James Teitelbaum is the author of two editions of Tiki Road Trip (Santa Monica Press 2003/2007), plus Big Stone Head: Easter Island and Pop Culture (Tydirium Multimedia, 2009), and has contributed to dozens of magazines and web sites, including: American Heritage, Playboy, Alternative Press, Road Trip America, Film Threat, and Tiki Magazine.  When not traveling the globe and scribbling about it, James lives in Chicago, where he works in the music business and teaches at a digital media arts college.

Born in Morocco, the enigmatic Gal Friday Night [real name withheld] owns an export firm in Thailand, where she lives with a retired cosmonaut and their collection of German Expressionist art.  She joins James for travel adventures, lest he make good on his promises not to return.  She also makes him eat his spinach, deciphers his handwriting, and tells him when “that’s a really bad idea in this country”.