In 1976 Tiziano was told by a Chinese fortune teller in Hong Kong that he was at grave risk of dying in an air crash in 1993. He didn't take it seriously, but it preyed on his mind and by 1992 he decided he was going to try a year of not flying.

As an international journalist specialising in SE Asia and reporting for a German publication, Die Spiegel, this was not normal. But his employer agreed as they could see it would bring a different perspective to his reporting and let him do it.

The book chronicles his year of not flying, which included seeking out a local fortune-teller everywhere he went. This led to some funny encounters with obvious charletans, and some insightful and inexplicable (by his previous standards) insights.

A lot of slow travel leads to a lot of reflection on the changes in places he has visited before, or in some cases not seen properlly before despite having been there. Many of the chages he sees as not beneficial for the people - and emptiness and hollowness that pervades life as globalisation sucks the lifeblood out of communities. Universal crappification.

By the end he is clearly taking a Buddist road for his future journeyings.