The Traveler and the Gate Checkers

Book excerpt: For most people, life comes down to a daily chore of pile management. But for a traveler like Ted Lerner, life often revolves around dealing with gate checkers. Gate checkers? Yes, those people given a badge, a stamp and the authority to stop you from getting where you want to go.In this his second book, the American author of the hilarious Philippine adventure, "Hey, Joe," takes to the road in the gate checker capital of the world, Asia. No matter the obstacles, though, Lerner never fails to uncover the juicy stories and one-of-a-kind experiences which can only be found in the world's largest and most populated continent.From the sheer madness, and brilliance, of tortuously crowded India, to the wildly popular and barbaric realm of Japanese professional wrestling, to high class Hong Kong and its notorious, low down landmark, to jaded Thailand and untouched Laos and, finally, revisiting the teeming and seedy heart of Manila, this collection of five original travel tales will bring you decidedly off the beaten path, roaming as few foreigners dare, on journeys as unique as the countries themselves.Part travelogue, part reportage, part outrageously good fun, with everything from sex to death and all the colorful life in between, Ted Lerner's The Traveler and the Gate Checkers presents a fresh and unusual version of Asia. So open your heart and mind and get ready for the ride. But remember; watch out for those gate checkers!