When it comes to humour there are two main kinds of travel writers. First up, there are literary travel writers, who are often also novelists. Among them are Paul Theroux, Jonathan Raban and – going back, but well worth a plug – Rebecca West. Fine descriptive writing is their forte and part of that is observational humour. Then there are the directly comedic travel writers. The most famous is, of course, Bill Bryson. With his trademark one-liners, Bryson is a combo of travel writer and stand-up comic. There are plenty of others. My favourites include Will Ferguson (notably Hokkaido Highway Blues) and Guy Kennaway (One People). But that’s not the full story about funny travel writers. Someone who can’t be readily categorised at all, for example, is the wonderful Martha Gellhorn who combined war reportage with black humour (see Travels with Myself and Another). And I should mention those special writers who combine highbrow subjects with lowbrow entertainment. Step forward Redmond O’Hanlon for natural history and embarrassing antics (try Into The Heart of Borneo). And I’m looking over at you, Nigel Barlay (The Innocent Anthropologist), for slapstick and anthropology. In truth, most travel writing benefits from humour. Your travel mishaps are so often comedy gold, so why not share them? It’s worked for Bryson ...