First published in 1510 in Italian, this book is a brilliant account of the travels of Ludovico di Varthema an Italian traveller. His travels took him far and wide – from the near and Middle East across India and the Indian Ocean right up to the South-East Asian islands including Malacca, Banda, Pegu, Java and Sumatra. He then came back to India before he set sail for home. The itenary is rich in its description of these places, the people and their customs. Tales of local history and legends abound.