“People & Places” by Husna Kassim claims to be a collection of 22 essays that involve travel memoirs, prominent stories of a few Malaysian people, and personal anecdotes from her life. However, after reading the book I felt it’s more about personal experiences of the author as a traveler and keen observer of life from a moot point.

Husna shared a gamut of insights through her eyes while living touring through some popular destinations of the world such as Japan, Moscow, Turkey, and Tunisia, etc. However, I am taken as she refrained from adding peculiar experiences from the UK, where she spent much of her professional life.

The book reinstates its stance on travel literature, especially the way she takes on her affair with beautiful beach-side villages (called Kampongs) of Malaysia.

The first part wraps up travel experiences possibly a tourist can have in those countries. The second part of the book delves deep in the writer cum citizen psychic of Husna, she pays tribute through the tapestry of wordsmitthing to Malaysian legends, prominent people – remembers them for their achievements. However, that part is short. And later on she recalls her growing days of 1960s, and interactive incidents with strangers on the streets of foreign soils that indicate a lot about their countries political bedlam.

Husna Kassim’s travel plans were impromptu and she often took the unconventional routes, appeasing her inward curiosity on foreign land. But it paved way for life’s some funniest queer experiences happening on the roads. Whether they take the form of unexpected detours, unintended adventures, unidentifiable dinners or unforgettable encounters, they can give birth to our most found travel lessons, and our most memorable and hilarious travel stories.

In a nutshell, reading “People & Places” by Husna Kassim is indeed like walking through her journey in her shoes. It’s pleasing, informative, and moving. Husna Kassim casts an indelible influence through her books of travel insights and deep matters that calls for cogitation.

The front cover page doesn’t depict substantial tour and travel vibes, but on the other hand, it resonates with the author’s desert sightseeing experience in Tunisia. However, foot marks in the desert supports the punch line: Walk my Journey.

The book drew me in for Malaysian tourism, to be honest, if you are planning a trip to this country soon, Husna Kassim’s vibrant detailed description of beaches and villages, with a couple of articles appeared on prominent travel magazines, will transport you there even before you land. ‘People & Places’ by Husna Kassim is written with pristine vocabulary and clarity of expressions. Some part of the book is a fine travelogue; it can be looked as a fine piece of travel literature writing. Putting it upfront, the book is a mix of travelling memoir and observations from her society.