About Me

Welcome to my Whirled…

Hey:)

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 chance I get.

It’s my own personal mission to wander in the world as much as possible in spite of working full-time, and in-between jobs too. This whole travelling thing all started for me a long time ago with a single Europe trip. Setting off with my brand new backpack and passport I thought, ‘Well, I’ll just have a look at the UK. And probably Italy.’ Yeah – not so much. One thing led to another and now I’ve been to 100 countries and counting, and travelled pretty extensively on all continents but one (Antarctica, just FYI).

But I should have seen this lifelong obsession coming. I’ve always been curious about the world. My Dad had a book from National Geographic (ok, he had a ton of books from NatGeo) but anyway, this one in particular was called ‘Splendors of the Past – Lost Cities of the Ancient World’. From whenever that book showed up at our house in the 1980s, I remember looking at it, leafing through the pages and poring over the photos. I was mesmerized by all these things out there in the world; I wanted to see them for myself. But I was a kid, and I thought travelling to see stuff like that was for ‘rich people’ (and probably that it involved a tour bus and a guide with an umbrella and horrible group hotel-and-dinner-bookings). But after my first trip I realised the possibility was there, and it was in my grasp. All I had to do was work constantly (and not study as hard as I should, taking time out from Uni to make money and then travel)…but that travelling was, and definitely is, doable. And I’ve covered all but one of the lost wonders of the ancient world in Dad’s book in case you’re wondering. It’s sitting here on my coffee table in a pile of photobooks of my own travels.

Like everything else in life as we grow and evolve, my travel style has grown and evolved with me. I love a long weekend in a European city (who doesn’t), or relaxing at a beautiful beach. But even more than that, I love the challenge of a truly off-beat, unusual destination. One where there are no crowds, no queues, no Insta-ready sites, and often – not much in the way of resources available for the intrepid independent traveller. I prefer to travel by road from one country to the next – in other words, overland travel, which is the main focus of my blog. This love of overlanding has led to me spending an abnormal amount of time on buses, bush taxis, motorbikes, rickshaws, donkey carts, night trains, cargo ships…you name it. Pretty much any conveyance there is, I’ve probably been crammed aboard, sweating in a seat that isn’t meant for someone my height, likely sharing it with a family, or a chicken at least. As the saying goes, ‘Suffering is half the fun’…no wait, that’s not it.

Many, many people have asked me how and why I travel the way I do, or even expressed disbelief about some of these trips I undertake. But for me the actual journey is really a huge part of it. The challenge and logistics and calculating and planning (and eventual scrapping of every plan and just winging it) is what it’s all about. The actual physical travelling part of travel. And the total freedom to work things out on the way, without reservations (of any kind, actual ones or the ones brought on by nerves). And then seeing the wonders of the world for myself, as my reward.

So I started this blog. After enough weird facial expressions and strange reactions to my casual announcements that I planned to bus it around Bangladesh by myself, or spend Christmas in Sudan, or make my way through West Africa in a series of decrepit station wagons/minibuses, or motorcycle across a couple of remote jungle borders between countries best described by most people as ‘war-torn’, I thought it was time to share some stories about what exactly I’ve been doing out there. And what it’s like. And why I like it so much. I have also noticed that there is a dearth of information about some places (ahem, West Africa) and I thought I’d share my experiences and what I’ve learned, to help out other curious travellers like me.

I mainly write stories about my experiences on the road. Lately I’ve also started to put together some guides, based on my own routes with information about places I went and stuff I did. Stories and guides about real travel in unusual countries. Not a lot of the artificial posing at crowded waterfalls and flowy dresses so often proliferated on Instagram. I hope it helps, or inspires, or surprises you. Or gives you a laugh, at the very least (I’ve been told these stories are funny).

Ok. So sometimes I do wear the flowy dresses.

If you’re new here and wondering where to start: well, all the countries I’ve written about are listed on the Destinations page. Under the Travel Resources menu you’ll find some practical advice for independent travel in Africa and Asia. And if, like me, you’re irresistibly drawn to the challenges and adventures that come with overland travel, check out my favorite experiences and stories about public transport and border-crossings. Who knows, maybe you’ll find some inspiration for that next big trip, here.

And in the meantime, how about some of my favorite posts? I mentioned I’m a border-fetishist (is that a thing?). Here are a couple of stories about some of my best border crossings so far (on the blog, anyway):