One Man Travel Plan

One Man Travel Plan

I would love to see someone make a travel documentary without the aid of, a big budget, film crew and logistical support. Can anyone with enough determination do it? Can anyone independently document every aspect of an epic journey from planning to editing? I think they can, which is why I have a one man travel plan.

I have decided to travel through Europe to North Africa and the vast Sahara desert. Then on through west Africa via the fabled city of Timbuktu to the steamy jungles of the Congo basin. Maybe further.

Why West Africa? Well to me and I'm sure most people this is a mysterious region that isn't documented other than when there is a war or catastrophe. The path less trodden is always appealing to those who are curious.

I would also like to look at the nature of journeys. As I will be on what I am sure will be a life changing journey I am aware that other people are undertaking far more serious and pressing journeys than mine.

There are those in Calais who are displaced by war and have traveled from as far as Afghanistan and risked every thing on an unimaginably difficult journey. There are others who have traveled against all the odds across the Sahara to reach a better life in Spain and Europe only to drown in the treacherous straits of Gibraltar. From Tuareg tribes, who due to climate change are leaving the desert for the city, to migrant workers and expats, I hope to meet people on very different journeys to mine and see what they have to say.

Previuos Travels

My first taste of adventure came when I was 16 and bought a European inter rail pass. I went on a mad month long romp round Europe with my mate Tom. It was the most fun I had ever had and set the seen for many travels to come.

Since my first youthful foray I have traveled every summer through most of Europe and to Morocco and India.

At the age of twenty I wanted a big adventure and to do it alone so I took an English teaching course with the aim of traveling overland on the trans Siberian to Japan to teach.

I never made it to Japan but I did reach China and teach English for six weeks in a small Chinese town. The most memorable part of my time there was going to small rural schools to teach classrooms of up to 60 children! Who were always very polite, singing songs to me when I arrived and making me feel welcome. I feel very lucky to have had such an amazing experience.

After leaving China I traveled on to South East Asia as far as Sumatra. After seven months thousands of miles and two continents I Finally became home sick ( and skint ) and flew back.




A herd of hairy Bactrian camels by a frozen stream in the deepest of wildernesses in Mongolia.






Around 12 or more school kids hang on precariously to a small but sturdy motor rickshaw in a chaotic Indian street.





A cow on the tracks! surely that's not safe.





Beautiful scenery around Youngshow the town in China that I taught in.






This is me at the golden temple of Amritsar the spiritual center of the Sikh religion. A beautiful
place where they feed thousands of hungry people for free every day!




This is a picture of me riding a yak. Yes a yak! Its freezing which is why I am hiding inside my coat. The lady on the left has no gloves and her jacket is undone. Mongolians are seriously hardy people.

Very excitable kids in China.

A Learning Curve

These are my early attempts at filming. I need all the practice I can get for my impending trip to deepest darkest West Africa. Which incedently I intend to film.

The exciting momentous moment I first use my new toy! The star of the show is my granny.

This is an early attempt at filming in Newcastle, complete with blurry, wobbly and fairly unwatchable footage.

Travel sketches of China and Vietnam

I drew this on a particularly hot afternoon in a restaurant in Hanoi. The staff were taking advantage of a quiet period and having a nap. This meant I could sketch them unawares and capture an atmospheric scene.




This was drawn in Youngshou a town in southern China. The scene just cried out to be drawn.

I spent a couple of days in Nanning a large city near the Vietnam border waiting for a Vietnamese visa. There wasn't a lot to do except draw. I found something strangely beautiful about these ramshackle barges.