Frenzy 29

Chapter 4 The Truth Behind the Headlines 46

Chapter 5 Pole Dancing 63

Chapter 6 Surrender Your Booty! 80

Chapter 7 Jungle Fever 97

Chapter 8 Touched by an Angel 114

Chapter 9 Paradise Found 128

Chapter 10 The Real Lost World 143

Chapter 11 Rough Justice 163

Chapter 12 The Domino Effect 172

Chapter 13 Everlasting Brightness in the Sky 188

Chapter 14 Sizzling in Oil Country 198

Chapter 15 Missionary Position 219

Chapter 16 Smile, You're on Highjack Camera 241

Chapter 17 Venezuela's Indiana Jones 251

Notes and References 269

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