‘A Continental Affliction’ author talks travel snafus and wanderlust

When wanderlust called more than 30 years ago, Brian Shannon answered.

Before the internet, Siri’s calming delivery of driving directions, Ubers and Airbnbs, Shannon left a corporate job and sold his belongings to venture through five continents.

In “A Continental Affliction: One Passport, Five Continents & Several Questionable Decisions,” Shannon — equipped mostly with a backpack and eventually a bicycle — takes the reader through the good, bad and ugly of solo, far-away travel.

Between bartering for cash, sketchy hostels and catching truck rides with strangers, Shannon illustrates a curious, whimsical and innovative approach to travel with few regrets.

“I don’t think in terms of destination or things that I did that I would do anything any differently,” said the native Canadian who became a Towson resident.

Ahead of his Banner Book Club appearance on Wednesday at 6 p.m., Shannon revisited the initial wanderlust that fueled his book and continues to influence his love of travel.

This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

Would you consider taking this trip again without all the technological things we have now?

I think it’d be virtually impossible to not take advantage of the technology, which is really good and bad, right? For me, it created a lot of situations where I was forced to engage with people, and created a lot of different things that happened on this trip that wouldn’t have happened.

What were some of your key takeaways from being in several places where you were truly the minority?

It was refreshing in some respects. Being Canadian was a bit of a branding that was acceptable worldwide.

There were a lot of American travelers I met that were sewing Canadian flags to their backpacks to avoid a lot of issues with traveling like that, and so that was OK for me to announce that I was Canadian.

I was the minority in many instances, and I think for sure it made me appreciate the cultural diversity more.

Have you ever worried that other trips won’t live up to this grand trip?

Not really, because I have this trip to Japan, for instance — we were only there for a week, but it was such a remarkable experience. Now I have much more capable means of understanding when I go somewhere how to experience it and how to enjoy myself and kind of immerse myself in some of the culture and try things. So the newness of a lot of that is not as scary, and so it makes for a more pleasurable experience.

You hint at this juxtaposition between the friends and family that you’ve known, and then the good friendships you’ve formed from travel. Could you dive into that a little bit more?

A lot of these people ... they played such a unique role in my life at certain stages and were so important to me. I think the challenge of that juxtaposition was really that they were like two separate worlds, almost.

My family and my friends at home in Canada, they didn’t know any of these people, and really couldn’t appreciate them for everything that I could appreciate and vice versa. You just happen upon these people like once in your life, perhaps, and then that’s it. So, it’s a very fleeting type of friendship and that’s one of the most difficult parts of traveling like this.

All of a sudden you were on to the next and they were going one way, you’re going another, and technology didn’t exist to email them or something like that.

What is a piece of travel advice that you never stray from?

I think just being true to yourself and being kind and polite to people and never forgetting that you’re in their home instead of vice versa.

What is still on your travel bucket list?

Well, Antarctica would be great, and then I would complete all of the continents. I definitely want to see that.

I’ve been to all 50 states in the U.S., and I think I’ve got two provinces in Canada I’ve never been to. So I’ve pretty much explored most of U.S., Canada and a little bit of Mexico.

I’d like to see the Great Wall of China. I think that’d be a lot of fun, and India.