A candid memoir of international business, foreign travel, romance and the temptations encountered by a young man living far from home.
“The Aromatic Bush Chronicles” follows Gerald Bratley from his beginnings near the Yorkshire coalfields into the bars, hotels, boardrooms and bedrooms of Europe and Asia during the final decades of the twentieth century.
Recently divorced, widely travelled and determined to experience everything life offered, Gerald entered a world in which business and pleasure were not always easily separated. Major cities had their recognised nightlife districts—from Paris, Hamburg and Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Taipei, Bangkok, Seoul and Manila—and overseas visitors were frequently introduced to a culture of hospitality very different from that found at home.
Written honestly but without crude or graphic language, the book does not conceal what happened. It records the romances, casual encounters, cultural misunderstandings, business negotiations, comic disasters and occasional misjudgements that accompanied a life spent travelling.
This book will appeal to readers interested in:
- Candid and unconventional memoirs
- Travel, romance and adult relationships
- Life and business in Asia before the digital age
- International nightlife and changing social attitudes
- Humorous accounts of human weakness and temptation
Warm, provocative and self-aware, this is not a memoir of respectable milestones. It is the story of a man who travelled widely, took risks, made mistakes and returned with an extraordinary collection of stories—told with humour, discretion and very few regrets.
Available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats.
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- Explore articles in the same category: Memoir, Travel and Working Life
- Kindle ASIN : B0G6SB51Z3
- Publisher : Independently published
- Publication date : 12 Dec. 2025
- Language : English
- Print length : 286 pages
- Paperback ISBN-13 : 979-8278470731
- Item weight : 336 g
- Dimensions : 13.97 x 1.83 x 21.59 cm