The premise of the book is good. In each chapter the Hicks complete a day of their journey and one day In Honolulu it was sky-diving. In Beijing, a public Tai Chi class. In Tibet, planting prayer flags. In Nepal they abseiled down a series of waterfalls, icy cold water making the rock face perilously slippery and soaking them to the bone.

Hicks has a gift of describing the sights and smells in such a way that it feels completely immersive. Everything that interests him is covered: the hotel beds and food, the bustle of the streets, the small experiences with waiters and passers-by. I especially enjoyed the chapters on London and Paris, as it reminded me of the best parts of visiting those cities myself. The book might just infect you with the travel bug.

Be warned that the Amazing Journey has a strong spiritual side. There are detailed descriptions of buddhist monks, hindu temples and even the Christian Holy Communion. So there is a kind of all-inclusive philosophy here where “all roads lead to God”. Hicks also frequently airs his strong environmental beliefs.