Offshore Solo Overland Travel

The Real World We Travel In - South America : Asia : Africa : Middle East

A selection of street images captured through the continents spanning four decades. I've literally taken thousands of similar images like those shown below. This quick selection is more than enough to get the point across. Countries and locations have no importance here. It's about the Real World we travel and visualize. Images like these will rarely be seen, or have status in blissful travel blogger websites. The narrative is wrong. Images that show negative outlook between fantasy and reality have no place in fluffy travel websites. Everything must be presented as wonderful, beautiful, and awe inspiring to create the perfect online click bait increasing online traffic flow Aka - income. Airline inflight magazines including government tourism promotional advertising follow the same painted rainbow. Travel websites like my own, which are far and few, receive very low Google ranking and ratings for obvious reasons. Do I really care? Not at all, this website reflects both sides of offshore travel. The real world of everyday living and survival out there is mostly ignored. Believing everything is just wonderful is fake fantasy.
No one selling offshore tourism will never link my website to theirs or to similar travel websites, because the subject matter is against the grain of what is promoted - Follow the money.
Although I'm 100% sure, many do extract data and info off this website, churn, spin, recycling it to their own advantage claiming it's their own original work receiving royalties.    

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. Website disclaimer Website contact Are you a Website image thief?

Offshore overland travel isn't just about travel, it is certainly educational if one pursues it. Most foreign tourists stick to tacky island getaways partying hard out ignoring what they visualize en-route. They are more interested in capturing selfie snaps for social media likes. You don't require to look far, a quick walk around the block, up the street, or through lane ways capture images like this close to where foreign tourists congregate. The increase of poverty offshore is at all time highs, crime is at all time highs. Tourism must go on at all costs. Google, the airline industry and international travel bloggers all have one thing in common - Make and create money flow using the butterfly perspective presenting to their audience that everything is wonderful. 

I watched the local above coming around the corner at full speed. She was busily counting her cash stash while glancing down at the elderly woman. She continued walking past her without handing a peso. Maybe she had already handed money the previous day, or hours earlier before taking this shot, who knows. It's not unusual for elderly street beggars using the same location for years.  

Older people, the elderly offshore have zero government handouts, not like in western countries. They require to beg for survival, or use whatever musical instrument they can play, and hopefully collect enough donations for food. Next time you spot street beggars, or local buskers, at least spend some of your precious travel time interacting with them. Asking how long they've been busking, if they've come from a different region, buying a drink, a snack, or offering a donation may sound unworthy to some, but in their eyes everyday survival is their reality.

It's normal occurrence spotting children carrying stacks of firewood through streets in south and central Asia, the African heartland, and the Andean block. The above stacks of wood are for delivery and have either been bought by the children and resold for profit, or they earn an agreed payment for each delivery.   

The street images above were captured through different timelines dating back to the '80s. It shows the Real World out there, that nothing has changed. There's no escape of hard work earning an income. Any cash coming for free doesn't exist through the continents, unless it's stolen from others or handed down through deceased family estates. Survival in the Real World is harsh, unfair, at times unbearable. It's something citizens in western nations could never believe would happen in their own countries, but now feeling the same pain. The vicious breakdown of the planet by globalists is ongoing, the extermination of useless eaters, the control of fossil fuels, the control of surveillance monitoring of your every move, of what you say, and how you think is where it's at in 2022. Agenda 2030 in the Real World is real to.

Street sweepers have their own designated areas to maintain. They receive the most basic income to survive from week to week. The image above was captured during the mid '80s, nothing much has changed with street sweepers, they're in constant demand spotted in sprawling urban neighborhoods.

Early morning shift, an urban big city street sweeper going about her daily work routine cleaning up litter from the previous night's onslaught from party-goers.  

Women in the Real World are tough hardened. They know nothing better than how to survive, how to live on basic staple food diets with minimal income without questioning it. I can't imagine western females rolling 44 gallon drums around for a living, they wouldn't have a clue how to, or careless, because their typical daily reality, is all about makeup, finger nail polish, designer bags and how many likes they've got from their latest selfies posted on social media. It's images like this that travel bloggers ignore, avoid, and stay clear of because their travel narrative is about selling wonderful, blissful, romantic travel, even though the above image is within walking distance from a well known UNESCO heritage site.       

I've had a habit through continents since the '80's of strolling to the outskirts of cities and towns. It's here where one meets and is greeted by all different kinds of locals. It's also one of the best locations experiencing the Real World of poverty, despair and hardship. The vibe is completely the opposite of inner central city hustle and bustle. The local above was waving, inviting me to join him sharing a pot of tea brew, which I did, and believe it or not, it tasted better than those up market waiter served drinks in town. This image was taken during full scale war in the Middle East.    

Slogging uphill carrying 40+ kilos of stone pebbles on your back earning a daily wage is no joke. Most westerners, including myself probably wouldn't last five minutes let alone all day non-stop six days a week. Welcome to the Real World.

Laboring for a daily wage carrying loads of bricks is as hardcore as it gets. Welcome to the Real World of survival. Did I interact with this local before taking the shot? Yes, it's one of the many priorities of street photography that I had learnt back in the '80s. Without interacting with subjects first, two negative things can result. One is direct verbal abuse with no remorse, the second is a smashed camera lens. Have I ever experienced a smashed DSLR camera lens? No, not once. It's about analyzing your subject first, who it is, including the location which plays an important role. Learning the art of interacting with total strangers no matter the country requires different interaction skills towards each individual person. 

These are Muslim woman. They're carrying heavy payloads of flour, sugar and rice back to their respected villages, sometimes 10-20 kilometers walking distance. These people are tough, hard as nails, and put most western woman to shame in regards to survival. Images like this are captured within the central heartland of Africa, especially throughout the Sahel region across to Somalia. Foreign males taking random closeup street portraits of Muslim women should be consented to do so prior before pointing cameras at them. Those who fail to so will find out the hard way of what can abruptly happen without warning. Respect is only learnt by self-respecting yourself first. 

No, the above image isn't from the 1920s, it's from the 2020s. Hot tar being hand poured on fresh laid gravel  on a stretch of open highway. Road workers in the Real World earn low basic wages and minimal protection gear. This old fashioned technique of road repair is seen through Asia and cantral Africa.

 Using ruff thick sack cloth to keep warm is better than freezing to death. Did you know plain dry newspaper is an alternative to keep warm? How do I know? I've tried it. Survival in the Real World is no joke. I didn't photograph this subject for ridicule. I photographed this image to remind myself how fortunate enough I really am.     

Collecting fresh droppings of dung is an age old habit dating back thousands of years. This local, like other young children throughout Africa, Asia, and Mid East, collect and prepare dung patties selling them off in bundles once they've been dried. I can imagine this eventuating through many western nations by 2030. Shutting down fossil fuel production is an evil agenda, a plan of control over populations. You can thank the rich Globalists, the WEF, the UN, WHO and other global institutions cutting off fossil fuel making it totally unaffordable. Climate change is real, it's a political agenda to create endless billions in profit and power control. Reality Fact Check...
: Al Gore bought an $8.9 million ocean front villa in Montecito, California in 2009.
: The global banking industry is still selling 30 year mortgage beach front properties.
: Bernie Sanders resides in a $3 million dollar beach front property.
: Meta Zucherberg paid $49.6 million for 350 acres at Pila beach, and $53 million for 600 acres at Larsens beach.
​: Trump owns multi-million dollar beach front resorts in Florida.
: Dicaprio owns multi-million dollar beach front properties in Malibu and owns Blackadore Caye island in Belize.
: John Kerry owns an $11 million dollar beach front property at Marthas Vineyard.
: Bill and Melinda Gates purchased a $43 million dollar beach front property in 2020 at Del Mar near San Diego.
: Obama resides on a $14 million dollar beach front property at Marthas Vineyard, and has another $8.7 million dollar beach front investment along the Oahu coast, Hawaii.     

Image captures like above are worth more than a thousand words. I captured i00's of similar compositions having the same result - The Real World we travel and live in. Western nations weep and cry for cleaner environments, but Western nations have a habit of sending all their used ship junk to third world nations for demolition. What irony - Yes? Meanwhile, just a stone throw away from this location, foreign tourists flock to island getaways sunning, bathing and chilling out without a care in the world. International travel bloggers promote their wonderful clickbait experiences near this location with stunning selfies, but you will never see them, not one, promoting images like above in their websites. It's the wrong narrative, it doesn't sell well or make profit.    

Drug addiction is everywhere, there's nothing worse than cultivating narcotics for profit and then becoming addicted to your own supply. This is seen in Afghanistan, Myanmar, Mexico, Colombia, Bolivia and Peru. Opium, heroin and cocaine has no enemies for those who use it. The world of drug profiteering whether legal or illegal has one positive - It makes billions in revenue for those producing it. Follow the money, greed has no boundaries, big pharma has you covered, there is no escape for the little man.   

Collecting safe drinking water from rivers in western nations is a bygone era. Drinking tap water is even worse with the added amounts of toxic fluoride added in the mix. It's said that, who ever controls the food chain and water supply has complete control over their populations. The above image, captured in the central heartland of Africa, shows a different perspective of daily living compared to the West. It's the Real World we travel and live in. Rural Africans can survive on basic necessities like river water for bathing, cooking and drinking. They've been doing it for centuries. You won't see bottled water here for sale, because the river is the supply.           

A random street image I had captured during the '80s in South America. The subject in the image to most will presume she is a local prostitute. Maybe she is, maybe she is not, that's something that's not needed to reveal here. Most street photographers will acknowledge the composition was captured at street level with a SLR tele lens. 

Locals enjoying their daily homemade mix of herb tobacco. This couple are well over 75 years old. They showed me their documents proving it. This image is not about promoting smoking, it's about daily lifestyle habits in the Real World. Westerner hate smokers out there I've met through the continents since '82 usually usually ask the same questions debating smoking. I get the same answers back - Silence. i.e. "do you smoke weed, meth opium, cocaine or drop pills to get high", "do you use bongs, glass tubes or chillum pipes to smoke hashish" there you go, end of story. Self-indoctrinated hypocrites are many, you bump into them everyday.

Using children for street begging is nothing new. This is commonly seen throughout Asia and Africa. Depending the location, street mafia charge daily tariffs on people using child beggars within their turf. There's no escape, every man and his dog makes a profit. There are no free handouts in the Real World. Survival by any means necessary isn't blissfulness as travel bloggers make out. Like mentioned elsewhere in this website, the average fluffy travel blogger only paints half the picture leaving all the negative ingredients out i.e. tourism within impoverished nations, getting mugged robbed and raped offshore, scammed of cash, addicted drug induced full moon beach parties, fossil fuel getting there, spiked food and drinks, road bandit holdups, razor wire 24 hour night security etc etc.   

Women laborers work their bone off non-stop 8 hours daily 6 days a week for a minimal wage. They mix cement, carry loaded buckets of cement, and know who to use the most basic hand tools to get the job done. And that's a daily routine without gloves and bare foot, The saying "being bare foot and pregnant behind a hot stove" has no equal to what you actually see within the Real World. The above image is one from a series of images captured on this construction site.

In the West, the burning of firewood is almost banned for good never to return. Your government says burning wood to keep warm, and to heat household water pollutes the atmosphere creating climate change. Try implementing the same regulations in the the Real World and see what happens. Without firewood, half of Asia, Africa, South America and portions of the Mid East wouldn't survive. They require wood to cook food and boil water, Western governments of late have the lost the plot and gone totally mad. They plan and create new taxes, new code laws with heavy regulations and penalties on their populations, just for keeping household dwellings warm and mold free.
Maybe, just maybe, a focused travel blogger or vlogger out there will one day wake up from dream state from all those wonderful chilled clickbait R&R videos they promote sitting at campfires and open ovens offshore. Where offshore? you guessed it - within the Real World.      

This is a recent street image, it shows you how people survive within the Real World outside Western civilization. Earning a daily amount of cash, enough to purchase food, feed families, and educate their kids is what counts. Not selfies, not facial makeup, and definitely not drinking toxic Starbucks coffee to look and feel good. It's where Western travel bloggers escape to, out from their own environment in search within the Real World for something worthwhile to blog about as clickbait materiel. Let's see now, third world food blog, offshore clothe shopping blog, picturesque seashore blog, island getaway blog, cheap hotel blog, train journey blog, nightclub blog, airline flight blog etc etc.

The other side of blissfulness offshore is everywhere around you. Just open your eyes and look. Images like above would never make it on the cover of National Geographic or used as a middle page spread inside airline flight magazines. It's to real, it's to graphic and must be ignored and hidden. We can't have Marabou scrounging through scattered human garbage because it won't promote tourist dollars. The Google looking glass is all about fantasy, how they promote and control the happy narrative in the Real World using biased tourism promotion via their search engine to generate clickbait income. If you're not on board, or don't follow the travel blogger crowd, you're toast.  

All this kid was worried about was losing his kite. He wasn't worried about the traffic flow heading towards him, or that he was bare feet and probably had more stubbed toes than we can imagine. So let's look at the image at another angle. The boy is content, he has been using his pastime for years flying kites on the same stretch of one way road. Bus drivers using this route are familiar with his moves. As a Western foreigner where things are heavily controlled for the better of humanity, this street scene probably looks outright dangerous, but in reality is it? It's a deceptive view point how we assume that anything outside Western civilization is deemed risky. Welcome to the Real World where kids flying kites on busy roads has been a pastime for generations.        

If you haven't taken a moving transit snap from the top of another moving truck you haven't experienced overland travel in the Real World. This is the difference between fluffy travel bloggers and those who actually travel the hard yards getting somewhere. Bouncing around for a few days with clouds of dust constantly in your face really sorts out hardcore travelers and travel flight babies. Locals use this mode of transport because it's either a cheap mode of transportation, or there is no other transportation. Finding truck lifts like this hauling along dirt highways is found through the Sahel region. Toughen up - Try it! It will be one of those solo overland journeys that are never forgotten. 

Women high altitude road maintenance laborers using hand picks chiseling snow and frozen ice @ 4000+ meters minus -14C.  Capturing images like this is only accomplished in midwinter. After dark subzero temperatures rapidly plummet to minus -35C (-31F). That's as extreme as it gets for any highway around the planet, surpassing anything in South America, Africa, Europe, the Hindu Kush, and even Tibet, which I've also traveled solo in midwinter hitching random lifts through the region before it was banned. This is the Real World, where you see locals working their bone off in extreme environments earning a minimal wage. 

Manually plowing fields using hand tools in rural Asia and Africa is an age old tradition. It keeps you fit, you share time with neighbors, and you learn how to cultivate and plant crops using your own hard earned sweat. This is a part of the Real World, something that was lost in Western civilization by giant mafia food corporations who have slowly hijacked food crops and now control food surpluses over the last few decades. By 2030, the Western world will probably be consuming more bugs than meat and drinking human waste water because the government told you it's for the greater good of humanity. It's the ongoing planned process to weaken people's immunity, to create weaker males, to transform the strong into human pussycats. Big pharma, Chemtrails, and Monsanto already have you covered no matter what angle or direction one pursues. Human kill-off by power rich humans is an Agenda 2030 program. Do your own research.

A female topping up gasoline in the tank to reach home base further downstream. I watched this local manually loading her longboat with supplies, filling the gas tank, cranking up the engine, and disappearing at full throttle under a minute. What do you learn from this? Figure it out. 

An old timer chewing on a piece of bread. She made it past the age of 85 and still has plenty of juice left. Most old folks within the Real World normally have family members taking care of them. There are no old folk homes like in the West. Even though the local above looks more on the rag tag side wearing worn out clothing, older people become more attached to what they prefer wearing. I just look at my own handmade leather vest. I've been wearing that vest since the mid 1990s. It could easily write it's own overland travel history log around the planet. 

The Real World of street living is of no concern for anyone until falling into that kind of predicament experiencing it. Traveling through the Real World opens your eyes. One begins to appreciate the little things in life i.e. a roof over your head, water supply, electricity, and a full stomach.

Crippled, but still motivated. This is how it is, you either start from where you left off, or slowly wither away from mental heath issues. This local lost his leg in a boat accident, it hasn't stopped him from working a daily wage down at the port. There are no disabled monthly cash benefits in the Real World. You're on your own with whatever family and friends one has for support.

An Afghan Pashtun showing off vintage hardware. The image was taken during the time of the Russian invasion. American military supply chains were busily mobilizing at various locations along the Afghan-Pakistan border. During the 1980s, I had traveled through different war conflicts. Coming out the other side, one can easily be deceived from manipulative MSM propaganda news ringing in your ears 24/7. As it is said, the more one hears it, and the louder it gets, the easier it becomes believing fake narrative lies.  Main stream media can't help cloaking and gas lighting their news coverage. Someone behind the curtains controls all of them Today, if one doesn't bother to thoroughly research current news affairs, question the narratives and where the original news sources come from, one only has themselves to blame of being totally misled - Use your brain if you still have one left.

I've passed the above location during the '80s and '90s, and again just recently. It still has the same ambience with little change with dogs, cats, and hawks sharing the scraps. There's nothing better than cooking up fresh goat meat for dinner. Open stall meat sellers (butchers) are still present through Asia, Africa, South America and Mid East.     

I've passed through many streets that have looked similar or even far worse than this through Africa, Asia and the Mid East. The astonishing thing is how locals adapt to living standards well below the poverty line. The super stench of open sewers is ignored while roaming dogs sniff out devouring human feces. The slow decay of street squalor is now apparent in liberal governed states in the USA. What happened and what has caused this? The roll on abuse effect of cocaine, heroin, meth and fentanyl usage is to blame. The sad fact it's all downhill with no brakes to stop it with open borders. A drugged out nation is a dead nation. All those zombie movies weren't created for nothing.

Young women laborers carrying buckets of fresh mixed cement at a construction site. They work for a daily minimum wage, which is enough purchasing power for food supplies lasting a few days. In the West, this would be termed as female slave labor echoing from feminist groups. In the Real World, it's about everyday survival. Dole payments and free cash handouts don't exist - there are none. One things for sure, these women are fit, they are healthy and strong, and would probably put most spoiled brats of the same age group to shame.

Have you ever tried polishing stuff? The image above shows a typical working day slogging behind an industrial polisher. In the past, I owned my own 3 phase polisher. It was used to buff T-6061 alloy parts to a mirror finish luster. Everything you see on this page with a shine was custom designed and polished by me.

A woman in motion carrying a stack of firewood with onlookers wandering why I captured this shot. She's probably been passing this very location for years laden with firewood, so most locals either know her personally, or have seen her floating quietly past on many occasions.

Service with a smile, I actually passed this location several times and finally captured a closeup snap of this happy outgoing local. Bare feet loading 20kg bags of cement all day is pretty tough going for most.  

A classic street snap captured during the mid '80s. Why I didn't take a few more shots beats me, although maybe I did, and require  to look through the original negatives on the next visit to the South Pacific. One thing for sure, the baby is snug warm packed inside sackcloth with rope harnesses securely strapped. 

Malnutrition is avoided by eating a healthy balance of natural vitamin and minerals. The globalists today want all of us to eat bugs and grasshoppers rather than red meat, and drink less milk. Eradicating the meat supply is a global agenda. One reason for doing this, is to create a planet of weaker males. By doing this, it would only take a decade or so, to have a planet full of pansy flimsy weak males with zero strength to stand against tyranny. Bill Gates, the UN, WHO, WEF, and other associated global cabal are together in top gear in lockstep to eradicate meat consumption - AKA climate change.      

Breast feeding in public is common practice throughout the Real World. No one winks an eye, it's more logic and far more healthier for babies to feed on mother's natural milk. One things for sure, If I were a mother, I would steer clear from all baby formula as far as you can throw it, especially Chinese and Bill Gates affiliated baby formula brands.     

In the Real World elderly people know how to survive. They have no choice and are brought up through their lives survival hardened. They know how to gather wood, light fires, fetch water and live without electricity. The Western world are totally the opposite with most happily government dependent.

Gun shops are found everywhere. Within some regions of central Asia, there are more guns shops than bread shops. I've been to several locations where gun shops have flourished for decades. Yuppie travel bloggers who actually do reach and blog about these isolated locations are more than embarrassing. Guys, you're 35 years late, it's all been written, published and sold well before you were born.  

Coal, wait a minute Climate Change. We must eradicate all forms of fossil coal usage. What a joke, it's pure propaganda, just like controlling gasoline, diesel, LPG, NPG and kerosene supplies. The global agenda here, is to destroy the entire fossil fuel production around the planet, and then rebuild from the ashes with those in control who actually destroyed it in the first place. Solar energy is useless, it is unsustainable - Greenpeace 

Coal powered stoves like above are still used through regions of Asia and the central heartland of Africa. Just head on into isolated regions in DRC, and DRC's neighboring countries, Nepal Pakistan, Iran, and India, Coal energy usage dates back to 1000 BC. and will continue onward whether liked or not. It's called survival in the Real World by any means necessary to cook food.  

Violent protests have the tendency to inflict serious injury with no mercy at anyone who stands in the way. Don't ask what happened here of the final outcome. I left the location before it erupted. Becoming a statistic offshore is avoided by using self-awareness of any situation that can be quickly changed before injury happens i.e. walking after dark solo on a Lagos beach, hitching random lifts with drugged out drivers, hiring vehicles without test driving them first, diving off the top of waterfalls without knowing the water depth below, climbing up hillside mountain tops during a lightning strike, ignoring fresh up to date warning advice from locals, swimming at isolated shorelines without checking undertow currents etc.  

Smoking is looked and frowned upon as a bad health habit in most Western countries. If obesity was placed in the same category, obesity would outrank more health issues than smoking. Imagine airlines charging excessive body weight, they'd make a killing on it. You won't see an image like above advertised for tourism promotion, it has an negative bounce rate.     

Manually hand washing clothes in cut down 44 gallon drums has its positives. you don't require electricity, no service parts required, guaranteed to last for years and gives a free workout. Locals share the use of them within their neighborhoods, it's called basic living in the Real World.     

Posing for a quick snap, a husband aiding his wife sip down hot tea. Low income earners and the elderly becoming sick or disabled within the Real World is the exact opposite of the Western world. There are minimal healthcare allowances if any, this placing the burden of daily survival in the hands of family members. 

We turn the tap on and out pours water. This is not so in many regions through the Real World. Manual street hand pumps for water supplies are still being used through regions of Asia, and Africa. I've used them myself on many occasions guzzling down water and cooling off. Pump water is artesian, it's drinkable and it's free. All you need to do is manually pump it out of the ground. 

Above, a local taking a morning facial wash with water from a storage vat Think about it, without water humans are dead meat. Having an adequate water supply is essential for survival.

Coal supply through Africa is booming. It can't be stopped, because coal demand exceeds supply. I've literally seen truck loads of coal hauling en-route along highways, isolated zones, including crossing international borders.    

A retail coal supplier busy with a customer hand shoveling a fresh load of coal. By looking at this coal dump, it's probably been here for countless decades, including the owner, and will remain here selling sacks of coal for decades to come.   

Women laborers breaking bricks for a daily wage. That woman's upper arm muscle shows she's physically fit and not to be toyed around with by anyone. Survival in the Real World has little place for feminism. It's about putting food in your stomach, feeding the kids, if any, and remaining fit and healthy.     

Real World survival doesn't question how one looks or dresses. This woman and child come from the rural highlands in the middle of nowhere. This is how they're normally dressed at home base, and also when heading on foot to markets for food supplies. The above image also shows how tough, how strong rural women are carrying their young ones on their back walking for kilometers.    

I captured the above snap not so long ago. It reveals transistor radios are still being used within the Real World. I could hear the radio blaring from distance at full volume. Whatever these locals were listening to had them glued in the same spot for a while,  probably breaking news and sport.

Distilling home made bootleg alcohol is an art. The above image was taken within a very isolated region where alcohol is prohibited and banned. The brewing setup looked as if it's been in use for quite some time. I've seen similar bootleg distillers through the continents. No tax makes bootleg alcohol taste even better. 

There's not much out there online that can match the above Real World image. One requires to be at a location exactly at the right time to capture such an image. Drought, famine and despair destroys human habitat without remorse. People suffer, people starve and people die. East Africa, South East Asia and the Middle East are the noted regions where repeat impacts of drought will eventuate. This is nothing new, it solely depends on developing sun cycle activity which is now increasing at accelerated levels onward through to 2030.     

There's no question - Africans are a tough breed. Low class Africans know how to exist on nothing. They have no choice anyway, there are no unemployment handouts, no sickness benefits, and no pension fund payouts. The above image, a local on the move delivering engines by wheelbarrow through town is seen on both sides of the continent.     

There are other images of this particular truck elsewhere through the website. The exploitation of Amazonian native trees being chopped down for lumber is for one thing only - Profit. The driver may or may not own the truck, but that's his job, an employed driver earning an income to put food on the table for his family. Other forms of employment receiving the same wage doesn't exist in this region. A positive solution to shut down Amazon tree culling, is for Western countries to stop purchasing imported hardwood from the Andean block and Amazon regions i.e. wide plank floorboards, outdoor indoor dining tables, exposed ceiling beams etc.

Low income earners in the Real World have no choice to do manual labor to earn a wage. Carrying heavy product on your head all day and everyday is no joke. This is widely seen through Asia and Africa at isolated sea ports, truck transit depots, and drop off points on the outskirts of major cities and markets. Forklifts are rare, almost non-existent, which is a good thing for survival for people to work an income. In the mid-70s as a teenager in the West, I was loading product manually into freight train wagons for an income earning $100 bucks a week.    

An elderly woman 80+ taking her daily stroll through town. Her hand grip holding the walking stick shows she's still physically strong. Locals probably know this woman, and have seen her through the years out and about. Being bare foot is not a sign of poverty for this particular person. She feels safer walking without footwear eliminating slipping  and sliding.    

Those who travel a lot will know where this location is without the need of mentioning it. The image was captured just before additional higher safety fences were put in place to stop locals committing suicide jumps. It is now a rare image capture without additional fences showing the daily routine of low income laborers manually carting and delivering product. This is survival in the Real World. Most Westerners wouldn't last an hour doing this line of work, they have become addicted fast food eaters, obese, and wouldn't have a clue how to survive outside their comfy zone.   

The image snap above shows how tourism dependency places a bad taste in your mouth. The arrival of a van to a remote location with only two Chinese tourists is beyond insane. These locals never approached me in the same way. It's because they already know the difference between plastic tourists and foreign travelers. Did the Chinese couple purchase any trinkets or memorabilia from any of these locals during their quick visit? No, but they did take selfies before moving on to their next location.   

The above image is the Real Africa, the central heartland region where western flight baby travel bloggers are non existent. One reason they avoid such places, is they are unable to promote "wonderful" or "how beautiful" it is. Promoting children playing sport and other activities stark naked in public wouldn't go down well. The second reason, yuppie flight babies struggle to handle traveling on basic rough as guts transport overland for long time periods i.e. west coast to the east coast from Nigeria to Somalia. Instead, fluffy travel bloggers prefer to hang out blogging on the shorelines of Zanzibar, or Essaouira, Morocco. The Real World is out there, but reaching these locations takes time, a lot of time, patience, and stamina. This is the difference between overland travelers and wannabe travelers.     

Manually plowing fields with antique tooling using cows as horsepower is still used today within the Real World. This age old form of tilling land can be seen in isolated locations through the African heartland and Asia. Even the hay stacks in the background of this image were manually harvested. 

Rural breed chickens on their way to market for culling. When I was based in Peru, I'd purchase the odd chicken from local markets. The procedure by sellers to have chickens fully de-plucked and de-feathered, guttered and ready for the oven took under two minutes. In the Real World, purchasing fresh fish, red meat and poultry is more than simple enough. One only requires to go to any bustling food market preferably as early as possible.

Above, organic chickens being tied down ready for a transit journey of a lifetime. This is normal procedure transporting chickens through the heartland of Africa. I've seen the same technique used on both sides of the continent.

Chickens on their way to market. Imagine this same procedure being used in the Western world. There would be an uproar, a front page exclusive on the rights of chickens. But what's more insane, is how Western countries breed their own poultry farms, their pig farms, and dairy farms. It's not a pretty sight, far from it, especially what junk is being fed to them.

Living and existing in the Real World is harsh. There are no government supports, only local community funded schemes that help out assisting those in need. The above image was captured in the roll film days, it shows a location where locals hand wash clothes, use wood for cooking, and live in run down worn out shacks.

A random street portrait showing symptoms of imbalanced mental issues. She may have been born with this deficiency. I didn't ask other locals of her condition. The sad fact, there are multitudes just like this having various forms of cognitive impairment throughout the Real World. The above subject was more than happy to pose for this shot, probably because it's the first time someone had interest photographing her.    

Don't you just love Socialism, it's certainly not been the answer for most countries that took that path. Cuba, Peru, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Venezuela are all examples of failed Socialism agendas. If Socialism ideology promised what it preached, what it had promised to their populations, then why are the above mentioned countries having an endless exit out from their own borders with citizens flowing into non Socialist USA? But the USA is a racist nation No? The USA is actually the last country for pro-Socialists to migrate to Yes? There you go, Socialism has always failed, it doesn't unite, it doesn't promote individual prosperity. Socialism creates the total opposite to freedom values - Oppression.

Toothpaste is something most use with some brands toxic as hell full of unhealthy chemicals slowly destroying a persons health. The above image shows a local using a fresh Neem stick to clean tooth plaque instead of toothpaste. Neem has a wide range of health benefits  

Now and then you notice public billboards plastered with all types of prohibited activities within certain areas. The above signage is missing the most important warning activity happening at this location - Mugging and robbing peoples stuff.

Washing clothes down at rivers are great locations capturing snaps of locals. The negative impact washing clothes in rivers is the continuous runoff from dyes and soap. The end result is fish kill off, and the consuming of contaminated fish further down stream. Washing machines and non-chemical soap are luxury in the Real World.

An image that had no real importance taken decades ago, a Tibetan washing clothes on the outskirts of Lhasa.

A classic roll film snap of a local washing down at the river. I returned to the same location 30 years later with nothing much changed. Locals still bath, bath, and wash clothes down at rivers. The Real World of overland travel in the 2020s may have more sophisticated camera gear, but the reality of what one captures remains the same.   

A smile does go a long way. This elderly woman was wondering about through a busy street without a care in the world. She was loaded up with a sack of animal feed heading home. It didn't require to much interaction to capture this shot. What was intrusive, was a group of rude street photographers who pounced in like vultures without asking, or being polite enough to wait until I had finished with the above subject. Welcome to the Real World.   

What and where is the Real World? Any country, any region well away from Western lifestyle living with zero government handouts living and existing on your sweat earning a basic wage. The Real World has no time for wokeness or insane gender fluidity. The Real World is all about survival by any means necessary no matter what circumstances evolve.

The Real World - Living In Debt Up To Your Neck.

How many people out there in the Western World who live beyond their financial means is unknown. What is known, is the percentage of overall debt accumulated by individuals and family is exceedingly great. Having any forms of unpaved debt, and living beyond the means of that debt is modern slavery. A person is responsible for their own debt - no one else. Those who've woken up jumping ship from debt burden are usually those who downsize their lifestyles, their daily living habits, their outlook on life of what is affordable without the need of borrowing a dime. As the saying goes "you can falsely look and feel good even with mountains of debt hanging around your neck".
It's certainly not the time or place for that mindset in the 2020s. Getting rid of all debt even if it's painful downsizing to affordable living is a personal choice - Only you can decide to continue being a slave of debt or walking away from it. Above image, a livable shack in the middle of nowhere in the Real World. 

1980s Overland Travel Era - Onward

The custom bag above carried two Nikon F2AS bodies, MD2 motor drive, five prime lenses, 50-300 ED-IF Zoom lens, C330 Mamiya and 3 lenses, plus all the required accessories. The tripod, an alloy Manfrotto was normally wrapped in cloth sitting on top.

My own history of solo overland travel dates back to the early eighties. That's 40+ years, or four plus decades of collective offshore overland travel. Some may return to a continent twice, or even three times or more if they're fortunate enough through their lifetime. My early years of solo overland travel consisted with the same outlook like anyone else, to constantly travel, to explore, and to photograph. It didn't matter what caught my eye, street portraiture, random candid snaps, landscape, transit snaps, archaeological, etc. People shots were a favorite from start go since '82. It's still remains the same today in 2022, yes 2022, I'm still traveling long term offshore doing street, portrait and wildlife photography having that same enjoyment that's spanned through decades.
Did I publish my work back then? You betcha, I had successfully published all kinds of different articles in Japan, Europe and New Zealand. Some were full single page spreads, double spreads, and others full on six+ page spreads in glossy magazines. As most see, I've traveled overland with some pretty serious camera gear during the eighties and nineties timeline. I quickly learnt the ropes about overland traveling with photo gear stuff in those early years. Keeping gear safe, where one stays, watching out for local snitches and knowing what's up ahead were all priorities. Many foreign nationals I had met en-route back then, especially through Africa and South America were robbed of stuff because of their own mistakes. Today is no better, actually today is more dangerous traveling with photo gear almost anywhere. Snitches using cell phones are the direct blame for this.

Location South America 2nd visit : Nikon F2AS DS-12 EE AC : Nikkor 50-300 f/4.5 ED-IF AIS : Manfrotto tripod 

From the 1980s through to the 2020s, Nikon camera gear has been used to capture the majority of my images. There was a leap into using medium format during the mid 90s, but gave it miss and resorted back to 35mm. Even today, I still use some of those classic manual focus AI/AIS lenses on DSLR full frame bodies. Personally, offshore street photography from the very beginning has been part and parcel of any overland travel journey. Without photo gear, this website wouldn't exist.

I avoid being a photographic couch potato yapping online discussing trivial matter on megapixels, camera brand debating, or about DSLR versus mirrorless and smart phone junk. It's a waste of time. It reminds me of my V8 days, when we would debate on Ford versus Chevy, Dodge versus AMC, big block versus small block etc. Instead, it's about getting out there within the real world, clocking up endless overland transit mileage through continents with photo gear that you already know can be trusted to do the job. That's more superior, solo overland travel journeys capturing all kinds of different images around the planet in your own time, at your own pace with your own funding using your own initiative to use and look after your stuff - Try it, I've been doing this since the early 1980s and never looked back. Below, a recent overland journey traveling over 4600 kilometers to photograph snow leopards in the wilderness during midwinter.