Every story below happened to me. That used to go without saying on the internet; now it's the whole point.
These are the seventeen stories rebuilt so far — the nights and borders and machines that made 27 years on the road worth writing down. Each one is dated, photographed and told in full. More are coming; the ledger has 146 countries of material.
Hitchhiking Iraqi KurdistanDohuk to Aqrah by thumb — twice
The Amedi–Barzan RoadKurdistan’s prettiest detour, from the van month
The Fish Cargo FlightBroke in Nouadhibou, flown home to Lisbon with the lobster — 2003
Hitchhiking the Srinagar–Leh HighwayZojila Pass in a painted Tata truck — snow walls and chai, 2016
Visiting Mosul After ISISThe destroyed Old City and the living city beside it, 2018
Van Life IraqA month across northern Iraq with my house on wheels — evacuated at night
Driving Russia in WinterSaint Petersburg to the Golden Ring, alone, at minus 31
Driving Afghanistan in 2012My own car through Mazar, Baghlan, Kholm and Kunduz, 2012
Crossing Syria's M5 Highway Through Idlib During the WarThe M5 through Idlib while the war still held it
Pamir HighwayTrapped a full day between two borders at 4,282 m
Egypt to Sudan by FerrySleeping on deck from Aswan to Wadi Halfa
Feeding Wild Hyenas in Harar, Ethiopia at NightHand-feeding wild hyenas in the Harar night
How I Got to Timbuktu, Mali22 hours on an overloaded pickup from Gao, 2008
Crossing the Sahara Desert on a Motobécane MopedErg Chebbi on a 1970s Motobécane moped
Amazigh Triple Wedding in Morocco's Sahara DesertThree brides, three days, deep in the dunes
One Week in a Buddhist Monastery in Lumbini, NepalA silent week where the Buddha was born
Staying with Kazakh Nomads in the Ile Alatau MountainsYurts, horses and mountain summer, 2004