Literary Lift Off!
It’s been a whirlwind of a month hoofing it around the country for the launch of my new book, A Short Ride in the Jungle: The Ho Chi Minh Trail by Motorcycle. Here are the highlights… The launch celebrations kicked off … Read More
A Short Ride in the Jungle launch tour
OK, well it’s not quite a tour in the sense of the Rolling Stones or Justin Beiber, but over the next few weeks I shall be pootling to London, Norwich and Bristol for a series of gin-soaked soirees in celebration … Read More
A Short Ride in the Jungle: It’s nearly here…..
A friend recently told me that when Edward Gibbon presented King George III’s brother The Duke of Gloucester with a copy of his second volume of The Decline and Fall of The Roman Empire, the Duke replied; ‘Another demned thick book. … Read More
The Pink Panther hits Saigon
I ALWAYS GET FINISH LINE NERVES towards the end of long journeys. And my final day of the Ho Chi Mission was no different. During the last six weeks The Pink Panther and I had clunked 3000 km through three … Read More
An engine rebuild in Kaleum
Kaleum, Sekong Province, Laos Last night’s hotel in Kaleum definitely wins the Gold Medal for the worst hotel of the ride so far. I parked the Panther outside yesterday afternoon and was handed the key to Room 1 by a … Read More
The best motorbike in the world…
WHY CHOOSE A PIFFLING LITTLE HONDA CUB TO TRAVEL THROUGH SOUTH EAST ASIA ON? WHY NOT SOMETHING MORE SUITABLE? WELL, THE TRUTH IS, THE HONDA CUB MIGHT JUST BE THE BEST ADVENTURE MOTORBIKE ON THE PLANET. HERE’S WHY…. Although laughably … Read More
A short ride in the jungle…
Back in October a TV director I work with alot rang me: “Do you want to do a couple of weeks work setting up a new series for ITV?” The subject was the massive recent surge of elephant and rhino … Read More
The Next Adventure….
Right, enough namby-pambying around with television crews, drivers and translators. It’s time for another proper adventure. The sort where I find myself lost in the middle of the Southeast Asian jungle and survive on nothing but twigs and peanut butter … Read More
Testing the Ice
AN ATTEMPT TO REACH THE RUSSIAN ARCTIC CIRCLE IN A 1993 URAL SIDECAR…. There are two basic prerequisites for a motorbike trip: a motorbike and the ability to ride one. We had neither. Instead we had tweed, a tap-dancing comedian … Read More
PHOTO ESSAY: A stroll around old Tbilisi
Ah, Tbilisi! What a magical metropolis. Having spent a few days here this week I can see why Pushkin, Lermontov, Tolstoy, Gorki, Steinbeck et al have all been seduced by her exotic charms. But alas, the city’s historic old quarter is … Read More
An Insider’s Guide to North Norfolk
North Norfolk, perched on the shoulder of East Anglia, is most famous for its miles of sandy beaches. But this remote corner of England has a cornucopia of other delightful things to see and do. Here’s a potted guide to … Read More
Battling the Bosphorus
NAVIGATING ISTANBUL’S GOLDEN HORN BRIDGE ON A HONDA C90 On a 3000-mile trip around the Black Sea by Honda C90, we had to cross the terrifying Golden Horn bridge across the famous Bosphorus. Navigating this in a lorry is bad enough. … Read More
Bombs and bikes: riding the real Ho Chi Minh Trail
[wowslider id=”6″] “You’ve got to ride a dirt bike like you’ve stolen it” said Digby through gritted teeth, as he accelerated through a particularly gnarly section, the wheels weaving between rocks, mud spraying up from the bike in all directions. … Read More
Don’t spill the milk or walk over the lassoo pole
A Brief Guide to Mongolian ger etiquette…. If you’re lucky enough to be packing your bags for Mongolia this summer, the likelihood is you’ll be spending a night or three in a ger, the traditional felt tents of the … Read More
Mayonnaise, pies and other novelty ways to raise buckets of bullion for charity…
IF YOU’RE PREPARING TO CROSS THE STEPPE ON HORSEBACK OR CONQUER THE OCEAN BY KAYAK, THERE’S NO BETTER TIME TO FUNDRAISE FOR CHARITY. HERE’S HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR ADVENTURE FUNDRAISING EFFORTS… Fundraising through the medium of adventure has never been … Read More