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. 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 the 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. Interacting with locals and complete strangers is a must-do priority, and does play an important role through all the continents. This becomes an automatic procedure whether liked or not. Interacting with total strangers may sound an impossible task to some, but this is key towards direct communication. It also gives the opportunity to capture rewarding close-up street portraits or whatever else there is of interest. All images through this website have been captured during numerous 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. This website avoids promos, advertising, sponsors, commissions to click bait links to hotels, backpackers, tourist ghettos, holiday resorts, overland travel package tours, trendy rehabs, airlines, food and shopping addictions, selfie addicted travel bloggers, including burnt out social media platforms. 
​If you're independent and into long-term solo overland travel like myself - without time limits, and have an urge to transit through the 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!  

Real Solo Overland Travel & Transit

Many travel bloggers 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 out there create false illusions having zero experience themselves of completing any real-time solo overland travel across and though 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 "travel blog" fetishes of total blissfulness.

Examples of real-time solo overland travel on board local transport from Indonesia to Turkey, Ethiopia 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 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, breathing in stuffy stale air, goats, pigs, or sheep crowding your space, random groping, passengers rubbing toxic toe jams, passengers sneezing directly in your face, baggage soaked in engine oil below deck, constant rattling clattering windows, extreme hi-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-stop vibrations, bad accidents, blown engines, transmissions and diffs, isolated major breakdowns, highway bandit hold-ups, standing room only, the pushing, jostling and shoving entering or exiting transport, silent robbery, loaded diarrhoea pressure on a non-stop moving bush-bus, free sharing of ticks and fleas ...need I say more?

 Overland Travel - Blast From The Past - 1970's & 80's 

I took this quick snap decades ago on board a local slow boat chugging northward from Bluefields towards Puerto Cabezas. The classic boat above looked like something straight out of the Humphrey Bogart's African Queen era. 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 above mentioned countries, including others if you're game enough to handle rough travel with no frills attached.
A few isolated regions worth mentioning to travel through are from Manaus heading north to the Colombian-Venezuelan border. A slow boat journey from Juba to north Sudan, or eastward towards the Ethiopian border is a real no-frills journey. The overland route from Brazil to Colombia via Venezuela will test how good your street-savvy safety skills are. Most of these regions mentioned are either situated near Red Zones, or pass directly through Red Zone held militia territory, or buzzing with bandit infested groups. Travel and transiting through any of these regions is entirely at your own risk. I've travelled through these routes without incident, but it doesn't necessarily mean a free-pass for everyone. 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 transiting through these regions. Getting the latest up to date information from locals is paramount - not from any out-dated L.P. guide book! Having the appropriate onward visas, if required entering neighbouring counties should already be in order before any departure.               

The term "Solo Travel" has been branded as if it just fell out of the sky during the Gen Z generation - What? Just to clarify, solo 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 solo overland travel addicts that's still going strong today. Those out there born in the mid 1990's who think they've seen, or clocked up overland travel milage around the planet still have quite a few decades to catch up - Good luck.
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 been robbed and hijacked of its true meaning. It may sound "trendy" for those who jump on board using it, but genuine solo travel is all about individually exploring through countries, crossing countless land borders, and continuing onwards over-landing through one continent to another at their own pace. 
Those using the term "solo travel" or call themselves "a solo traveller" jet setting across oceans only to relax on the beaches in Goa, Bali, or Zanzibar, or hang out in Taganga, Rio, or Belize - without even clocking up any real time overland travel milage to reach these regions are just fake solo travellers.
The image above was taken from an open window on another steamer in Odisha state.    

Which Continent? The World's Your Oyster

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 lately 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 areas change, move, multiply, fester, and re-establish themselves without warning. This website uses my own overland transit maps showing major routes through many countries and continents that have been accomplished numerous times using various transit routes. Other map links are  Ezilon  of individual countries of interest.

The only overland gateway connecting Africa to Europe and Asia through the Middle East is, via the Sinai Peninsula. 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 along its border region of Afghanistan. Transiting through any of these areas (NWF/ Baluchistan/Chitral) is entirely at your own risk if local authorities allow it. Afghanistan is still a hot bed of insurgency with countless sporadic attacks at will. 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 controlled territory is entirely at your own risk. Iran has been relatively safe to travel through for decades.
US, UK and Australian citizens including travel bloggers passing through Iran using drones without prior permission or consent will risk the chance of receiving up to a 10 year jail sentence. Having a valid Iranian visa crossing into Iran is the easy part. If you're a national passport holder from any country that's political biased against the Iranian regime, the ease to be suddenly arrested and interrogated, and then end-up with lengthy jail time inside one of the most notorious prisons Evin jail, where torture and rape is common practice does happen!
​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, and then wet down by high pressure hoses, electrocuted and severely beaten on their backs, buttocks and legs during their stay in Evin jail. Witnessing first hand the 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, and on to Jordan from Gaziantep-Turkey can be completed on a secure route controlled under the Assad military, but again, it's still at your own risk and peril. Everyday has a different outcome. The Jordanian Syrian border at Nassib was reopened again in Oct 2018.
There are still no normal 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 do take passengers, motorbikes, and vehicles. A new ferryboat link is now operating from Muscat-Oman to Gwadar-Pakistan. The ease of Saudi tourist visas makes it simple to continue through to Sudan, Jordan, Egypt, or Djibouti. Driving vehicles in Saudi can be dangerous if local drivers smash into you, visitors pay the bill even if it wasn't the foreigner that caused the accident.
Yemen is a Red Zone, it's volatile, and not worth the risk level from 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 transit journeys through the Sahel region of Africa is at your own peril i.e. Sudan through to Nigeria, Algeria to Nigeria, Libya to Nigeria. In general, plenty of time and patience is required completing transit journeys if using basic transport through the middle of nowhere. Having the necessary valid onward visas of certain countries through northern Africa and the Middle East is required well in advance for neighbouring countries i.e. Oman, Saudi, South Sudan, Afghanistan, Syria, Chad, CAR, Niger, Nigeria, Libya.

Visas : Embassies : Consulates - Planning 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.

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 application, applying for a second or third visa for a country that has already been recently visited by the passport holder, An Israeli stamp, or an Egyptian/Jordanian entry stamp at border entries from Israel.  Even today, there are still 11 countries that deny visas with passports containing Israeli stamps (Iran,  Iraq,  Afghanistan,  Lebanon,  Syria,  Libya,  Kuwait,  Pakistan,  Saudi Arabia,  Yemen,  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.

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 crossed the Wagah border crossing, the Indian immigration escorted him straight back to Pakistan because the Indian visa wasn't signed-off by the attache. This took him 3 days turn around, including the cost and energy to get the visa signed, and was fortunate enough to have enough validity time left on his Pakistani visa. The first thing when any new visas are issued, is to check for its validity, expiry and signature. There's no use screaming when reaching border crossings after days of transit to border crossings to find out a visa is invalid due to not checking it before leaving Consulates or Embassies. This does happen 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 have reached their final stay duration time. This will involve even more time and cost to receive an added visa extension. Some countries do permit an overstay limit with a fee charge rate per each day of overstay, but may also jeopardise any future visa. It's recommended to leave any country one or two days before visas expire. The image above shows quick examples of signed-off signatures on used visas of Paraguay, DRC and Syria.

BackUp Cash Supply - In The Middle of Nowhere 

A supply of cash is always recommended in the middle of nowhere when ATM's are non-existent or days away when they're actually needed. Latinos, Africans, and Asians all through their respective continents use and handle cash every day. Indian ATM's for example, will only allow a 10,000 rupee daily withdrawal limit if using any off-shore debit card - with a horrendous rip-off surcharge each time the card is fed into an ATM. Cash US dollars on the other hand, will avoid rip-off ATM surcharges, and will also give a higher rate of exchange. In general, this applies throughout all the continents. When transiting across land borders, the exchanging of local currency from one country to the next  is usually never an issue - with minimal loss of exchange rate. When major earthquakes or other climatic disasters occur, the first thing to shutdown are ATM's running empty out of cash, or from power cuts. At most land border crossings money changers are waiting for you. Haggling for the highest rate is a normal procedure. Don't leave home base without a surplus load of cash dollars. Fresh clean mint unripped bills are accepted anywhere without issues. Grubby torn notes with scribble or food stains may be rejected. Purchasing US dollars in most countries is another option. This is legal and still remains valid, although time consuming in some countries like South Africa, Venezuela and Iran. It's also still legal to carry up to $10,000 US dollars cash without having to declare it. Carrying a copy of the original purchase transactions of any cash stash is recommended. This verifies to border authorities proof of where the cash came from, if searched. Carrying gold and silver is also legal and isn't an issue if purchased with authentic genuine invoices. China, Nepal and India do have random security checks at land border crossings and airports for gold, narco drugs, and cash smugglers. 

Solo Travel - RED ZONE Regions

 Red Zone Regions Are Constantly Moving & Shifting In To New Territory  Every Month

Red Zones are many and are 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, 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 individual safe zones. Most lack reporting on the increasing insurgency right next door to them from across a neighbouring border. 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 in a Red Zone region 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, or Venezuela doesn't mean everyone makes it through without some form of random mugging, extortion, abusive attack, rape or loss of life. Is it worth it? Do you feel lucky? Some have thought they were and didn't make it. Ending up in a body bag only happens once. 

Foreigners taken hostage are either used for ransom payouts, bounty, or killed for reprisal paybacks within African and Middle East Red Zones. Within any 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 a town. Getting taken hostage can happen in broad daylight or after dark. If taken hostage, your Government may not pay ransom bribes of millions of dollars to save your skin. 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 it begins. Getting interrogated, abused and slapped around and locked up in isolation is normal procedure. Depending which militia group planned an abduction, an execution may occur within a few days or in two months if ransom demands fail. Most westerners transiting near or through Red Zone regions really underestimate the ease of being abducted, and probably end-up wishing they had never passed through a Red Zone region thinking nothing will happen to them. Highway bandits, militia and insurgency groups all share common values to force, extract, plunder, and take what's not theirs without remorse. Locals are shot dead and culled and butchered all the time, so don't expect any red carpet roll-outs just because you're a western foreigner passing through their turf. 
​The risks are high and the chances of becoming a victim is real as it gets. Researching local media will give much more informative information on current internal affairs than any global MSM network, or travel guide books. The majority of "travel guide books" with printed matter on brief warnings is already obsolete before printing due to Red Zones constantly moving and shifting in to new territory every month. Being naive is one thing, but to travel blinder than a bat in to regions of turmoil or with undercurrent Islamic insurgency is asking for trouble.       

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

It's better to be broke and free rather than rotting in a hot jail cell or being hung to death!

Over the decades through various continents, I've met some really stupid foreigners who have nothing better to do than wasting themselves away using meth or snorting cocaine everyday. Some foreigners will actually fly the air milage to Colombia, Ecuador or to Bali to snort cocaine or meth-out just because it's cheaper. Others end-up running out of cash then decide to become drug mules to earn some quick cash. Old tricks, like mailing narcotics hidden in souvenirs using alias names, or swallowing a pile of cocaine capsules, or hiding narcotics in baggage cavities, or strapping and taping drugs on the body are smuggling techniques that are still being used today.

Even hitching free rides on board private yachts to Australia or to New Zealand from Panama through the Pacific Ocean via Tahiti, Tonga, Samoa, or Fiji is risky, if the owner of the boat loaded it with blocks of cocaine or fentanyl. A word of warning to fellow solo travellers - many foreigners who do become drug mules are caught and busted every week throughout the planet, with some even arrested before flight departures, or when crossing international land borders. Many foreigners are used as decoys, or tricked too reap in a percentage of the drug reward bounty. In some instances, westerners who are already in debt clocking-up meth bills are offered an easy way out by becoming drug courier mules. All airport body X-Ray machines today will easily detect internal swallowed loads of narcotics. The high-risk factor of being caught automatically multiples when re-entering or departing from the same country on too many short visits. 
Facial recognition is alive and well in airports. Collected facial data matching passport information with used, updated passports, or those using dual nationality passports is available at the push of a keyboard.       
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. Even if flying out from Nepal, India or from other regions of Asia with small amounts of cannabis in checked-in baggage can give some serious prison time. An Israeli female citizen en-route from India to Tel-Aviv via Moscow recently received (Oct 2019) seven and a half years jail for carrying 9 grammes of cannabis found in her checked baggage while transiting through Russia.
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.
Legally smoking weed or hashish in foreign countries is one thing (Uruguay, Argentina, Israel, USA, Canada, EU), but getting busted and slowly rotting away inside hot sweaty jail cells in South America or Asia happens regularly year in year out for those who felt lucky at the time taking risks and were caught. One only needs to take a visit to any of the main jail facilities in Asian and Latin capitals to see first hand the amount of westerners busted for soft and hard drugs. South east Asian countries are slowly beginning to reform their cannabis laws, but until it becomes official, cannabis is still classified as an illegal drug. There's more on drug busted westerners with links in the Asian and South American pages.

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 any future visits is common practice in most countries. This also applies to animal skins, and bones if the products aren't officially government certified for exportation. A Japanese national was caught and arrested in Indonesia trying to smuggle more than 250 reptiles which can carry 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.

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.         

Extreme To Extreme - Solo Overland Travel

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

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 hi-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 skin sizzling and constantly sweating. Dehydration, sunstroke, and heat rash during transit across desert environs are normal. Forget about air-conditioning, it doesn't exist. Drinking water turns into hot liquid tasting like hot shower water when guzzling it down.
​The whiff of bloated animal carcasses during transit becomes apparent above +4oC. This is witnessed at times transiting through northern Africa, and the Mid East with aromas of rotten carcasses swirling through the atmosphere for kilometres. 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. 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 that's not protected, and freely off-load Zika, West Nile, Malaria, Yellow Fever, Dengue, Encephalitis, and Chikungunya virus parasites.
Sometimes, completing gruelling overland transit journeys through the Amazon, sub-Sahara or across the Himalayan roof-top plateau is a challenge that's unbeatable in overland travel terms. It certainly beats lying on beaches all day long.  

There's no actual description for the smell of rotten carcasses in 45+ degree heat (113F) 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 grab and setup a long range lens on a tripod, and snap 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 to photograph two and four legged carnivores at very close range.

Overland Road Trip Driving A VW Kombi Thru South America

Are you sick and tired of 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 section

Solo Overland Travel - Driving Licenses & Permits

Before heading off-shore, the renewal of driving licenses and international driving permits should be in order. Many who forget end-up regretting this when the time comes to purchasing, or renting vehicles or motorbikes sometime further down the road. Most western driving licenses cannot be updated off-shore. International permits are only valid for twelve months with some countries ignoring them completely, although in most cases highway police may request foreigners for their international driving permit if pulled over at check points. Those without international permits may be refused to drive or even fined. In some instances bribe pay-offs may work, but don't count on it. Getting local international driving permits as a foreigner off-shore may or may not work, but as for reference only, I have had success receiving foreign international driving permits since the mid 80s during extended overland journeys when needed. Kenya, Paraguay, and Iran are a few to mention using a valid driving license to get one. Those assuming they can drive through continents without valid driving licenses, or without international permits are only asking for trouble. Argentinian and Venezuelan highway police are corrupt as ever and do have a tendency to milk foreigners dry. This also applies sporadically through Nigeria, Cameroon, DRC, Niger, and the sub-Saharan Sahel. Those lucky enough to have a valid UN card normally get a free-pass through most of Africa without 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?

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. A smartphone is 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 a classic Nikon D3 12 megapixel body and still continues today. The D3 has a long proven track record for reliability within any environment. It's a snapping workhorse capturing images all day non-stop even though it's 12 years old. Today, most camera brands are almost identical to one another, apart from their brand name. Fuji, Nikon, Canon, and Sony have different levels of semi-pro and pro bodies with "user friendly" functions guaranteeing  satisfaction. Personally, the optics are more important than the camera body it's mounted on. The body can only capture 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 also have different levels of strength and reliability. Sand, dirt, dust, grime, vibration, drop, including extreme climatic temperatures within damp humid zones, or in blistering hot regions will test most camera bodies to their limits. Most semi-pro camera bodies will survive an overland journey through Africa to Asia via the Middle East and back again. The weak link is the lens, it should be kept protected during dusty vibrating bush bus transits - which there are many from Cape Town to Hong Kong. One drop can destroy a lens or a body in seconds. Fungus and dust have no mercy, no matter the brand of lens. Those interested in Sony digital camera bodies should read this 2018 article by Nasim Mansurov. Quick snap shots on the go are easily done with anything with a lens on it, but capturing tack sharp street portraits in low light are done with good quality optics, no matter the make or model, or how old the lens is. 

Every street portrait capture tells a story, the location of where it was taken, the reason why 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 when one walks out into the street no matter the location or country.  

I'm still using 12 megapixel Nikon pro-bodies in 2019 without the need of updating. Yes, they're heavy tanks, but totally robust and reliable in any environment. What ever choice of DSLR, ensure it can handle drop abuse, and be able to handle extreme heat and cold conditions. Screaming will do you no good at all due to camera failure in the middle of nowhere - which happens more often than most think.

Solo Overland Travel - Cell or DSLR Photo-Gear?

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 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 M4/3 or DSLR's. Smart phone cameras struggle to produce the same finished qualities from a processed Raw file from a camera.
​Travelling overland through an entire continent for 12-18 months using a smart phone camera to capture images will be 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 an image, whether in low light, moving, or at distance is something smart phones struggle to do. Social media quick-snaps taken with cell cameras are usually a dime a dozen. Images captured with DSLR's, and finished in canvas, and displayed as a gallery on the wall can't be matched. The difference in quality is massive, and worth the investment and completion of any overland journey through a continent.

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

Solo Overland Travel - Long Prime Lenses

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 a powerful prime lens 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 lens without issues. All I can say is the results are well worth the effort.

Random Street Photography - Interacting Works

Pushing the limit to grab random street snaps of complete strangers should be avoided unless interaction and permission was already established. Using basic skills to interact with locals is simple enough to master. Determining if a person wants to be photographed or not is by the simple positive or negative gestures a person shows. Shoving a camera in the face of a complete stranger usually doesn't go down well. This may result with verbal abuse, deletion of images, assault, and the camera smashed. I've seen some nutty foreign tourists over the years who were arrested for taking images within sensitive areas, and had SD cards removed and cameras seized. 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. The below snaps are classic examples of negative and positive interaction levels with street photography. If tribal groups demand payment, the fee should be agreed on first before taking close-up snaps.  

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. Usually after 12 months or longer on the road, motivation levels of every person differs and can have influence on fellow travellers and others boosting energy levels and moral. This can also have zero effect on those who are 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 every morning as soon as the sun rises. Having motivation and interaction skills usually goes a long way with positive results. If you think travelling overland through countries and across continents is difficult enough, try walking on the streets wherever the location may be and capture self-satisfying images minus the selfie snaps.

 Solo Overland Travel - Basic Hygiene

Avoiding Full Blown Diarrhoea Can Be avoided Just By washing Your 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 a weak immune system, 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 dirty cash notes and coins, shaking someones hand, peeling or eating unwashed fruit, or touching restaurant and bus seats are just a few other examples of direct contact with bacteria that can give anyone having weak stomachs full blown diarrhoea. There's approximately 5 billion people who use their hand instead of toilet paper around the planet with most having healthy hygienic values. Eating local fresh made yogurt everyday will automatically build up a positive bacterial resistance for those with weak immune systems. Washing hands properly before fingering food will avoid exploding stomachs and runny rear-ends.

Are You Suffering From NPD?

Narcissistic  Personality Disorder - A Depressional Brain Frier!

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 many ending up committing suicide from it due to triggered depression, rejection, and anxiety. Becoming a victim of your own addiction behaviour only has yourself to blame and no none else.

No, this isn't about some ridiculous retreat programme in the middle of nowhere. One can become worse off inside rehab centres sharing time with others suffering from NPD or drug addiction. Getting your life back is easier than what most think it is. Switching off from social media may sound like a death sentence to some, but what are you actually missing out on? The truth - absolutely nothing. Switching off cell phones and using them only for emergency calls is a good start. Many suffer from NPD "Selfie like" dopamine addiction for every snap one posts on social media. You Tube bloggers are just as bad to get their traffic. Imagine, if all social media platforms had no "like Button". Thousands of people would still be alive today without dying from death by narcissism or committing suicide. Don't become a dopamine NPD victim (Narcissistic Personality disorder syndrome) by taking risks of falling off cliffs, or skyscrapers, slipping down waterfalls, run over by trains, or on top of trains, or smashing your head to bits out of car windows, or ignoring warning signs or being naked at Machu Picchu, or having narcissistic sex on top of the great pyramid in Giza, or falling off bridges. It's about knowing in advance, before it's too late how to self-control one's limitation levels without getting NPD social media sickness. Dopamine addiction is real, and will turn into deep depression. Getting your life back from social media NPD will only happen by disconnecting from it. It begins by disconnecting from social media everyday - a drip line feed to social media is more than enough once a week. The task of interacting with people around you, or having dialogue with complete strangers face to face, or hanging out at isolated locations with zero internet is a good start. Ending up with full blown NPD will sooner or later get you one way or another, just like Heroin, Meth or Cocaine does to those who become addicted to these drugs.

Freedom From Debt Before Travel

Got any 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 which catches many caught up in 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. Living in constant debt, or clocking up even more debt while abroad can make some turn towards illegal off-shore activity if ending up broke, or mixing with the wrong crowd overseas. Running out of cash and becoming a narco drug mule, a gold smuggler, or selling drugs to other foreigners to fuel an exotic lifestyle is nothing new. Foreigners caught and busted doing illegal activity usually end up in hot sweaty jail cells for years, or even decades. Having no debt burden, any long-term journey through continents will give total freedom and zero head stress.

Don't Become A Western Beg Packer Off-Shore

Seoul : Tokyo : Manila : Kathmandu : Kula Lumpur : Jakarta : Delhi : Santiago : Cusco : Bogota : Petra : Nairobi : Zanzibar : San Jose  

The embarrassment of western Beg Packers has reached all time highs through Asia and South America, with some beg packers even having their own trendy You Tube channels with thousands of followers. Tell me - How low can you go? These westerners literally rob street hand-outs from locals who actually need cash for food and clothing. Westerners busking for street takings doing fire acts, playing musical instruments or selling cheap knock-off junk without an official permit in public places may land them on a one-way flight out of certain countries. Westerners living the lifestyle off-shore by beg-packing for cash handouts only has one theme - An off-shore westerner beggar!  -->  Get a working holiday visa or maybe try Beg Packing in your own country first! If you become stuck and hard out off-shore, which does happen --> Go to your Embassy and beg them to get you home. Avoid becoming a part of  the "Westerner Beg Packing" craziness, and leave street donations to down and out locals off-shore who need cash more than anyone else to survive.