One of the great things about being a travel blogger is the quality writing that I encounter on a regular basis. There are so many amazing stories to be told, and so much to learn, and there are some really talented people out there who bring these to our screens or handheld devices.

Once in a while someone’s writing really stands out and makes you appreciate travel writing for the art that it is; being able to paint a picture of a situation, a moment, a destination, or a state of mind with mere words. It inspires me to be a better writer, and to try to convey in even more vivid detail the experiences which play out on the road.

That’s what happened when I read Simon Proudman’s latest book Cannibals, Cults and Corpses, which is a collection of some of his most unbelievable, bizarre and unnerving encounters he’s had on his journeys around the world. Simon contributes regularly to his blog Far Flung Places, and has written several books before; his guide to Turkmenistan is currently in its second edition, and he has also written a travel guide to Vanuatu.

In my opinion, however, Cannibals, Cults and Corpses is where his talent as a writer really shines. Simon knows how to paint some incredible images with his words, and its wonderful to get carried away by his tales from remote Pacific islands and central Asian deserts.

Additionally, this book shows off Simon’s vast experience as a traveller; places both infamous and unknown, they’re all here. There are the places you’ve heard of, like Chernobyl – in one story he recounts his journey and night spent inside the exclusion zone at the nuclear accident site. In another he’s repeatedly being offered beers in Iran, famously an (officially) teetotaling nation.

Then there are the places that you only even dreamt existed – or perhaps you hadn’t even imagined it, like the ‘cargo cult’ on and island in the South Pacific. (A ‘cargo cult’, for the uninitiated, is loosely defined as a community which is cut off from the modern world. Aircraft have brought them supplies at some point in the past, leading them to develop a cult around the idea that the aeroplanes’ supplies are a gift from a messiah of some sort, and the aircraft itself the proverbial divine flying chariot. Yeah, this is really a thing, apparently).

One of the darkest stories for me was when Simon ventures on to an island in Vanuatu where it is believed cannibalism was practiced until very recently. What he finds there will send chills down your spine.

Throughout it all though Simon maintains his dry sense of humour and quick wit – what else can you do when you’re faced with human meat consumption, right?

It is the mark of a true traveller if they can get so lost in what they are experiencing and then bring those stories back and recount them so colourfully. I’ve been to only a couple of the places he is describing, but I’m inspired to travel to even more – even if the situations he relates are seriously freaky. This isn’t your typical romantic travel writing, but that’s what makes it so readable. As humans we are naturally curious of the dark side of our civilisation – how else can we explain our addiction to the daily news cycle? If you have a taste for “dark tourism”, or even a more general interest in the macabre, then this book is for you.

It’s hard to believe that some of these places and scenarios even exist, but this book is testament to the fact that they not only do, but that they can be visited either in person, or through the chapters in this book.

Cannibals, Cults and Corpses is available now through Amazon.