On the blog...
Here on the blog you’ll find (at least some of) our stories from the road, plus itineraries and plenty of first-hand advice that we like to think is useful.
Obvious exceptions like Turkmenistan or Bhutan aside, we travel on our own, sorting out the details as we go. Which works most of the time. Story, guide, or trip-report-hybrid, I write about what really happens to us as a direct result of this kind of independent travel. What we do, the people we meet, and everything else that rolls up together to make a great trip (…or not. But mostly great).
Since we travel by road (or rail, or sea) most of the time, there’s a lot of exactly that here – getting around on local transport in one form or another. And for some of our best self-driving adventures, I’ve laid out our itineraries and how to plan a similar road trip for yourself.
This type of travel inevitably involves more than a few border-crossings. So you’ll find plenty of posts explaining the ins-and-outs of some of the more complicated borders we’ve come across.
If you’re irresistibly drawn to the endless adventures and challenges that come with overland travel, then have a look below. Happy travels:)
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.
How to travel by ferry from Malaysia to Indonesia (Sumatra)
You can of course fly from Kuala Lumpur to Sumatra’s capital city Medan in less than two hours. But if, like us, you’d vastly prefer a lengthy overland excursion instead, you can travel from one country to the other on a combination of public transport offerings by land and sea. Crossing by ferry between Malaysia and Indonesia is easy, it’s just time consuming: it took us a bit under three days to get from KL to Medan. Here’s how.
How to travel from Thailand to Malaysia by road
You can of course fly from Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur in no time. But if, like us, you’d vastly prefer a lengthy overland excursion instead, you can travel from one country to the other on public transport. Travelling by road between Thailand and Malaysia is easy, it’s just a bit more time consuming. Here’s how to do it.
Self-driving roadtrip in Mongolia: itinerary and planning
Self-driving and wild camping in Mongolia definitely makes for one of the world’s ultimate roadtrips. Thinking about taking it on? In this post I’ve outlined our 16 day self-driving itinerary, and I’ve provided information to help you plan your own ultimate roadtrip.
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.
How to cross the border from China to Mongolia
This post is based on our experience crossing the border from Erenhot (China) to Zamiin-Uud (Mongolia) in May 2024. There are two typical ways to do this border-crossing. You can take the Trans-Siberian train from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar. Or, you can string the journey together with a bus on one side of the border, and then a train. So, if you ever wondered how to cross the border between China and Mongolia by road, then read on.
Getting a visa for China in Kathmandu
Getting a Chinese visa outside your home country can be a bit of a gamble. But, you can get it at the Chinese Visa Application Service Center in Kathmandu. This post is about our experience getting a tourist visa for China in Kathmandu, in April 2024.
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.