Outside Of Paradise

Download or read book Down and Out in Paradise written by Luke Williams and published by Echo. This book was released on 2019-09-02 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Luke Williams flies to Kuala Lumpur coming down off crystal meth without plans or much cash. He is in Asia for three years. He spends time working as a prostitute in Pattaya, eats snake heart in Vietnam, consults an American medium in Ubud, and explores the eye-popping red light scenes in Jakarta and the Philippines. Along the way, he encounters other Westerners who go to Asia for the things they can't find at home - riches, wives, ladyboys, cheap living and even cheaper drugs, cults, spices, mountains, tropical beaches, beach gigolos, 'self-esteem' necklaces, and ascended masters. Luke fully immerses himself in every environment and encounter, going far beyond reportage, while aspects of his own history - his dreams, disappointments, urges, and his inherited struggle with mental illness - begin to catch up with him. He becomes addicted to Valium, is haunted by the past, and ends up in jail. Ultimately, Luke is confronted by what is and what was, and his own footprint upon it all.