Category: Big Adventures
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Jordan, The Dead Sea and The King’s Highway
From the Syrian oasis settlement of Palmyra (known locally as Tadmur) I faced 260km of empty desert to Damascus. Resisting the temptation to turn left for Baghdad, I pedalled furiously for two days, with only a couple of French motorbike tourists breaking the monotony, and arrived in the outskirts of Damascus early in the morning on the third day. I didn’t really feel like getting lost and stressed in a big city so soon after leaving Istanbul. There was nothing of particular interest to me there; I knew I would find another cosmopolitan environment to contrast the simple, conservative living I’d… Continue reading →
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Across The Desert To Palmyra
I’ve spent several days struggling southwards through Syria on the highway near the coast. I had picked up a cold and fever, and the constant headwind and persistent rain were making riding a real chore. Add to that the fact that my legs are still getting used to their new exercise regime, and it is easy to understand why I chose to turn off the main road and head inland. I soon left the dark clouds, rolling hills, red soils and olive groves behind me, and the skies began to clear. A mild tailwind and the thankful diminishing of my… Continue reading →
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My Conscience-Free Kebab in Aleppo
A while back I posted on the merits of vegetarianism. While not becoming a strict veggie, I decided that drastically cutting down my meat intake was probably a good thing, having the bonus effect of making occasional meaty treats more enjoyable. I said I was looking forward to eating a kebab for 50 pence without feeling guilty afterwards. And I’ve just had that kebab in Aleppo, a historical city in the north of Syria. Continue reading →
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Hitching from England to Istanbul
Facebook has managed to almost entirely replace email as a form of electronic communication amongst friends. While I dislike the immense waste of human energy that is poured into it, I decided to use it to conduct a small experiment. I would allow my Facebook friends one chance to directly affect my life in the midst of this enormous virtual shouting match. Should I: a) Wait 6 days for a guaranteed lift aboard an articulated lorry heading across Europe from Kettering to Istanbul, or b) get up, shoulder my bag, walk out of the door, stick out my thumb, and… Continue reading →
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Iran, Tehran, Highlights and Woes
Tehran has been little like the dusty, smelly pile of whitewashed hovels that my fevered imagination had conjured up. It turns out that Iran as a whole is a developed, stable country, with all the virtues and vices of any other modern state. Continue reading →
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Tabriz, And A Train Ride To Tehran
After a deeply memorable few weeks on the road, I find myself once again in a capital city – this time, it’s Tehran. Continue reading →
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East Azarbaijan, or north-west Iran
The prospect of crossing the Armenian-Iranian border was something over which we’d spent many weeks fretting. Tenny had been nervous about the idea of cycling in Iran – her home country – ever since we’d first entertained the possibility many months ago. For me, Iran was the most obvious and enticing successor to Armenia, rather than backtracking through Georgia or Turkey, and it was where Tenny’s family still lived, which threw up the idea of a surprise visit. With that in mind, we decided to head in the direction of Iran and cycle for as long as we felt comfortable,… Continue reading →
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New People, Places and Alphabets
On the second day in Iran we were taken hostage. Continue reading →
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Bingo. Persistence Pays
At lunchtime today I skipped merrily forth from the steel-fenced compound housing the Iranian Embassy here in Yerevan. After pausing briefly in the middle of the road in order to frolic, I galavanted with glee and chortled with mirth as I biked my jolly way home, carrying in my sweaty palm a passport containing a visa to visit Iran. I’m going to Iran… after all the waiting, red tape, payments and delays, it’s finally going to happen! Continue reading →
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A Quick Look Back At The First Year Abroad
One year ago, I pedalled away from my front door on a bicycle, with the vague intention of cycling round the world. As it happened, the bicycle itself proved quickly to be the least important part of my new way of living. It was simply a vehicle which connected me in an incredibly intimate way with the people and places I encountered. It was these encounters that have defined my life ever since the day I left, not the physical act of pedalling. Continue reading →