Out of Hand in a Foreign Land

by Stephen Koral

In his late twenties and appalled at the thought of doing a nine to five until he died, Stephen Koral bought a one-way ticket out of England to go and see the world. Embarking on a year long pub crawl across Asia with no fixed plans, the trip spiralled into a world of Indonesian prisons, police corruption, celebrities, and psychotic macaque monkeys. The nine to five didn’t seem too bad after all.Whether being chased by wild animals and locals in India, getting completely lost in Sri Lanka, avoiding gun owners in Thailand, and possibly most dangerous of all – meeting his future wife, Koral tries to find humour in the difficult, but usually self-imposed troubles found backpacking alone on the road. Adult humour and content.A note from the author before you buy -With all the free time everyone had during the first Coronavirus lockdown, Amazon would have undoubtedly been flooded by everyone having a crack at publishing their own book, with this one buried amongst it all. I thought after the mammoth task of managing to write an entire book, it would surely be a piece of cake to proof read my work. It turns out you should never mark your own homework as one of the criticisms in the reviews has noted several instances of grammatical errors, so I think it's fair to make you aware of this before you buy. Normally, I wouldn't be bothered as I only ever expected to sell four copies (three of which would be my mum and her friends), however to my surprise I have sold almost ten thousand copies since the book's release (and a big thanks to all who have supported me!). If you can tolerate the occasional minor mistake but still want a good story, then I recommend this book. However, grammar nazis should be directed to my follow up "Ill at ease Overseas" which was professionally proof read.At least with the mistakes you know this isn't one of the those books written by A.I., I suppose.Cheers, Steve

221 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 28, 2020

About the author

Born in the ghettos of leafy Cheshire, England, Stephen Koral didn't enjoy English class at school whilst growing up in the nineties. Ironic now that he considers himself an author - he currently has a couple of books out, and is working on yet another. If only the English spoffs at school could see him now. These days, Koral actively avoids classic holiday destinations in favour of slightly risking his life or freedom around dodgy places in search of a good tale. He has currently visited over eighty countries and has been travel writing for well over a decade, yet still uses a thesaurus to make his limited vocabulary sound more perspicacious.

Enquiries: stephen.koral@hotmail.com
IG: stevekoralskii

Reviews

[Luke Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely mental experience reading this! I couldn’t imagine being there although I definitely have a few more destinations on the bucket list now.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short and well told travel story. The descriptions of the places visited were colorful and fascinating. Most of the book describes Stephen’s friend being arrested on a trumped up charge, jailed in Jakarta and how the author helped his friend by navigating the corrupt legal system. I would have liked to read more about his romance and wedding to his wife in the book. I hope Stephen Koral writes more books.

[Chris Wilson · Rating 1 out of 5]

The equivalent of someone In Wetherspoons telling you about the mad bants they got up to on their travels

[Nick brown]

Outstanding insight to often unknown experiences

This book gives a brilliant insight to several things that one is unlikely to witness throughout their lives. This no holes barred travel book allows you to venture to places off the beaten tourist track, a reccomendation to anyone planning a trip to asia. The finale of the book is gripping as it also outlines the darker side of travelling. Thoroughly enjoyable read.

[Hayley Swift · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

I like travel books, and this one was enjoyable for me. I generally prefer a little bit more description / detail regarding locations and travel methods etc as I like to get inspiration and ideas for my own trips but it was certainly a good read and I found it interesting. Would happily read something else from this author.

[Andy Strzelecki · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have been driven crazy by the bad grammar, missing words, jumbled sentences and other errors too numerous to mention. Why don't authors who 'self publish' get someone literate to proof read their work before putting it into the public domain? Ironing out even half the errors in this piece of schoolboy-level writing might turn it into something worth reading if you had nothing better to do.

[Alison Pacini · Rating 4 out of 5]

good read but poorly edited.

As a traveller myself, it was good to connect with Steve and his experiences. To add, I know people who taught at said school in Jakarta when people were jailed. I almost gave up reading this book as it doesn’t appear to be proof read and edited. I found it tiresome to notice so many mistakes.

[Zoe Westray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Get yourself a sports direct mug full of coffee and settle in!

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this first offering from Stephen Koral and hope there's more adventure to follow with wife Mel! Recommended.

[Tim Hanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't normally read much but met the author at a hostel in rural Indonesia whilst travelling in November 2022 and bought his book off the back of a converstion. Really enjoy it, thoroughly exciting with all the wild foreign prison stuff and the author was a nice chap as well :)

[Jess Hayhurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not politically correct - but very funny - travel book across SE Asia. The second half of the book tone changes and if you're a fan of shows like "banged up abroad" you will enjoy it.

[sam rickards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable

Enjoyable book from start to finish lots of funny stories ,and a very easy read..look forward to reading more from the author

[Kev Harbutt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and scarily accurate - I've been to prison in Jakarta, too.

[Davis Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story

A really enjoyable read with a quite disturbing few chapters.
I will definitely purchase his other books as his honest opinions on matters are refreshing.

[Donna McDermott · Rating 5 out of 5]

enjoyable

Five star reading but it was difficult at times. The trials and tribulations experienced would be enough to put me off but glad there was a happy ending.

[Benjamin Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting read

Would recommend this book to anyone who likes travel/drama at every turn. Really well written and not too long and drawn out. Would of loved the ending to be a bit more in depth and covered off some of the end of Robs drama