Solo Overland Travel & Transit

South America : Africa : Middle East : Asia

A no-frills website created for those solely interested in solo overland travel and transit through the continents. If you're into global fly hopping beach party island entertainment travel or tacky cruise ship holidays - move on, there's nothing here! Planning out overland routes through certain regions within the continents is challenging, and at times, extreme or insane, and totally worth the effort accomplishing them. Transiting solo across entire continents using any available transport, or hitching lifts is an exhilarating experience for those without time limits or schedules. The basic information and images throughout this site should provide a touch of inspiration for anyone focused on independent travel across, or through continents.
​This site skims through what most solo overland travellers will envision, encounter and probably end up doing themselves in their own unique way. Going it alone and cutting out your own itinerary is certainly the way to go, to get the real feel of interacting amongst local atmosphere. When travelling solo, many doors open where they wouldn't if there was a crowd i.e. westerners travelling together in packs, or in organised overland tours. Interacting with locals and complete strangers is a must-do priority, and does play an important role through the continents. This becomes automatic procedure whether liked or not. Interacting with total strangers may sound an impossible task to some. This is an important key towards direct communication. It also gives the opportunity to capture rewarding close-up street portraits, or whatever else there is of interest en-route on any journey. 
Images through this website have all been captured during countless long-term overland transit journeys through the continents by the site owner - Rick Hemi. Fresh content and info continues to be added at a random pace. Getting through just the home page alone will keep most busy, which covers different overland travel info. Although I've also done extensive transit journeys through western nations, this website doesn't cover Europe, USA, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand.
I've done the hard yards through continents for decades, so the content including over 2300+ images on this website is as real as it gets, by an individual solo overland traveller, who's still clocking up transit milage in 2020.
This website avoids click ad bait, click bait links to hotels and backpackers, tourist ghettos, holiday resorts, overland travel package tours, trendy rehabs, airlines and sea cruises, food and shopping addictions, selfie addicted travel bloggers & yuppie puff fluff travel influencers.
​Note: Using images, modified screenshots of images, data, or maps from this website - even with original source links back to this website is INVALID, without prior permission and consent by the website owner. 
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If you're independent, and into long-term overland travel like myself - without time limits to transit through individual countries & continents at your own pace and leisure, with an interest in random street photography, there's certainly something here for you to browse through that may help or add inspiration to future journeys - Enjoy. 

What is Extreme Travel? Mid-winter to Spiti Valley in sub-zero temps to photograph Snow Leopards 2020

Real Solo Overland Travel & Transit

The majority of travel blogger influencers today sell themselves off as vivid travellers, but in reality they're not - and they know it. In today's world of online false fluff and plastic, travel blogging is about trying to create an easy cash flow and nothing more. It's about re-marketing travel tourism, as though exotic places have just been discovered, and have never been visited. What? Sorry travel bloggers - there's nothing new under the sun, it's all been done well before most of you were even born. Fluffy travel blog sites all share common themes - the butterfly effect "it's so beautiful", "it was so amazing", "oh, how wonderful" - typical soapy tourist click bait that makes you yawn. Many travel bloggers and YouTubers out there do create false illusions, having zero experience themselves of completing any real-time solo overland travel across and through continents using basic bush-bus transport, or transiting in jam packed minivans for days on end, which all share the same atmosphere, thus being the complete opposite of the usual "you tube & travel blog" fetishes of total blissfulness. In general, travel influencers will surface brush biased rosy pictures with exaggerated fluff excluding anything negative, keeping it under the rug about locations. Some travel blogger influencers are just as bad or even worse than fake MSM news sites - which are overflowing.
Supposed "travel bloggers" are easily exposed and caught out, they instead, use free online travel images to enhance their blogs without even traveling through whatever region they're actually blogging about. Maybe their sponsor handlers should have given them gratis photography crash courses - Guys, you're a dime a dozen faker than fake!
Travel cheating is nothing new. It reminds me of an early LP Colombia edition riddled with wrong information. The only way of writing wrong travel data, is because the writer wasn't actually in Colombia verifying it. The writer had probably sourced travel information from out dated dribble, and had formatted his data from neighbouring Ecuador, or on the sandy beaches in Costa Rica? Maybe the writer was too afraid, filled with fear, to actually travel and transit through Colombia during the Pablo Escobar era - No Balls! I certainly didn't meet many foreigners during two overland journeys through Colombia's hard times during 89-1991. It was full on in Colombia during December 89. Bogota central was rocked by the largest bus bomb in the country's history. Avianca flight 203 blew too bits just after takeoff from Bogota from a baggage bomb, and while I was up in Cartagena, the notorious Medellin cocaine drug barren Gonzalo Gacha, his son, including five bodyguards were taken out in a fierce shootout. Colombian highway police road blocks were many with full on baggage search and heavy handed body frisking searching for mules carrying narco dollars. The same goes for two seperate overland journeys through Iran in 83 & 87, no other westerners in sight anywhere through the country. The same account for two recent overland journeys through Socialist Venezuela. Overland travel fakers are many these days, just wannabe dreamers compared from those who actually accomplish real overland transit journeys no matter the difficulty, the region, or how long it takes to complete.

This website uses real overland travel images taken through different timeline periods that have been personally captured by myself. The underbelly of the other side of travel blissfulness is rarely exposed in its true content, because the world of travel must be kept in its false form to generate income. Airlines, hotels, travel media and especially travel blogger influencers all paint the same picture - Everything is good, nothing bad, there is no evil. If the last sentence triggers you - there must be truth in it. 

A few quick examples of real-time solo overland travel on board local transport from Indonesia to Turkey, Somalia to Nigeria, Mexico to Argentina, are sweaty armpit odours, vomit on the floor, wasted food scraps glued to seats, locals picking their noses flicking the contents at you, the sounds of deep farts with wicked aromas, constant loud snoring, music at peak volume, used as a pillow, multiple cell phones constantly blaring, stale chewing gum and food stuck to your clothes, dog breath vapour, packed and squashed in like sardines, deep throat coughing and spitting in any direction, bush-bus aisles jam-packed with mountains of luggage, unwashed left hands grabbing your seat, -20C with no heaters, +48C with no fans or AC, smokey engine fumes knocking you out, washed out roads and bridges, spilt fluids flowing under your seat, irritating blowflies, mosquitos and insects trapped on board, random drug control baggage checks, drivers fighting with passengers, passengers fighting with other passengers, passengers interested in what's in your daypack, uncontrollable baby screams with smelly loaded diapers, windows closed during transit with smells of hot vomit, aircon freezing your bones-off, goats, pigs, or sheep crowding your space, random groping, passengers rubbing toxic toe jams, passengers sneezing throat mucus directly in your face, baggage soaked in black engine oil below deck, constant rattling clattering windows, extreme high-speed, holding out for load dumps and pee breaks, hi-altitude sickness, unbearable heat, the bitterly freezing cold, clouds of endless dust in your mouth, down your throat, and up your nose, non-stopping vibrations, bad unavoidable accidents, blown engines, damaged transmissions and diffs, isolated major breakdowns, intoxicated or drugged out drivers, highway bandit hold-ups, night thieves, standing room only, pushing, jostling and shoving entering or exiting transport, silent robbery, disappearing daypacks, contents in backpacks missing, loaded diarrhoea pressure on non-stop moving bush-buses, free sharing of ticks and fleas - need I say more?

Hitching lifts on anything with wheels has been normal procedure for decades through the continents. Most lifts begin at gas-stations on the out skirts of cities, where trucks are found in abundance. International border crossings is another hot spot for grabbing lifts. Offering lunch, snacks and cigarettes, positive interaction with the driver, and helping out if required en-route is always appreciated. No time limits or planned schedules is mentioned through this website for obvious reasons. Breakdowns, or stuck in the middle of nowhere happens, resulting in days, or even weeks of delayed transit depending the location, region and terrain. I've successfully hitched lifts through Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and South America without issues i.e. no accidents, no random bandit road hold ups, zero loss of baggage (1982-2020)
Image, on board a truck, stuck in transit on ice through the devils crossing. Notice the other truck in the background. It had slid off the icy highway heavily loaded with goods, and had probably remained stuck for weeks on end until a dozer arrived to drag it back up on to the road. 
​Five days held-up in sub-zero temps averaging minus -20C to -30C at night in the middle of nowhere has a few positives. A lifetime overland transit journey to remember, and certainly no Instagramers or blogger influencers in sight. 

 Overland Travel - Blast From The Past - 1980s 

I took this quick snap decades ago on board a local slow boat chugging northward from Bluefields towards Puerto Cabezas. The classic boat below, looked like something straight out of Humphrey Bogart's African Queen. Extra fuel was stored on deck in 44 gallon drums. Today, many foreigners are looking for the same overland atmosphere well off the beaten track, as far away as possible from worn-out tourist hotspot ghettos. Unspoilt isolated regions like this can still be found, if one has the energy and momentum to reach and transit through them. Basic land transport is still being used in the mentioned countries on the image, including others if you're game enough to handle rough travel with no frills attached.

A few isolated regions off the beaten track worth mentioning for those who are game, are from Manaus heading north to the Colombian-Venezuelan border. Another, a slow boat journey from Juba to north Sudan, or eastward towards the Ethiopian border is a real no-frills journey (believe me). The overland route from Brazil to Colombia via Venezuela will test how good your street-savvy safety skills are. The regions mentioned are either situated near Red Zones, or pass directly through Red Zones controlled by smugglers and militia, buzzing with drug bandits and human traffickers. Travel and transiting through any of these regions is entirely at your own risk. Forget about insurance cover. Even though I've personally travelled through these locations without incident, it doesn't necessarily mean a free-pass for anyone (including locals). It will depend who may decide to create a holdup, robbery, bribery, or extortion on any given day - it's the luck of the draw! Getting the latest up to date information from locals is paramount - certainly not from any out-dated L.P. or other trendy guide book warnings! Having the appropriate onward visas, if required entering neighbouring counties should already be in order before departure.
​Some frontier immigration and custom land-border officials do live on corruption pay-offs and bribes- Good interacting skills are required to avoid being skimmed dry of cash and valuables - Good Luck.

The term "Solo Travel" has been branded, as if it just fell out of the sky during the Millennial/Gen Z generation - What? How dare you... Just to clarify, solo overland travel was in full swing through the continents during the 1970's and 80's. How do I know this? Because I'm still one of those original old school overland travel addicts still going strong today. Those born in the late 90's upward assuming they've seen, or clocked up overland travel milage around the planet still have quite a few decades of catch up - Good luck.
Those using the term "solo travel" or who call themselves "a solo traveller", "solo female", or "solo male" that jet set across oceans only to relax on the beaches in Goa, Bali, Zanzibar, or to solely hang-out in Taganga, Rio, or Belize, without even clocking up real-time overland travel milage to reach these destinations are fake solo travellers - Sorry guys zero kudos.
Today, transportation maybe quick and faster, and more comfortable, but what's the rush? And who wants comfort? Using basic overland transportation is what makes any journey stand out from the rest, and remembered as a journey of a lifetime. The user term "solo travel" has definitely been robbed and hijacked of its true meaning and identity. It may sound "trendy" for those who jump on board defaming the true concept of solo travel, including themselves - How embarrassing and fake can one go? Genuine solo travel is about individually travelling through countries, crossing countless land borders, and continuing onwards over-landing from one continent to another at their own pace using any available transport, no matter what it looks like, or how jammed packed it is. Above classic snap, on board another train steamer heading southward through Odisha state-India during the 80's.
​Woke climate changers shouldn't watch this in case of triggering syndrome - Diesel V16 EMD GT46PAC 16-710G3B train engines still in motion in India. Westerners who are "woke" should check the train before departure. Hey, if it's a diesel powered V16 engine you can always walk instead - Good luck on that!

The death train in Bolivia during the 80's was rough as guts in comparison to how it operates now with pure luxury and zero bribes! Today, blogging "travel influencers"still think the death train holds the same historical travel status values - sorry, but it doesn't. In the late 70's & 80's, foreigners were targeted for bribe payoffs when leaving Bolivia to Brazil. Police impersonators were rampant through the country, who randomly used various tricks, to force unsuspecting foreigners to hand over their passports, and then pay hefty bribes to get their passports back. Rolled-up gunja joints, or cocaine was also commonly planted on victims to squeeze payouts. Some maybe asking how do I know all this? I was there, many times, and saw the above tricks being used in realtime reality. During the 1980s, street corruption, payoff bribes, random holdups, and robbing and thieving foreigners throughout South America was pretty hardcore. Nothing much has changed, newer techniques to extract cash and valuables from potential victims is as rampant as ever and ongoing. With the many countless long term visits through the continent, I've only been done once, by the best - The F.A.R.C. during a jungle bush bus transit journey. The bus was held up, by using a decoy flakita Colombiana pretending to board the bus in the middle of nowhere pulling a gun on the driver as she boarded. And no, the F.A.R.C. didn't find my dollar cash stash hidden inside a rough looking money belt, neither my passport. Being taken hostage, and then leaving that location without receiving a bullet in the back of the head during the early 90's was unheard of. A later interrogation from a Colombian military commander summed it up in one sentence "you're like a cat that came here with nine lives - but now you have only eight"        
​Now that the Chinese virus has crippled most countries to the brink of oblivion, things will drastically change after lockdown if travel freedom ever returns to normal. Sars CV-19 has created desperate people throughout the continents, who will rob and plunder from others to survive. You won't find the last sentence within global travel blog sites, because they need to make and create the false illusion that global travel will suddenly return back to dream state blissfulness.
Even what I refer to as "safe zones" will result with an upsurge of poverty street crime. It's called survival in the real world within chaos and anarchy. Unemployment, and loss of income quickly turns into uncontrolled lawlessness. Apart from western countries, there's no stimulus checks freely handed out in Africa, Asia, or South America. Increased banditry, mugging, rape, thieving and robbing through continents will become the "New Normal", so get used to it! Brave new world wasn't just a 1931 novel of future reality gibberish. One can always stay home viewing Netflix movies down in the basement. More classic travel snaps

Which Continent? Do It Now While You Can!

Maybe you've already planned an overland route through a continent, but there are many who haven't. Deciding where to land, to begin any intrepid overland transit journey will determine the direction of transit that usually ends at the tip, or the edge of any of the above overland route maps. Researching the internet on specific overland transit routes through a continent is normal procedure, but there are some regions that can only be verified on the ground with freshly gathered information from locals, or by other foreigners who have just come from an intended direction of transit. The climax of individual overland travel has reached levels that are unheard of in Safe Regions, but transiting through Red Zones, and volatile overland routes in and around the Middle East, including many regions through Africa is a completely different ballgame. Red Zone locations do change, move, multiply, fester, and re-establish themselves without warning. This website uses my own overland transit maps through various countries and continents that have been accomplished numerous times using different transit routes. Pre-planned travel through continents at times can suddenly change course, due to border closures, chaotic upheaval, invalid visas, banditry, virus outbreaks, terrorism etc etc. This is the real world we live and travel in, it's not sugar coated candy like the majority of other travel websites want you to believe.
The overland gateway connecting Africa to Europe and Asia through the Middle East, is via the Sinai Peninsula, or ferry boat from Saudi, Oman and Pakistan. The central and lower coastal route through the Sinai is, open thanks to Egyptian military and NATO security forces. The Jordanian-Iraqi highway (Baghdad-Amman) was recently reopened thanks to bi-partisan military security forces of both countries. Pakistan has mixed militia groups within and along its border region of Afghanistan. 
​Transiting through any of these areas (NWF/ Baluchistan/Chitral) is entirely at your own risk, and only if local authorities grant permission to do so. Afghanistan is still a hot bed of insurgency with countless sporadic attacks happening around the clock non-stop. Transiting through Afghanistan on road routes semi-controlled by pro-Kabul military forces changes each and every day. Deviating off into the wilderness within Taliban, Al-Qaeda-ISIS, controlled territory comes with unexpected risk. The removal of US military from Afghanistan will reverse the region as it was before the 79 Soviet invasion. Both IS and Taliban will almost destroy everything that has been rebuilt and constructed by western nations. Foreigners carrying overland travel manuals like LP, especially up to date issues should be cautious of out dated red zone data. The majority of warnings in travel books have already expired well before printing.
​Always collect fresh multiple sourced information directly from locals of intended transit routes well in advance before rushing off in to the void.

Iran has been relatively safe to travel through for decades. Iran is used as an overland transit hub with international land border crossings in every direction. Western nationals and travel bloggers passing through Iran photographing sensitive key sites, or using drones without prior permission or consent will risk the chance of receiving up to a 10 year jail sentence Two Aussie "travel bloggers" thinking they could do whatever they wished were deported after 3 months jail-time in a pawn swap deal! Having valid Iranian visas crossing into Iran is the easy part. If you're a passport holder from any country that's political biased against the Iranian regime, the ease to be suddenly arrested, interrogated, and held in Evin jail, where torture and rape has been common practice does happen. How do I know? I've seen it first hand up close.
​I've personally met different Mid-East nationals while under arrest myself in lock-up accused for spying during a 2nd visit in Iran. Many were jailed and tortured inside Evin prison for various reasons. Some were bound with arms and legs tied together, hung upside down naked, wet down by high pressure hoses, electrocuted and severely beaten on their backs, buttocks and legs during their stay in Evin Prison. Witnessing endless amount of scar remains of human torture on more than 30+ prisoners inside an Iranian jail is as real as it gets!
Syria's Red Zone regions have various Islamic militia proxies scattered through the south, north and east of the country. Reaching Lebanon, or further south to Damascus on to Jordan from Gaziantep-Turkey can be completed on semi-secure routes controlled by the Assad military - at your own risk and peril. Everyday has different outcomes, some good, some bad. Nassib is the southern border crossing from Syria to Jordan. 
There are still no ferryboat services from Greece, linking Syria, Israel, Egypt or Lebanon since the Middle East refugee crisis began in 2012. However, some cargo ships out of Alexandria, Beirut, and Israel are known to take passengers, motorbikes, and vehicles. A ferryboat link operates weekly from Muscat-Oman to Gwadar -Pakistan. Saudi tourist E-Visas makes it simple to continue through to Sudan, Jordan, Egypt, Eritrea or Djibouti by ferryboats and land transport. Driving vehicles in Saudi can be expensive - if local drivers smash into you, visitors pay the bill even if it wasn't the foreigner that caused the accident. Full valid car insurance driving in Saudi is imperative! 
Yemen is a Red Zone, it's volatile with high levels of sporadic insurgency through the country. Crossing the Egyptian border to Libya can be done if onward visas have been issued. This also applies when entering Afghanistan from Iran, and onward to Pakistan and India. Overland travel journeys through the Maghreb & Sahel region of Africa is at your own peril i.e. Algeria to Nigeria, Libya to Nigeria. Nigeria to Sudan. In general, plenty of time and patience is required completing transit journeys using basic transport through most regions mentioned above.
​Depending on nationality, applying for necessary onward visas of certain countries in northern Africa and the Mid-East is normally required in advance for neighbouring countries.  i.e. Oman, Yemen, Saudi, South Sudan, Iraq, Iran Afghanistan, Syria, Chad, CAR, Niger, Cameroon, Nigeria, Libya.

Visas : Embassies : Consulates - Plan Well Ahead!

Applying for visas for onward travel into neighbouring countries can be an issue depending on passport nationality. Just because you may hold an American, Canadian, or European passport doesn't necessarily guarantee an automatic visa issue. This will solely depend on where one submits their passport for a particular visa, and will also depend on the person issuing the visa. India, DRC and China are examples out of many countries that can be complicated for some who apply for visas outside their country of residence. Imagine travelling half way through an overland transit journey through a continent, only to have a spanner in the works because a particular consulate or embassy rejects your visa application - this does happen. Many western foreigners have been caught off-guard because of not pre-planning well in advance and leaving a required visa to the last minute, i.e. a Consular office of a neighbouring country that has either closed down, or randomly rejects visa applications due to certain nationalities, appearance, or gender. The cost of a flight ticket over a country because of a rejected visa issue isn't only an added expense, but it also beats the purpose of overland travel and transit. Returning, and back tracking through another route may or may not work, and usually requires more extra transit milage to deviate around a country which is normally difficult to do. It could also involve transiting through Red Zone regions that may have random banditry holdups, bribes and ransom pay-offs, or militia groups that show no mercy towards certain nationalities passing through their turf.

If You're Going to Travel - Travel... Don't Just Talk About It!

Applying for any visa no matter what country or continent, should always be done at Consulates rather than at Embassies, and submitted on a Thursday or Friday. The chances of receiving a visa rejection is more common at Embassies than Consulates. Arriving at a Consulate applying for a visa on a Monday or a Tuesday may be rejected depending if the Consular officer had experienced a bad weekend. Looking too scruffy, smelly, or exposing too many tattoos, or having excessive long hair (as a male) that looks as if it hasn't been combed or washed for weeks can also cause issues - First impressions apply and play an important role for any guaranteed visa issue.
In general, Consular staff will normally follow a set of rules and guidelines that are usually not compromised no matter the nationality applying for visas, but there's certainly more than enough evidence from different nationalities across the planet who have been denied visas for reasons outside normal Consular guidelines. Some visa rejections include - nationality, insufficient funds, no exit ticket, passport expiry date, limited pages left in passport, grubby torn passport, convicted or jail time more than 12 months, false data and information on visa applications, applying for a second or third visa for any country that has already been recently visited by passport holders. An Israeli stamp, or an Egyptian/Jordanian entry stamp at border entries from Israel even today will instantly deny visa issues for Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Syria, Libya, Kuwait, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Sudan.
A valid train or bus ticket leaving from one country into another is valid as an exit ticket to enter into most countries i.e. Joburg to Maputo, Singapore to Kuala Lumper, Delhi to Katmandu, Beijing to Ullan Bator, Buenos Aires to Montevideo, Santiago to Mendoza. 
India is a good example, as from March 2019, Indian missions having biometric enrolment facilities have started issuing 5-year long-term tourist and business visas.The remaining missions will provide this facility in due course. E-tourist and e-business visas can be issued with up to a one-year validity. Citizens from USA, Canada, and Japan can stay continuously for 180 days at a time. Other nationals who qualify for the e-visa also receive 12 months and can remain continuously up to 90 days maximum. 
An Indian long term visa with multiple entries will give the opportunity of transiting to and from Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Pakistan, which opens up multiple overland gateways i.e. onward to Europe via Iran, the Karakoram pass into China, and onward to Europe via Kyrgyzstan, or north to Mongolia (trans Siberian), or from Nepal into Tibet (a permit/guide is required) before crossing into China from Nepal. Open borders from or into China via Laos, Vietnam, and Myanmar are other overland transit route options.
Visas for South and Central America have almost dwindled down to a formal entry stamp at borders for most western national passport holders, although some Latin countries do charge the same visa reciprocity fees that apply to Australian, EU, and US nationals i.e. Brazil and Bolivia
Africa on the other hand, will depend on the route and direction of overland travel, especially if crossing through the entire northern region of the continent. The most important point to remember here is, when any requested visa is denied from one particular Consulate - don't give up, it may be granted at another Consulate, or Embassy in a neighbouring country without any issues. More about visas  here

Fresh Passports - Before Departure

Rubber stamping through a continent can fill up a passport in no time! 

The worse scenario over-landing through any continent is running out of space in passports. Being refused a visa because a passport has reached its limitation of 2 blank pages happens. Never leave it too late replacing passports that have reached their last six months of validity. Some countries may not have embassies, consulates, or missions abroad with nations whom they don't trade with. Imagine being in a country, and requiring onward visas to neighbouring countries with insufficient pages, and no embassy to replace a full passport. Global agreement with most passport holders is having a minimum of two full blank pages with at least six months validity. Immigration officials don't care where they stamp. Asking immigration officers "politely" to enter entry and exit stamps on the visa itself, or on to a page with other entry and exit stamps will save page space. If you don't request this, passports will become full of entry and exit stamps on blank pages very quickly. Updating or replacing, passports before departure saves wasted time and energy running around off-shore. If you're lucky, additional pages added into passports is another option, although now a rarity if permitted.
Below, 3 sets of 12 additional pages were permitted in NZ passports through the 80's & 90's  - forget about it today! 

Check Visas - Or Suffer 

I had once shared company with a UK national en-route from Pakistan to India. He had just been issued a fresh Indian visa in Islamabad, but as soon as we had passed through the Wagah border crossing, Indian immigration officials escorted him straight back to Pakistan, because the Indian visa wasn't signed-off by the attache. It took the UK national an additional 3 days turn around, including the cost and energy to get the issued visa signed. He was fortunate enough to have enough validity left on his Pakistani visa. The first thing when new visas are issued, is to check for its validity, expiry and signature. There's no use screaming when reaching international land border crossings after days of transit to find out a visa is invalid due to not checking it before leaving Consulates or Embassies.
Occurrences like this happens more often than what most assume. Invalid issued visas to neighbouring countries may also give unwanted complications in the country where it was issued, if visas of that country have expired. This will involve even more time and cost to receive an added visa extension, which can be denied. Some countries do permit overstay limits with added fee charge rates per each day of overstay, but this may also jeopardise future visa issues to certain countries. It's recommended to leave countries one or two days before visas expire. The image above showing quick examples of signed-off signatures on used visas of Paraguay, DRC and Syria.

Souvenir Stamps In Passports

Decades Ago there Wasn't An Issue - Today It's An Issue!

Passport containing souvenir novelty stamps - no matter what or where they're from can null and void passports invalid on the spot by immigration officials. Of late, there has been an increasing amount of foreigners who have arrived into various countries who have souvenir and novelty stamps in passports that have had their passports revoked. Of course, this solely depends on officials who may randomly seek and discover weird looking stamps that have nothing to do with immigration. This also includes certain airline carriers before departure, by checkin and flight officials flicking through passports at checkin. Western passport holders usually have no problems arriving back to their own countries having multiple souvenir stamps in passports, although today, in the craziness, it's highly recommended to avoid being a risk-taker. If caught, the cost of replacement passports and delayed travel time is at your own expense.
​Decades ago, there wasn't an issue with souvenir stamps, especially not from airline checkin staff (as if baggage weight tariffs isn't enough). I too, had a few of my own souvenir stamps scattered through previous passports from the 80's-era before novelty stamps became trendy postcards.
A classic ongoing issue still causing problems, are used or valid Israeli visas or stamps in passports, especially for those over-landing through the Middle East and north Africa. Although it's an automatic procedure to have Israeli stamps placed separately on paper, the entry stamp into Egypt via Taba, Gaza or from Jordan will cause issues further down the road. Certain Arab and African consular and embassy staff have stringent rules checking passport pages for entry/exit stamps from Israel. Jordanian border officials may place entry stamps separately on paper - like the Israeli's do, but this does not help when applying for onward visas in neighbouring countries. Having no entry stamp entering Egypt or Jordan immediately exposes, that one has crossed the Israeli border. Consular staff through the Mid East and north Africa are well aware of this. I've had several experiences by Syrian, Sudanese and Iraqi consular staff flicking through every page of my passport hunting for Israeli and entry stamps in to Jordan and Egypt.
​This applies to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Saudi, Yemen, Oman, and Iran. Carrying any type of Israeli made souvenirs, like money, trinkets with Hebrew inscriptions, clothes and bags with Israeli labels, or cell phones and camera cards containing data or images taken in Israel will cease travel of the previous mentioned countries.
​If searched and caught with any evidence of being in Israel may result with heavy interrogation, jail time, and deportation at your own expense.
​As of late, the geopolitical change with Arab nations recognising Israel involves more than 19 countries. UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi, Sudan and even Syria are finally figuring it out that peace with the Jewish state is well overdue.  

Backup Cash Stash - In The Middle of Nowhere

Cash may be non-existent in your own country, but through continents cash is still a major player!  

A supply of cash is always recommended in the middle of nowhere, where ATM's are non-existent, or even days away when they're actually required. Latino, African, and Asians through their respective continents use and handle cash every day. When crossing land borders, exchanging local currency from one country to the next has never been an issue - with minimal loss of exchange rates. When major earthquakes or other climatic disasters occur, the first thing to shutdown are ATM's running empty of cash. At land border crossings through Africa, money changers are waiting for you. Haggling for the highest rate is normal procedure. Fresh clean unripped bills are accepted anywhere. Grubby torn notes with scribble or food stains may be rejected. Purchasing US dollars off-shore is another option, until the dollar becomes worthless, or switched to digital crypto currency, and the future of global personal imbedded biochips to buy and sell without the need of smart phone apps.

It's legal to carry $10,000 US dollars in cash without having to declare it. Carrying copies of original purchase transactions of cash stashes is recommended. This verifies to border authorities proof of where the cash came from, if searched. Carrying gold and silver is legal and isn't an issue if purchased with authentic invoices. China, Nepal and India do have security checks at land border crossings and airports for gold, narco drugs, and cash smugglers.
I have decades of different overland transit journey stories, here's a short version of one about hiding cash. I had met a nervous looking Japanese dude in Venezuela, who shared a ride with me to the Brazilian border. I had asked him if he was carrying cash dollars, which he was. I had told him the previous day to hide all his cash down in his ball-bag area, so he wouldn't lose it during security checks before departing Venezuela.
On arrival at the border, we were automatically split up, and force escorted into rooms for baggage search. Venezuelan border customs know foreigners carry cash, and the usual hiding places. Without having proof of official exchange invoices of cash, border customs officials take whatever they find - for free. After a thorough inspection, I met the Japanese guy waiting outside, who looked deeply depressed.
He lost his cash supply, because of hiding it in pockets of folded jeans, and inside a shaving bag. If he would've taken my advice, he'd still have his cash stash!  Only wise people listen to good advice, many people today are blind to it.

Solo Overland Travel - Don't Become A Drug Mule!

It's better to be stone broke and free rather than rotting away in hot sweaty jail cells!

Over the decades through various continents, I've met some really stupid foreigners who have nothing better to do than wasting themselves away smoking meth or snorting cocaine everyday. Some foreigners will actually fly the air milage to Colombia, Ecuador or to Bali, to snort cocaine and smoke meth, just because it's cheaper. Drug mules are usually in debt, or stone broke off-shore, an addict, or just plain lazy with greed to make fast bucks.
​Old tricks, like mailing narcotics hidden in souvenirs using alias names, or swallowing a pile of cocaine capsules, with some dying from a busted capsule, hiding narcotics in baggage cavities, or strapping and taping drugs on the body are smuggling techniques still being used today. In general, international land-air-sea border drug custom agents are up to speed with drug smuggling tricks and techniques. 

Even hitching rides on board private yachts to Australia or to New Zealand from Panama through the Pacific Ocean via Tahiti, Tonga, Samoa, or Fiji can be risky. Boat owners may have loaded the hull with blocks of cocaine or fentanyl. Foreigners becoming drug mules are caught and busted non-stop around around the planet. Some are even arrested before flight departures, or when crossing international land borders. Foreigners are also used as decoys, or tricked for a percentage of reward bounty. In most instances, westerners with debt burden, and those wanting fast bucks become drug mules. Most fresh drug mules don't even bother researching data or the fate from others previously busted. Airport body X-Ray machines easily detect internal swallowed loads of narcotics. The risk factor of being caught automatically multiples when re-entering or departing from the same country on too many short visits. Body x-rays and facial recognition is alive and well through most airports. Collected facial data and passport information today is globally shared.  
Marijuana and Gold smuggling into Nepal or India will also give hefty jail-time! Severe penalties are enforced for even the smallest amount of soft or illegal narcotics

Flying out from Nepal, India or other regions of Asia with small amounts of cannabis can give some serious prison time. An Israeli female citizen en-route from India to Tel-Aviv via Moscow recently received seven and a half years jail for carrying 9 grammes of cannabis found in her checked baggage transiting through Moscow airport. This was probably an internal Israeli-Russian affair of political wrangling.  
​The Pacific islands are clamping down hard on cannabis. Smuggling hashish in Pakistan is no-brainer - period! Little Guyana has increased severe penalties for cannabis growers, cannabis drug mules, ganja street sellers, and users. Thailand has cannabis busts every week! 
Countries that do have relaxed rules for cannabis and hashish doesn't mean that one can freely carry a loaded backpack full of weed or hashish across international borders. 
Smoking weed and hashish legally in foreign countries is one thing (Uruguay, Argentina, Israel, USA, Canada, EU). Getting caught in countries with grey rules will end-up bad! South east Asia and Latin countries are slowly beginning to reform their cannabis laws, but until it becomes official, cannabis is classified as an illegal drug. There's more on drug busted westerners in the Asian and South American pages.

Smuggling For Profit - A No Brainer!

Today, randomly collecting plants, seeds, flowers or capturing exotic reptiles like lizards to smuggle out of any country will land you straight into a jail cell. Lengthy prison sentences, including hefty fines, and deportation with black-bans for future visits has now become common practice. This also applies smuggling  endangered animal skins, and bones. Eco-Trafficking wildlife - dead or alive, without official government certification to export should be avoided.
​Quick examples, A Japanese national was caught and arrested in Indonesia trying to smuggle more than 250 reptiles which carries a maximum 5 year jail term. Another Japanese national was jailed in Ecuador for 2 years with a $4000 dollar fine for trying to smuggle insects on a flight from Quito. A UK national was caught at Heathrow customs smuggling Kestrel and fish eagle eggs from South Africa. He was jailed for 3 years. A Belgian national was arrested at Lima airport in Peru with 20 live birds, he now faces a 5 year prison term in a Peruvian jail. National Geographic - Amazon bird eggs are black market gold 
Smugglers just never learn, their greed for quick cash blinds them in the end - Kenya June 2020  

Overland Travel - Ammo In Baggage

Don't even think to carry any type of primed or spent (used) ammo shells no matter the caliber size in travel baggage. Westerners who have been caught are automatically interrogated, and in some cases fined jailed and deported. Foreigners caught with live or spent ammo cartridges are automatically placed on an international data base watch list. Check all travel baggage before crossing international land borders or fights if someone else helped or re-packed baggage. Getting busted crossing borders with narcotics, illegal drugs, seeds, reptiles, weapons and ammo will result with delayed travel, fines, jail time, and deportation.    ​

Foreigners travelling off-shore with valid firearm or gun permits issued from their country of origin will also be subjected to the same penalties carrying live or spent ammo in baggage crossing international borders. Even though the Middle East may have enough spent brass laying on the ground to sink a ship, it's advised to leave these collectible souvenirs behind! Watch out Airport bullet in bag scams :  Middle East : Bali : Bangkok          

Smuggling Wildlife Hides - Straight To Jail

Purchasing wildlife skins anywhere off-shore without having legal certification certificates will automatically result with a hot grilling by customs authorities with hefty fines. Possible jail-time, including deportation and black-banned for future visits into certain countries may result. Those purchasing illegal wildlife skins are only helping a global black market to continue and flourish. Smuggling wildlife skins is a thriving market. Leopard skins India : Global Crackdown : China admits to smuggling Tiger skins :  Russian Chinese smugglers  

Solo Travel - RED ZONES

 Red Zone regions constantly move & shift non-stop into new territory every month!

There is no such thing as Zero Risk in Red Zone Territory!

Red Zones are many expanding at an alarming rate especially through Africa. The Middle East has a never ending cycle of Red Zones rotating non-stop through the entire region. Locals residing within or close to red zone regions are attacked, shot, robbed, raped, and murdered everyday. The global travel industry, including the majority of western travel bloggers only give an account of what they're promoting within their desired promotional safe zones. Most lack reporting on the increasing insurgency right next door to them, or from across neighbouring borders. Western foreigners travelling overland through a continent will eventually end-up deciding whether it's worth the risk to pass through a Red Zone region, and even remain within certain Red Zone regions for a month or two. Many do it, I've also done it numerous times, but just because someone else recently passed through Mali, Syria, Libya, Somalia or Venezuela doesn't mean everyone makes it through without some form of random highway attack, mugging, extortion ending in rape or loss of life. Is it worth it? Do you feel lucky? Some have thought they were and didn't make it because of dull alertness and awarenesses. Ending up in a body bag only happens once. Example - Senegal, 3 Spanish females in transit raped and robbed ​

How about being dropped-off from a bus around midnight along a stretch of highway with travel baggage and photo-gear on the outskirts of Maracaibo - Venezuela. The sound of gun fights close-by, and speeding locals driving past with headlights-off, and everything is closed, locked down and chained-up for the night. Getting held-up by highway bandits, or dragged-off buses by militants, or harassed at road-block check points by corrupt army/police extorting cash bribes is something I'm familiar with through regions in Africa and South America.
Scenarios like these materialise and do happen, and usually always unexpectedly without warning. Westerners outside of their safe comfy-bubbles confronting the above for the very first time, will probably fold with shaky knees peeing their pants. Travelling through certain overland routes do have various levels of risk, with each day ending with different outcomes - one day can be good, another day bad! 
In the real world of overland travel, it isn't fake or mocked-up - not like many You Tube travel blogger clips, which are easily exposed just for 5 mins of fame. Flying visits in and out of "dangerous" capitals for very short time periods, just enough to complete travel clips for You Tube is common these days - all fake travel wannabes. Hey guys...you know who you are. How about completing some actual real serious solo overland travel crossing continents?  i.e. Indonesia to South Africa via the Mid East is good start... try it - you might actually enjoy it. Meanwhile, read some real news and facts on Turkey

Solo Travel - Red Zone Facts

Don't expect red carpet rollouts in territories under control of Islamic Militia!

​In 2013, I was way ahead of most overland travel websites of warning about the future Islamist spread through Africa. It seems the latest MSM/Pentagon map (Oct 27- 20) has confirmed my own map that I had created years ago of what is now factual data - Oct 2020 MSM/Pentagon map red zone regions. ​​

We are told time & time again by global Fake MSM, the Sahel region is only about cow herders - Wrong! 

The above map shows the latest spread of Islamic insurgency pushing through Africa. Certain regions of Central & South America are also hot spots for random highway banditry. Within areas close too, or within Red Zones, locals will talk, spreading news quickly through the region whenever any western foreigner is spotted en-route, or arrives into towns or at locations with pro-insurgent administration handlers. Randomly taken hostage can happen in broad daylight, at a bar, in a hotel, on the street after dark, during a safari, or travelling in a bus. If taken hostage, your Government may not provide support or payment bribes totalling suitcases of tax dollars to save your skin. If taken hostage, various forms of moderate to extreme torture abuse by rogue bandits or Islamic handlers on locals and westerners happens.
​The dramatic force of physical and psychological trauma affects people in different ways for those who have never experienced it! There's nothing like a sudden surprise visit to your a hotel room during the middle of the night, to be hooded, and dragged into the boot of a vehicle and whisked away. This isn't describing some low budget Netflix movie here, this is how real-time random hostage taking begins. Getting interrogated, abused and slapped around and locked up in isolation is normal procedure. Western females will usually end-up being raped multiple times on a daily basis, and convert to Islam to stop harsh abuse. Western female hostages converting to Islam during captivity will remain silent about their rape ordeals after release. Depending on which militia group plans an abduction, executions may occur within a week, three months, or longer if ransom demands fail.
Most westerners travelling near or through Red Zone regions underestimate the ease of being abducted with some probably wishing they had never passed through a Red Zone region thinking nothing will happen to them. Highway bandits, and  Islamic militia groups all share common values and interest. To force, extract, plunder, and take what's not theirs without remorse. Locals living within Red Zones are abused, tortured, shot dead, culled,  butchered and beheaded around the clock non-stop, so don't expect any red carpet roll-out just because you're a Western foreigner passing through militia turf. More in-depth Red Zone overland travel advice and data in the Overland Transit page.

I Gave Advice In Jan 2013

Today, the risks are higher with the chances of being kidnapped being as real as it gets within territories controlled by Islamic terror groups operating throughout Africa, Asia, and the Mid-East. Gathering fresh information from locals, and researching local media will give informative updates on current internal affairs. Trusting data from global travel media networks, or travel guide books won't get you far in Red Zone territory. The majority of "travel guide books" with printed matter on brief warnings of Red Zone locations are already obsolete down the toilet, done and dusted even before printing! Red Zones are constantly on the move, expanding and shifting into new territories each month - Africa is certainly proof of this. ​Being naive, or dumbed down is one thing. Westerners travelling like blind bats into Red Zone regions controlled, or influenced by local Islamic militia groups are pushing the boundaries, and can easily end up returning home in body-bags. Repeat the last line a few times to let it sink in! ​
This includes foreign aid-workers - Niger Aug 2020, Islamic militants, six french nationals intercepted in their vehicle and killed Nigeria July 2020, Boko Haram, five aid workers executed  Somalia Aug 2020, Al Shabab 16 dead 43 injured up market beach resort hotel  Mozambique Aug 2020, ISIS, seize northern port town Mocimboa da Praia Islamists strike in Tanzania Oct 2020 20 beheaded  Mozambique Nov 10 2020 ISIS behead & chop up over 50 people. ​

Extreme To Extreme - Solo Overland Travel

Rough Bush Buses : Truck lifts : Desert Sand Taxis : Slow Train : Hitchhiking : Cargo Ships 

Getting there reaching extreme locations is part of the overland journey. Hardcore transit journeys en-route are those that are always remembered. There's still plenty of rough dirt track highways out there - Experience it before they disappear. 

Freezing your balls off or frying to bits in blistering heat becomes real-time reality in transit through the continents. You won't find any comfort during some long-term hardcore overland journeys. The icy bite high up in extreme altitudes penetrates straight through bush-buses into your bones. Forget about on-board heating, it doesn't exist. A thick blanket like locals use does the job. Dropping an urgent load in minus 25C with a wind chill factor feeling like minus 40C is painful; it may cause bleeding, but don't freak out, it's normal, just refrain from eating heavy solid foods. Breakdowns are common with repairs sometimes taking days on end to repair. Avalanches blocking high-top road tracks aren't cleared until snow dozers arrive. Extra food supplies will stop the hunger pains. Boiling unbearable dry or humid heat is certainly a test for many who are not accustomed to experiencing their skins sizzling, and constantly sweating. Dehydration, sunstroke, and heat rash during transit across desert environs are normal occurrences. Forget about air-conditioning, it doesn't exist. Guzzling down hot water becomes reality.

Transiting through extreme humid regions for weeks on end will certainly test your patience. Humidity levels above 90% can activate (SFS) Short Fuse Syndrome. The Amazonian, African and Asian mosquitos show no mercy. They will drill and suck the blood out of anyone who's  not protected, and off-load West Nile, Malaria, Yellow Fever, Dengue, Encephalitis, and Chikungunya virus parasites to anyone - for free. 
Overland transit journeys through the Amazon, sub-Sahara or across the Himalaya, Hindu Cush regions are great challenges, and virtually unbeatable in overland travel terms. It certainly beats lying on beaches all day long.  

The whiff of bloated animal carcasses during transit becomes apparent above 40C. This is witnessed at times transiting across northern Africa, and the Mid East, with aromas of rotten carcasses swirling through the atmosphere for kilometres on-end. Wherever there are carcasses, the vultures will be also, including other raptors and birds of prey making the location a prime area for wildlife photography. 
There's no actual description for the smell of rotten carcasses in semi-desert environs. It certainly doesn't bother birds of prey with hungry appetites. Eagles and vultures weren't even bothered how close I had approached them while they were eagerly feasting on fresh remains. I easily understood why there weren't others around except for myself viewing this open wilderness carnivore restaurant - the vile stench, but hey, what a paradise to photograph birds in the wild. It didn't take long to setup, and grab some long-shots range on a tripod, snapping away capturing images of Mongolian Steppe eagles, Egyptian vultures, and Eurasian Griffons, all hypnotised in a feeding frenzy - all at one location. Next time you're on the road travelling somewhere along a remote isolated dirt road, and suddenly smell something dead up ahead, you could be in luck photographing two and four legged carnivores eating breakfast.

Solo Overland Travel - Midnight Snaps

Depending where one is traveling offshore, it's very normal for most to retreat indoors when volatile weather occurs. This is actually one of the best moments to capture images of natural forces of nature. The above shot was taken using DSLR photo-gear around midnight during the most insane period of this event. There was certainly no way to setup camera-gear and tripod on the rooftop due to the intensity of lightning strikes and drizzle. The image above was stacked using 12 captures. Night shot captures like this show the difference between those who prefer only to travel using piddly smart phone cameras, or point & shoots to take their images. Semi pro DSLR cameras - no matter the brand name, with a few reasonable quality lenses will capture images that small camera junk can only dream of doing. Traveling with DSLR photo-gear does payoff for any kind of street photography, portraiture, landscape and wildlife through the continents.
Think about the end result, to either end-up with crappy subpar shots of anything taken, or good quality image captures that can be enlarged onto canvas or glass  - You decide. 

Overland Road Trip VW Kombi South America

Are you sick and tired using public transport? Purchasing your own VW Kombi to transit through South America is an alternative. Imagine, being able to stop where you wish, drive where you want, and save hotel and transport costs in one hit. Driving solo, or sharing fuel costs with a friend through South America in a classic Kombi isn't something new, it's been around for decades, and those like myself know how good it is to have your own personal transport in this continent. Clocking up driving milage from Brazil heading south to Patagonia, and then northward through Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and into Colombia is wild, crazy adventure of a lifetime. This is a great option for those who wish to remain in South America for 1-2 years. You can even store your vehicle and return at a later date, and then continue where you left-off. One can also resell the vehicle to another foreigner - more info on VW Kombis in the Overland-Transit page

Solo Overland Travel - Driving Licenses & Permits

Before heading off-shore, the renewal of driving licenses and international driving permits should be in order. Many forget this when the time comes around to purchasing, or renting vehicles or motorbikes. Driving licenses cannot be updated off-shore. International driving permits are only valid for twelve months with some countries ignoring them completely, although in most cases, highway police will request foreigners for their international driving permits at road block check points. Those driving without international permits can be refused to drive, or even fined. In some instances bribe pay-offs maybe requested, but don't count on it. Applying for local international driving permits may or may not work, but as for reference only, I have had success with foreign international driving permits since the mid 80s. Kenya, Paraguay, and Iran are a few to mention, showing a valid driving license was all that was required. Those assuming they can drive through continents without valid driving licenses, or without international permits are only asking for trouble. 
​Argentinian, South African and Venezuelan highway police have been corrupt for decades milking locals and foreigners dry. This also applies sporadically through Nigeria, Cameroon, DRC, Niger, and the sub-Saharan Sahel. 
Those who are fortunate enough to have valid UN cards normally get a free-pass through most of Africa without having to deal with bribe handouts.

No, this isn't a ship loaded with African migrants en-route to European shores. It's a quick dusk snap on board one of the oldest cargo passenger ships in existence on the planet. The M.V. Leimba, an original pre-world war one German vessel constructed in 1913 that still operates, and sails up and down lake Tanganyika laden with cargo and passengers to DRC, Rwanda  and Zambia.  
In neighbouring DRC, the possibilities of transiting in either direction up or down the mighty Congo river from Kinshasa or Kisangani can be done by using various types of barges and boats, which also avoids the more expensive "touristic tours" found online. The short overnight ferry journey either way from Sudan or Egypt chugging along on lake Nasser also remains as vibrant as ever. If you're looking for classic transit originality - the M.V Liemba will guarantee satisfaction.  

Solo Overland Travel With Photo-Gear - Is It Worth It?

Any long-term overland travel without basic photo-gear will end-up regretful for those deciding not to. At least one point and shoot, or combo full frame DSLR and point and shoot will cover almost anything one desires to capture. Brand names today aren't important! They have become clones of each other's designs. The most important part of any long-term journey is the reliability of travel equipment. Photo-gear will be put through the wringer in environments with heat, dust or extreme cold. Drops and knocks may instantly fail certain models while other's keep on keeping on. Camera reliability comes first - choose wisely.    

Overland travel and transit through any continent isn't complete without having some form of photo-gear. To at least have something to capture random street images of locals, landscape, and wildlife should be considered. Using smartphones are better than nothing, but smartphone cameras do have their limitations at best, when it involves wildlife, fast moving subjects, including most shots taken in low light which can give blurry or grainy results.

The majority of images through this website were taken with classic Nikon D3/s 12MP bodies. They still continue working effortlessly today. The D3/s has a long proven track record for reliability within any environment - even up in space. It's a snapping workhorse capturing images all day non-stop, even though they're old tanks. Today, camera brands are almost identical to one another, apart from their brand names. Personally, the optics are more important than the camera body it's mounted on. A camera body only captures what the lens can deliver through its glass optics. One good lens is far superior than three cheap lenses with poor optics (construction, the amount of elements, maximum aperture). Camera bodies have different levels of strength and reliability. Sand, dirt, dust, grime, vibration, drop, including extreme climatic temperatures within damp humid zones, sub zero temperatures, or in blistering hot regions, will test camera bodies to their limitations. Most high-end semi-pro DSLR camera bodies will survive a long-term overland journey through Africa to Asia via the Middle East - and back again. The weak link are lenses. One drop can destroy a lens in seconds - then what? Fungus and dust shows no mercy, no matter the brand of lens. Quick snap shots on the go are easily done with anything with a lens on it. Tack sharp street portraits in low light are captured using quality optics, no matter how old the lens is. Issues with Sony digital camera 2018 article by Nasim Mansurov. 

Use Real Photo Gear

Smart Phone Cameras - The Lazy Man's Lightweight Addiction  

Those born into the world of smart phone camera are probably led to believe their smart phone cameras are as good or even better than the need of using real photo-gear. One can only thank false make believe global marketing assuming smart phone cameras have you covered for everything from selfie to long distance shots. Hold up there, not so fast. Until smart phone cameras can actually capture shots of moon craters, or anything in low light without grainy finishes, smart phone cameras will remain subpar till 2050. Those heading offshore only relying on their smart phone cameras to capture images will be more than disappointed.    

Every street portrait capture tells a story, the location where it was taken, the reason it was taken, and the interaction level before and after the capture of it. Travelling with Photo-gear will not only give the chance of collecting a wide variety of images for freelancing or canvas, it also opens up a realm of endless creativity during any travel journey for those who pursue it. Street photographers like myself are many, with each having their own visions and concepts of personal taste. It begins every time one walks out into the street, no matter the location, country or continent.  

I'm still using 12 megapixel Nikon pro-bodies in 2020. Yes, they're heavy tanks, but totally robust and reliable in any environment. What ever choice of camera, ensure it can handle drop abuse, and handle extreme heat and sub-zero conditions. Screaming will do you no good at all when cameras fail in the middle of nowhere - which happens more often than most think.

Forget about selfies... they're a dime a dozen. Getting out on streets interacting with total strangers, capturing close-up portraits helps strengthens anyone's self-confidence - try it, it works!

Solo overland travel photography isn't about self, those having trouble pointing cameras in the other direction probably have symptoms of NPD. Arriving at locations with tribal presence may help to inspire capturing images of others, rather than of themselves. Reaching isolated destinations by land are usually journeys to remember. Capturing images of anything apart from yourself is a great start for random interaction street photography -  Try it, it works.!        

Major camera companies have to sell their latest stuff - right? Or,  they will crash and burn with bankruptcy within a short time period. To keep afloat, they all require to update their camera designs, and now at supersonic speed flooding the market every six month or so. Camera bodies - no matter the brand, don't make quality images, it's the lens optics which are used, that gives image quality. Post processing any image to tweak, enhance, or rendering it, if taken with wing-bling lenses mounted to the latest camera body won't make the final result any better. Camera bodies, as mentioned a few times through this website, are upgraded with only "user friendly" controls and  functions. It's the lens optics which give the quality to any image. Choosing, and using quality made lenses for travel journeys is only appreciated for those who know the difference between subpar and excellent image captures. Some of the lenses I personally use are classic manual focus lenses used on DSLR bodies. Before any future overland journey, think about taking a couple of quality optics along to cover all those street shots, landscapes and wildlife.  Image - Nikon AF-S 600mm f/4  ED-IF  

Overland Travel - Cell Cameras

Don't rely on smart phone cameras for perfect image quality captures no matter the brand name.  Smart phone cameras of late are promoted to be as good as point and Shoots, M4/3 and DSLR cameras, but in reality they're not! Low light portraiture and distant subjects, especially wildlife will be unsatisfying, and even more unsatisfying when images are cropped for enlargement. The deception that more megapixels in smart phone cameras increase image quality is an old ploy that's been around within the digital camera world for years. Smart phone cameras are good for selfie, location snaps, and on the go video and time-lapse - that's about it.
Capturing quick snaps, TimeLapse, and videos on the go are the usual limitations of what most smart phone cameras can handle. Skeptics will probably debate this, but the truth of the matter is proven by quality, reliability, and function when comparing cell cameras to the quality of high end point and shoots, M4/3 or DSLR's. Smart phone cameras struggle to produce the same finished qualities from a processed Raw file from cameras.
​Travelling overland through continents for 12-18 months using smart phone cameras to capture images will become very dis-satisfying. One will also have to trust the reliability of any smart phones construction for bash, bump, drop and grind. Speed and quick functionality to capture images, whether in low light, moving, or at distance is something smart phones struggle to do resulting in sub-standard degraded quality.
​Social media quick-snaps taken with cell cameras are usually a dime a dozen. Images captured with DSLR's finished in canvas blowups displayed on walls can't be matched. The difference in quality is massive. Think seriously if travelling long-term only using a cell camera - Don't be like many others who regretted doing this!

Solo Overland Travel - Long Prime Lenses

If you're wanting close-up wildlife image captures like below, don't expect any of the latest hi-tech smart phone cameras to do the same, even in a zoo. Use DSLR photo-gear even before thinking to visit wildlife national parks and sanctuaries through continents.   

The deception that many actually believe DSLR photo-gear is dead in the water is hogwash. The image below is proof of this. There's virtually zero possibility to capture images like this without using long powerful DSLR prime lenses. Smart phone cameras, point and shoots, and M3/4 cameras will all struggle capturing closeup snaps in the wild. The impossibilities to even get up close enough - even if it were possible, will scare most wildlife to move without hesitation. The lens capturing these images was produced from 1986 to 2005. Without it, these images would be non-existent.

Long large prime lenses have more positives than negatives. They're able to capture images kilometres away holding good sharpness. Once you end up using powerful prime lenses, there's no going back. Wildlife subjects at long distance are in your face, including landscape and street subjects. The downside of large primes are their weight, bulkiness, and the need of a reliable tripod and lens pack. I've travelled overland through regions of Asia with a 5.5kg 800mm manual lens without issues. 
​Personally, lugging heavy photo-gear across countries and through continents for street and wildlife is part and parcel of any overland journey. All I can say is, the results of using this particular lens is well worth the effort at every location its been too. journey 2020

Below, the Nikon Nikkor 800mm f/5.6 AI-s lens on location @3800M (12500 ft) in minus -20C. This classic tank lens clocked up another overland journey covering 4600 kilometres by train, car, van and 4x4. The lens has survived through freezing sub-zero temperatures and blistering +50C desert heat without a single issue. The lens has proven to be a reliable workhorse within any environment its used and taken into.

Random Street Photography - Interacting Works

Pushing the limit to grab random street snaps of complete strangers should be avoided unless some form of interaction or permission was already established. Using basic skills to interact with locals is simple enough to do. Determining if a person wants to be photographed or not, is by the simple positive or negative gestures a person shows. Pointing cameras in the faces of a complete strangers usually doesn't go down well. This may result with verbal abuse, deletion of images, assault, and the camera smashed. Taking random street images of women in the Middle East, and north Africa without the consent to do so is definitely a no-brainier. Interacting with strangers first is the polite way to photograph without having confrontational issues. Now and then, someone that may not like what you're doing from within a crowd of people can spoil a positive vibe by causing incitement for no reason. If this happens, it's best to move on without escalating the situation. If tribal groups demand payment, which does happen, any asking fee should be agreed on first before taking images. I've also seen some real nutty foreign tourists over the decades, with some who were arrested for taking images within sensitive areas knowing it was forbidden to do so. They had their SD cards removed and cameras seized.

Solo Overland Travel - Motivation

One common occurrence amongst western foreigners on the road is with who they travel with. Whether it be couples, old friends, associates or small groups, westerners normally enjoy more time associating with the company of other foreigners. After 12 months or longer on the road, motivation levels of people differ, and can influence fellow travellers boosting energy levels and moral. This can also have zero effect on those who are are already completely drained and worn out.
Overland travel street photography relatively works in the same way. Some foreigners may have no interest in street photography, while others are fully charged heading out the door each morning at sun rise, and arriving back after dark. If you think travelling overland through countries across continents is difficult enough, try walking through streets, and capture satisfying images (minus selfie snaps). Having the motivation, but with zero interaction skills won't get far. One easy solution is by meeting-up with other foreigners or locals doing daily street photography who already have these skills. Tagging along with any experienced street photographer for short-time periods will automatically increase positive results.  

 Solo Overland Travel - Basic Hygiene

Full Blown Diarrhoea Can Be Avoided Just By washing Hands!    

The majority of most westerners travelling and transiting through countries or continents quickly learn how many public hand basins in cheap hotels, gas stations, restaurants, including bush-buses with WC's are cake filled with grime. This isn't a negative dig at any particular country or public service, it's about those who may have weak immune systems, and pickup some dreaded pathogen. Handbasin tap handles and WC door handles are the worst culprits containing fresh loads of solid bacteria. One can use disposable wipes, but there will be times when wipes or liquid cleanser is forgotten. Learning the art of turning off tap handles and opening WC doors is one way, but an easy solution is to rewash your hands with bottled drinking water before handling food. Touching cafe restaurant table items like salt & pepper shakers, or handling dirty cash notes and coins, shaking someones hand, peeling or eating unwashed fruit, or touching restaurant and bus seats are just a few examples of contacting bacteria. Those who have relied on antibiotics through their life have slowly weakened their own immune systems. There's approximately 5 billion people who use their hands instead of toilet paper around the planet. Eating local fresh made curd (yogurt) automatically builds up positive bacterial resistance, including a teaspoon of bio-active honey, fresh peeled ginger and garlic, electrolyte, iron, and Vitamin C & D intake. Don't be fooled with fancy labelled vitamin supplements from pharmacies or supermarkets unless it clearly shows where it was manufactured i.e USA, EU, or from China.   
Washing hands properly before fingering food will avoid exploding stomachs and runny rear-ends.

Are You Suffering From NPD? Many Are And Don't Even know it!

Narcissistic Personality Disorder - A Depression Brain Frier!

Today, we live in a uncontrollable narcissistic world riddled together between woke controlled societies. Changing lifestyles disconnecting from social media, and walking away from certain circles of "friends" is the great escape to freedom. Statistics show that many suffering early NPD symptoms fail to recognise their narcissistic behaviour, with some ending-up committing suicide due to sudden triggered depression, rejection, and anxiety. Becoming a victim of your own addictive behaviour is of your own doing - No One Else!
Those who desperately "must have" a selfie of themselves without enjoying the natural ambience around them, like in the image below probably have NPD symptoms related to social media. Those who have posted more selfies of themselves rather than of the locations on their social media platforms have NPD.

No, this isn't about some ridiculous wilderness retreat therapy programme situated in the middle of nowhere in Bhutan or elsewhere. It won't help when returning back to western society. One can become worse off inside rehabs sharing time-out with others suffering NPD, or other related mental illness problems caused by their own doing. Getting your life back is easier than what most may think. Switching off from social media will feel unliveable to most of the millennial/Gen Z generation, but what are you actually missing out on? The truth - absolutely nothing! Switching cell phones off is a good start. It begins by self-controlling self to social media. A drip line feed to social media is more than enough once a week. Limiting, taking selfies for social media likes and short term fame will save some from death.
​The task of interacting with other people around you instead, or creating dialogue with complete strangers face to face, or hanging out at isolated locations with no internet is the path to freedom. Using cameras capturing images of other people helps limit selfie-snap addiction sickness - Get a camera!
Many suffer from NPD "Selfie like" dopamine addiction for every snap one posts on social media. Selfie addiction also applies to travel blogger influencers, who, like sheep, post constructed click bait images of themselves, as though they need to prove to their audience they were actually there - NPD, and the butterfly effect in full swing - yes?
Why follow like sheep to become a victim of full-blown dopamine NPD addiction? It's about knowing in advance, recognising the symptoms (staring at yourself far too often) and controlling it like any other forms of addiction before it's too late. Below, an image from FB, this couple would still be alive today if they would have refrained themselves from appeasing over-dramatic selfies to different social media platform followers. Instagram quotes from Meenakshi reveal their warnings, but addiction to social media became their fate.  

One only has to ask any alcoholic or drug user around the planet, the majority of these two groups will deny their addictions. NPD social media dopamine addiction is worse - it can affect anyone, if glued non-stop on social media platforms. The primary interest people pursue today, is to be liked and excepted (sic).
Many would still be alive today, if they hadn't taken selfies falling off cliffs, or  from skyscrapers, slipping-off from high edge-top waterfalls and gorges, run over by trains, or on top of trains, or smashing their head to bits out of car windows, or ignoring restricted zones, getting knocked over and killed on airport runways, or grabbing selfies naked or falling of cliffs at Machu Picchu, having narcissistic sex on top of the great pyramid in Giza, or falling off bridges. NPD dopamine social media addiction is as real as it gets.
The lows of NPD can trigger into deep depression mood swings - just like drug users requiring a fresh load of smack, or a hit of meth. Getting your life back from social media addiction will only happen by disconnecting from it. It begins by shutting down selfie addiction - or it may end-up killing you in the end! 
This includes the majority of "travel blogger influencers" out there. Like sheep, they write the same boring fluff stuff - about themselves, with fake mockup selfie poses keeping their clickbait likes, and royalties spinning - Fake travel
​Selfitis mental disorder - BDD (body dysmorphic disorder) plus OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) combined have the following symptoms: Borderline - Clicking at least three selfies a day, but not posting them on social media, Acute - Clicking at least three selfies a day and posting all of them on social media, Chronic - Clicking more than 4 selfies a day and posting them on social media.

Overland Travel - Freedom From Debt 

 Nothing In This World Comes For Free - Work & Save Up - Why Clock Up Mountains Of Wasted Debt?

Got debts hanging around your neck? Being debt-free before departing home base gives total freedom without having headaches further up the road that can mount to additional interest payments and burden. Becoming a slave to your own debt is a no-brainer, it catches many off guard in shark loans and bank traps. Think old school - if you can't afford paying for something - Don't purchase it!
Having a healthy cash stash for long-term travel is about the best advice one can give. Finding sponsors funding long-term travel journeys comes with pros and cons. Living in constant debt, or clocking up even more debt while off-shore can easily turn some people living in fake offshore lifestyles, and illegal activity. Winding up broke mixing with the wrong crowd usually happens to those with empty pockets trying to find an easy way out living the dream.
Running out of cash, and becoming a drug mule, a gold smuggler, a boiler room fraudster, or peddling drugs to other foreigners to fund lazy offshore lifestyles is nothing new. It was around in the 1970s, 80's and 1990s. Foreigners caught and busted doing illegal activity usually doesn't end well. Locked and confined inside hot sweaty jail cells for years, or even decades, or deported and black banned happens around the planet. Traveling offshore having zero debt gives total freedom. Also, don't think the grass is greener somewhere else, if you think it is, you've tricked your own brain feeding it with incorrect data of what is actually real and what isn't. Nothing on this planet has never come for free, one has to work for it.

Is It The End of The Travel Blogger? 

Global Reset Begins - Travel Bloggers Never Saw This Coming - Now What?

Tourism Economics, a data and consulting firm, predicts global travel demand won’t resume its normal pace until 2023. Is it the end of the "international travel blogger" for the foreseeable future? It certainly won't be the same for the majority of "travel blogger influencers" facing the reality of being unemployed and stone broke. The coronavirus has caused major collateral damage across the entire travel industry. The outlook is more than bleak for those who were solely dependent earning a crust from travel blogging commissions. 
Future air travel with empty seats between passengers should allow massive baggage reduction fees nearly for free - Right? let's see if that ever happens. Airlines are already heading down the toilet. 
Cruise ship tourism has completely sunk, Ship wrecking yards in Turkey, Bangladesh and India will be more busier than ever. Hotels are empty shut down, actually, any direction one looks at the global travel industry - its totally evaporated into thin air big time, and longer than what most assume. Sponsored paid and affiliate linked travel marketing is all but hanging out to dry. Even B&B has collapsed, now dangling on a thread. It will take years - if it's even at all possible, to bring back the travel industry of how it was in full swing before March 2020.
​And don't think it will be the same as it was! New enforced restricted travel requirements will become the new normal. Kickstarting international travel where it was abruptly shutdown requires the trust of the people - certainly not from instagram "travel influencers" who would sell their own souls for a quick buck - which many will do if possible at the drop of a hat. 
​Thailand Nov 2020 - All foreigners will have to confirm their financial staus- namely, the possession of at least 500 thousand baht (about $16,580 USD) in their bank account. In addition, it is necessary to take out extended medical insurance for at least 3 million baht (about $99,500 USD). All foreign nationals arriving in Thailand will need to be also quarantined for 14 days.
Travel blogger influencers around the planet will certainly have to rethink seriously if there's any scope left to continue blogging. Maybe within their own countries, or to find something outside travel blogging blissfulness, like being an influencer baking cakes, or making sodas "live streaming" it on You Tube, or regurgitating old travel blogs with their favourite orchestrated selfies to keep what's left of their online clickbait traffic on the go without actually going anywhere.
Whatever the outcome, the weeding out of "travel influencers" was well overdue. Travel blogger's who have thousands of followers through social media platforms may still hold status, but it's the sales that count stay'n alive - No matter how many "likes" they receive. Only those who can hang on with whatever savings they have accumulated may survive. Most "status travel bloggers" never saw this coming. Travel bloggers remaining offshore will soon realise their incomes will cease eating away at savings - if any? Accumulating debt without any income is worse than being stuck up a creek - even with a paddle. As the saying goes - Never place all your eggs in one basket thinking it will last forever! Nothing on this planet lasts forever - especially if it's made in China - excluding their exported viruses.
The ugly truth that travel bloggers don't want to admit, is that travel will never be the same again! Those days are over - done and dusted! Remember the 2008 crash? The entire global 2020 travel industry is 100 times worse effected. 

let's not forget, this latest Chinese virus certainly won't be the last planned pandemic, or for other future global planned calamities to happen - Move out of dream state - Smell the coffee, Orwellian global reset is real. Today, no matter where we live, we now reside within a world of make believe blissfulness fully controlled and functioned through bias propaganda Main Stream Media and Goolag.
​USA & Western Breakdown - past the point of no return

Top Favourite Snaps By Rick Hemi

10 Portrait Snaps : 10 Wildlife Snaps : 10 B&W Snaps : 10 Transit Snaps : 10 Classic Travel Snaps 

When off-shore, and well away from home base, grabbing street snaps and portraits of locals, or landscapes, or anything else of interest catching the eye is what the most of us all do. This website, although its basic theme is about solo overland travel, contains hundreds of on the go transit snaps, closeup street portraits, vivid shots, including landscape wildlife captures. These page links are just a few personal favourite snaps I've taken through the continents, with some dating back to the 1980's, when overland travel & transit was simplistic without overrated blissfulness hype. 

Creating an overland travel website begins by accumulating your own images through the years, instead of using someone else's online free junk. Adding personal custom non-active maps, like on this website, instead of using google linked maps is optional. Even today, in the realm of technology, classic old style still holds its own charisma. Many will find it more difficult than what it appears to create travel photo websites without taking huge amounts of different images through the continents. Using photo-gear in transit is a good start.    

Many images may seem worthless at the time of capture, but the value of them become appreciated as time passes.