Primrose Roads

By Jack Outon

"Primrose Roads: Explore the World on its Most Dangerous Roads" is an adventure-filled journey along some of the most dangerous roads and highways in the world. It gives a glimpse of what motivates people to seek a journey along such hazardous roads and the possible rewards such a journey can offer. It takes the reader into the towering mountains of India and Asia to travel along the Khardung La Pass in the Karakoram mountain range to exotic Buddhist temples. It leads them to the subtle beauty of China's remote mountain country and tells the reader what it's like to travel at dizzying heights as the body changes to accommodate the thin atmosphere.

 

"Primrose Roads" also accurately describes roads that lack pavement or routine maintenance, often climbing up the side of a mountain and providing either minimal guardrails or even none at all. The reader will travel through areas of the world with seismic instability from the movement of the Earth's tectonic plates, viewing magnificent mountain and ocean scenery along the way. Hairpin turns that teeter over cliffs dropping into deep mountain gorges become even more exciting as the reader learns about the local history and legend. There is an insight into how the local communities deal with landslides, falling rocks, and unpredictable rainy seasons. 

 

Reading "Primrose Roads'' will take you into some of the world's most extreme environmental conditions and show you what you'll need to survive. You'll take a look at geographical challenges like frozen arctic tundra and sweltering deserts from the comfort of your armchair, allowing you to fantasize about what these journeys may be like if you were bold enough to try making them. You'll also learn that even these extreme environments have a beauty and majesty of their own that you cannot find anywhere else, and you'll learn about some of the people who live in them every day of the year. 

 

This exciting and thought-provoking book will even take you along roads that have a reputation for their paranormal activity, so be ready to stop your car at a moment's notice should a ghost appear in the middle of the road. Learn about the local urban legends that are the tales of those who died along these highways, and hear the stories of encounters that both residents and tourists have had with things that nobody can explain. Then, finally, take a futuristic journey into outer space via a real live space shuttle to the International Space Station, where you can gaze upon our whole planet Earth as you travel in orbit around it at thousands of miles per hour. So get yourself a cup of tea, and enjoy the ride!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jack Outon
• Release date: Aug 3, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201278519

Book preview

Primrose Roads

Visit the World’s Most Beautiful and Dangerous Roads

Jack Outon

© Copyright 2021 by Jack Outon. All right reserved.

The work contained herein has been produced with the intent to provide relevant knowledge and information on the topic described in the title for entertainment purposes only. While the author has gone to every extent to furnish up to date and true information, no claims can be made as to its accuracy or validity as the author has made no claims to be an expert on this topic. Notwithstanding, the reader is asked to do their own research and consult any subject matter experts they deem necessary to ensure the quality and accuracy of the material presented herein.

This statement is legally binding as deemed by the Committee of Publishers Association and the American Bar Association for the territory of the United States. Other jurisdictions may apply their own legal statutes. Any reproduction, transmission or copying of this material contained in this work without the express written consent of the copyright holder shall be deemed as a copyright violation as per the current legislation in force on the date of publishing and subsequent time thereafter. All additional works derived from this material may be claimed by the holder of this copyright.

The data, depictions, events, descriptions and all other information forthwith are considered to be true, fair and accurate unless the work is expressly described as a work of fiction. Regardless of the nature of this work, the Publisher is exempt from any responsibility of actions taken by the reader in conjunction with this work. The Publisher acknowledges that the reader acts of their own accord and releases the author and Publisher of any responsibility for the observance of tips, advice, counsel, strategies and techniques that may be offered in this volume.

––––––––

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: Terrifying Heights

India:  History, Culture, and Economy

Pakistan:  A Country of Ongoing Conflict

Mountains of India and Pakistan

Khardung La Pass

Fairy Meadows Road

Chapter 2: Hairpin Turns and Lack of Pavement

Living in China

Hunan Province and Tianmen Mountain

Tianmen Mountain Road

Guoliang Tunnel Road

Luzon Island of the Philippines

Cordillera Mountain Range and the Halsema Highway

Chapter 3: Falling Rocks and Landslides

Life in the Mountains of Bolivia

The Old Yungas Road

The Tropical Island of Taiwan

Chapter 4: Extreme Conditions

Navigating the Arctic Tundra

The James Dalton Highway

The Kolyma Highway

The Trans-Siberian Highway

The Arid Desert

Interstate 10

Tarim Desert Highway of China

Chapter 5: Crashing Waves and Changing Tides

Norway:  A Coastal Country

Atlantic Ocean Road

France:  Ile de Noirmoutier

Passage du Gois

Chapter 6: The Isolated Southern Hemisphere

New Zealand:  Pacific Ocean Island Country

Skippers Canyon Road

Milford Road

Australia:  Southern Hemisphere Magic

NSW M4 Western Motorway

Central Australia's Outback Highway

Chapter 7: Bandits and Terrorists

Egyptian Tourism in Luxor and Hurghada

Terrorist Activity

The Luxor al Hurghada Road

Brazil:  Rainforest Beauty and Organized Crime

President Dutra Highway BR 116

Chapter 8: Haunted By Ghosts?

Why We Love the Paranormal

The Haunted Tuen Mun Road

Stocksbridge Bypass of England

The A3 Motorway of Croatia

Mount Misery Road in the U.S.

Chapter 9: When Driving Is a Free-For-All

Traffic Laws

Why People Don't Obey Them

Federal Highway 1 of Mexico

Commonwealth Avenue of the Philippines

Chapter 10: Innovations in Road Design

Roads That Glow in the Dark

New Road Surfaces

Smart Roads

Chapter 11: The Final Frontier

A New Era in Exploration

How Space Travel Has Benefited Humanity

The International Space Station - a Global Effort

Space Tourism

Conclusion

Introduction

Life can often seem chaotic and unpredictable.  It is full of paradox and conflict, and just as we begin to feel sure that we understand its patterns and can cope with its uncertainty, the rules change. When life does not make much sense to us, we may turn our gaze to the late-night sky in search of answers. The sight of brilliant stars grouped in mysterious shapes makes us wonder, What are my origins? Where am I going?  And why am I here?

Since the beginning of time, we as humans have searched for answers to these questions. The first humans could have stayed in one spot, near the safety of their campfire, telling tales and planning for the next day's hunting and gathering. They could have passively left fate to their gods, praying that a woman would not die in childbirth or that a terrible storm would not destroy their village. But as we know now, that is not what ultimately happened, and humanity has traveled far since then.  Today, babies are delivered in modern hospitals, and satellites help us predict weather patterns that may cause distress so that we can take action to keep ourselves and our communities intact.

However, the modern technology, advances in medicine, and many other resources that humans have won due to their explorations did not come at a low price. Early explorers left the safety of their comfort zones to travel across stormy seas and unfamiliar lands before they found new types of crops to plant, new sources of timber for building shelter, and new deposits of valuable metals and minerals. These explorers often became mired in conflict with the local natives.  Even so, the explorers grew in many ways from the exposure to new and different cultures, and they often brought that new knowledge with them when they returned home.

But as the first Vikings, Leif Erikson among them, left the safety of their country's coast to sail out into open water with an unknown destination, what did they feel? Indeed, they were afraid, even if they hid it well.  These explorers knew that they might encounter massive waves during an ocean storm or could be eaten alive by mysterious creatures from the unknown depths of the seas. But they also knew that they might one day reach land that they had never seen, one that held promise and new life. Knowing that they may never return, they still set out, driven by a need to become more than what they were.

Why did Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man to travel in outer space, feel the need to risk his life at the age of twenty-seven just to ride in a cramped space capsule guided entirely by automatic controls 187 miles above the surface of the Earth? Even before his spaceship could take off, he had to sit for hours high on top of a launching pad, knowing that just below him were tons of explosive fuel. Gagarin knew that he was leaving for a place where there was no air to breathe, no atmosphere to protect him from the glaring radiation of the sun, and where temperatures are less than four hundred degrees Fahrenheit below zero. He knew there would be no gravity to hold him down and keep him secure. He knew he'd lose his sense of up and down, and would have to reorient himself to a whole new concept of the space around him.  He would probably experience nausea and headache during the ride and would only have freeze-dried food available to eat if he had any appetite at all.  Wouldn't it have been a lot nicer to stay home and eat a beautifully prepared meal with his family, knowing that the knife and fork would not float off somewhere?

Were Leif and Yuri crazy?

No, they were not. 

Like you and I, they were simply trying to give meaning to their lives. They knew that undertaking the challenge of such a voyage would demand their best. The sea and outer space do not compromise, and they do not settle for less. A person who dares to explore an unknown world must search for and somehow discover the power within him or herself.  Such a person may well find out that he has strengths inside of which he was not even aware. Or, she may discover traits and talents that will enrich her life and the lives of those around her for the remainder of her days.

So, what about you?

Does life make sense to you, or do you feel like a cog in a vast arrangement of slowly grinding machinery, part of the plan of someone or something you don't truly understand? Does your daily routine align with your values and with what is in your heart? If you were to die tomorrow, would you be satisfied with the memories you leave behind in the minds of those who are close to you? In other words, have you created the life you wanted, or have you simply settled?

How much of this world you live in do you genuinely understand, and do you feel that it is yours?  Or are you stuck in a tiny corner of it, with only a limited vision of it in your mind?

We live in a magnificent world of mountains, rivers, oceans, and valleys. Well over seven billion of your fellow human beings occupy the tiny desert and rainforest villages, the quaint country towns, and the sprawling metropolitan cities.  How many of these human beings have