And I’m off!

So, I’m off at last. As I embark on this adventure, with the first few hundred km behind me (and maybe just 13 thousand or so to go!), the enormity of it all, and the months and months of planning, all feels a bit surreal. Very surreal indeed.

I’ve made the London connection on time (hurrah for Southern!), crossed my first border, completed my first immigration, breakfasted against the autumn backdrop of Hauts-du-France, and navigated Bruxelles-midi. And I’ve been pondering why anyone (hopefully you if you’re reading this now) will be reading more. What will my travels and scribbles offer you?

It’s a fair question! I mean, why read about me: just one privileged individual setting out on their own adventure, a true trip of a lifetime? I’m not the first to make this kind of lengthy train journey, which is one I’ve chosen to make for my own pleasures. I’m not doing it on a unicycle or playing a harmonica the entire way! Most of the route is not particularly dangerous, although it certainly has some rough edges. And, let’s face it, we all have plenty of other voices and channels vying for our attention.

Whilst I have a plan that I’ve been slowly nudging into place for many months (maybe even years or decades, if I consider the threads and tangents that have led me here), there are plenty of unknowns, and that’s important. 

A large inspiration for this journey has been a wish to take a step back, not only from roles I’ve carried out within my business for just shy of 20 years, but in terms of the way I, and perhaps all of us, travel. To reintroduce the unknown and keep it loose, planning just the outline and colouring in very little of the detail. To leave the door wide open for happenstance, the unexpected and my old friend Mr Serendipity. I’ll be travelling alone for much of the trip, however my girlfriend Sarah is coming with me just as far as Istanbul (smart girl!).

For those that don’t know me personally, you can read a little about me here, but in brief: I fancy myself as being quite well travelled – I’ve been doing it for many years, and have even made a career out of it, launching several travel businesses that have led other people to enjoy the places I’ve fallen in love with. I’ve made many mistakes, missed more than my fair share of flights (although ‘fair’ would imply that none were my fault or through my acts of stupidity; they were, all of them!) I’ve been stranded on the wrong side of rivers, landed in a police cell in Bolivia, and been escorted from a Siberian train by a kalashnikov-wielding group of Russian soldiers. I’ve fallen into the great sewers of India moments before boarding an overnight bus! Scrapes and mishaps, yes, but laughs, friendships and shared moments in even greater numbers. Other people’s travels are a serious business for me – it’s my career and my passion – but I don’t take my own journeys (or myself in general, for that matter) any more seriously than I should.

Why?

There’s an overarching purpose to this trip, which you can read here, and this is what I hope will be the hook for those of you that drop into this blog from time-to-time.

When I travel, I tend to go all in. Other cultures intrigue and excite me, usually in equal measure. My significant language inadequacy aside, I want to learn and I like to share what I find interesting. I’m curious and nosey, and not afraid to stick my neck out and give an opinion where I feel I have an informed one. I’m no stranger to putting my foot in my mouth, tripping over myself or giving knee-jerk reactions, and always have eyes too big for my stomach (I’m going to try it all!!) and an ear firmly to the ground. Sorry for all the anatomical idioms!

What you can expect

I want to observe and have conversations; put over fewer of my own opinions and make an attempt at being a conversation facilitator. A fire starter? I wish! But I am hopeful that what I share over the coming months and beyond will have an impact, and perhaps even move a few dials. 

These posts won’t be daily; I’ll write when there is something to say, keep it light where I can and try to enrich the curious travel minds out there. It would be great to see your comments – please do drop me a response if you pop in. 

The very large elephant in the room

It’s fair to say that Iran has dominated the planning of this trip from the very beginning. As I worked through the can I’s, should I’s, and do I even want to’s, my knowledge and understanding of the country grew, and so did my interest. What started as a keep-my-head-down, express route, developed into a slower, more convoluted and expansive plan. Iran had, in many ways, become the expected highlight and certainly the section I was most intrigued about.

Watching the news from the Middle East this year has been a rollercoaster. The world is clearly in an extremely fractious state, with conflict littering the map. The possibility of Iran becoming impassable, or at least an extremely unwise option, has loomed over me throughout the past 12 months of planning. In more recent weeks, that possibility has moved to a probability, teetering on the verge of a certainty. The Iranian visa I was issued just a handful of days ago may have to wait a while for its accompanying entry stamp.

However, these sorts of trips, no matter the level of detail in the planning, are always going to contain elements of uncertainty and reliance on matters that are simply out of the traveller’s control, be it extreme weather, politics, conflict, sickness or more personal matters. As the age-old adage goes, you have to plan for the unexpected.

So for now, I watch closely, looking for reasons to be optimistic, but also loosely considering what plan B or C may be. No further decisions have been made yet, nor will they be until there is more clarity. For now, the trip goes on, and who knows, maybe an enforced change (no matter how disappointing it feels at the time) will lead to great, unexpected outcomes.

First and foremost, my thoughts remain with the people across the Middle East living in fear for their own safety and that of their loved ones.