For most people, life comes down to a daily chore of pile management. But for a traveler like Ted Lerner, life often revolves around dealing with Gate Checkers. Gate Checkers?Yes, those people given a badge, a stamp and the authority to stop you from getting where you want to go.

In this his second book, the American author of the hilarious Philippine adventure, "Hey, Joe," takes to the road in the gate checker capital of the world, Asia. No matter the obstacles, though, Lerner never fails to uncover the juicy stories and one-of-a-kind adventures in the world's largest and most populated continent.

A trip to Japan leads to a bizarre journey inside the wildly popular and often depraved world of Japanese professional wrestling, culminating in a hair raising, ring side seat for a barbaric "death" match.

In high class Hong Kong, one of the city's most notorious landmarks provides the base for some low down diversion.

A lark to the practically untouched country of Laos opens the doors to the South East Asia of old. And, finally, revisiting the teeming and seedy heart of Manila yields a chance encounter with the big boss and a date with Ole Blue Eyes himself.

Part travelogue, part reportage, part outrageously good fun, this collection of five original travel tales will bring you decidedly off the beaten path, traveling as few foreigners dare, on journeys as unique as the countries themselves. From sex to death and all the colorful life in between, Ted Lerner's The Traveler and the Gate Checkers presents a fresh and unusual version of Asia. So open your heart and mind and get ready for the ride. But remember; watch out for those gate checkers!

READ AN EXCERPT FROM "THE TRAVELER AND THE GATE CHECKERS. click here