WhirledAway
Overland adventures and off-the-beaten-path travel
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Hi, I'm Sarah.
I’m a long-time traveler and part-time wanderer, with a love of remote places and empty spaces. I’ve got a borderline obsession with borders and will go to great lengths and a lot of personal discomfort to travel overland as much as possible. By myself or with my husband Oyv (and sometimes my sister), I go for off-the-beaten-path destinations every time I get the chance.
For me the journey itself is not just a means to an end. It’s the actual traveling part of travel, that really counts. And that’s what this blog is all about: real, overland travel in unusual places.
Hi, I'm Sarah.
I’m a long-time traveler and part-time wanderer, with a love of remote places and empty spaces. For me the journey itself is not just a means to an end. It’s the actual traveling part of travel, that really counts. And that’s what this blog is all about: real, overland travel in unusual places.
Latest Stories
Roadtripping in Mongolia: an off-road adventure
Maybe it’s just me, but the first word that comes to mind when I think of Mongolia is ‘hordes’. But for a place once famously home to all sorts of hordes, it’s pretty empty now. Actually, it’s the least densely populated country on earth. The Gobi desert, the endless steppe, the taiga – all that vast emptiness – waiting to be explored.
Onwards and upwards: from India to Nepal
We got a taste of the mountains ahead on the bus ride to Syrabru Besi. The road was worse than the trek itself could possibly be. It involved teetering on hairpin bends of the sort that made me close my eyes, although I noticed that other passengers seemed to relish the views of certain death, should anything go wrong. Then, we set off on the trail and spent seven days hiking the Langtang valley.
India: scratching the surface
I’ve been to India many times before, but I just keep going back. India never ceases to amaze me. In part because no matter how much time I spend there, it still feels like I’m just scratching the surface. Here are a few of the things that – for us anyway – make a trip to India….such a trip.
Latest Resources
Crossing the border between Democratic Republic of the Congo (Lufu) and Angola (Luvo)
After being all but closed to outsiders for many years, and implementing a highly restrictive visa policy after that, Angola is now visa-free for many nationalities. Crossing the border itself is easy. Delightful, even, in comparison with the bus trip from Kinshasa to Matadi.
Crossing the Congo river from Brazzaville to Kinshasa
The Congo river separates the two closest capital cities in the world: Brazzaville and Kinshasa. You can cross the river border in a ‘canot rapide’ – boats that make the trip from one city to the other in about fifteen minutes. Too easy? Don’t worry. There are plenty of obstacles in store, thanks to infamous levels of corruption. Still, crossing this mighty river from one Congo to the next has been pretty high on our ‘to do’ list for a while. And here’s how it went.
Crossing the border from Gabon (Ndende) to Republic of Congo (Dolisie)
Here’s what you can expect when you travel by road – on public transport, no less – between Gabon and Republic of Congo. Buckle up, buttercup. Just kidding, you won’t find a seatbelt.
Destinations
Countries visited
Countries visited and written about
Countries Visited