Book description
In 1993, Dominic Stevenson left a comfortable life with his
girlfriend in Kyoto, Japan, to travel to China. His journey took him
to some of the most inhospitable and dangerous places in the world,
from the poppy fields of the Afghan-Pakistan border to the ancient
trade routes of the Silk Road, before he was arrested for drug
smuggling while boarding a boat from Shanghai to Japan.
After eight months on remand in a Chinese police lock-up, Stevenson
was sentenced to two and a half years in one of the biggest prisons in
the world, the Shanghai Municipal Prison aka 'The Monkey House'.
There, he was imprisoned alongside just five westerners amongst five
thousand Chinese criminals in a block for death row inmates and
political prisoners, where the guards drank green tea and let the
prison run itself.
The experience led him to reflect on his previous life in Japan,
India and Thailand, during which time he took on a varied array of
jobs, including English teacher, karaoke-bar host, factory worker,
busker, crystal seller and dope smuggler.
From Afghan gun shops to Tibetan monasteries, Thai brothels and the
stirrings of the rave culture in Goa, Monkey House Blues is a
tale of discovery and rediscovery, of friendship and betrayal.
Dominic Stevenson is a writer, musician and videographer. He spent
eleven years living and travelling in Asia before settling in the UK,
where he works in video. He continues to travel widely.
