Travels in the Far East

Leaving Milwaukee in October 1907, Ellen Mary Hayes Peck begins a nine-month tour through Egypt and across much of Asia. Written for the daughter who encouraged the trip, her account combines personal travel notes with descriptions of cities, monuments and local surroundings. India, Burma, Ceylon, Java, Siam, China, Japan and Korea all appear in the itinerary. Her foreword explains an effort to test passing impressions against the experience of people with longer residence.

Transfers between steamers, oppressive heat, meals on deck and troublesome cockroaches give the account a practical texture. Approaching Bangkok, Peck notices houses raised on piles beside the river, then hears about the king's railways and efforts to improve the city. Sightseeing and reported history share space with the discomforts of travel. Readers interested in travel writing can follow both the route and the assumptions through which this visitor interprets unfamiliar places.