Eat the Wind
Travels with Dictators, Mercenaries and Queens
Malaysians have an evocative idiom for going on a trip: makan angin. It means "eat the wind," a perfect description of what happens when you go on a journey—you eat the wind! The phrase captured me when I first heard it backpacking through Asia in 1986. Now, forty years later, it is the title for my memoir available September 15, 2026 about extraordinary adventures, often far off the grid, before the internet changed the world of travel.
People who enjoy the traveling time capsule of Rick Steves’ on the hippie trail, or the adventure and humor of Mark Adams’ Turn Right at Machu Picchu and Bill Bryson’s Neither Here Nor There: Travels In Europe, will be right at home with Eat the Wind.
“I recommend this book. Dan Wake is a keen observer, and his sense of humor wins.” Tim Cahill, founding editor of Outside magazine and author of Jaguars Ripped My Flesh
“Starting as a teenager who could afford only hitchhiking, Wake takes us on an improbable journey of high adventures and unusual encounters on four continents, all before smartphones changed the world of travel.” Simon Calder, travel journalist and broadcaster
“Eat the Wind” is a literary time capsule and a terrific read for anyone who travels—or has even just thought about it.” Mark Orwoll, former international editor of Travel + Leisure, Lowell Thomas Travel Journalist of the Year (Silver Award) and author of Just One Little Hitch
“Eat the Wind is a testament to the generosity and acceptance travelers can experience when they journey with a curious mind and an open heart. Dan Wake was doing “slow travel” long before the term was coined—opting for public transportation, staying in hostels or small inns, and always interacting with local residents. The story of his addressing school children in a Thai village on Christmas has the humor and charm of a romantic comedy. And the tale of his sojourn with a German couple selling strudel in Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest reads like a suspense novel. Reading this memoir might make you wish that you’d traveled the world the way Dan did. And it makes you realize—you still can!” Elizabeth Harryman Lasley, former Travel Editor, Westways magazine
Awards
A story adapted from Eat the Wind about traveling by bus through the jungles of Sumatra, called “A Night of Bahasa,” won Second Prize at the Book Passage Travel Writers & Photographers Conference 2024.
An excerpt from Eat the Wind titled “It’s Not Greek to Me” won Gold in the Nineteenth Annual Solas Awards for Best Travel Writing in the Funny Travel category.
A longer story about being caught in a Basque riot in San Sebastian called “Euskadi” won Bronze in the Men’s (adventure) Travel category in the Nineteenth Annual Solas Awards for Best Travel Writing
My story set in Belgrade and titled “Cold War Camera” was Highly Commended in the Bradt Guides New Travel Writer of the Year 2025 competition.
Preview the book through the stories posted on Dan’s Vintage Travels publication on Substack. Or just check out this popular post.
Dan’s interview on the Carpe Diem podcast
I met Teri Murrison at the Travel Writers & Photographers Conference in San Francisco. She publishes a blog and a podcast on the theme of “carpe diem”, or seizing the day. My story of quitting a cushy job at a big law firm to backpack in Asia for nine months (nearly 40 years ago!) checked the boxes for Teri. Here is the interview.
