The Territory

Regions

Journeys

London to Shanghai, overland: Our first journey, of 39 000 kilometres, through 18 countries in 18 months.
Shanghai to Cape Town, overland: Once, as the song goes, is never enough. We started travelling home in January, by going in the wrong direction – east from India to South East Asia. We’ll travel north from there to China and then turn west, to start in the direction of home.

Old World Wandering is about overland travel, about hauling backpacks across borders to find connections within regions and across cultures. It is a collection of travel stories from two journeys through the Old World, written by a South African couple who, after eight years travelling and living abroad, are now slowly making their way home, across Asia and down Africa’s east coast to Cape Town. Join them on their journey on this, their travelogue.

Read more about Old World Wandering»
Iain and Claire are in:
Cape Town, South Africa

Iain is reading:
A Time of Gifts

Patrick Leigh Fermor

Claire is reading:
Bangkok Days

Lawrence Osborne
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- Regions
- Themes
On Travelogues
- A history of travel writing
  Why are ancient travelogues like Homer's Odyssey and The Epic of Gilgamesh still important to us and where is travel writing going, in the age of the blog?
- Free travel books
  A list of enduring travelogues in the public domain, written by authors both obscure and legendary, like Twain, Dickens, Byron, RL Stevenson and Conrad. Includes excerpts and download links.
Overland Travel
- The Hippie Trail
  The hip-hike to Kathmandu grew out of Eastern influences on the literature of the West.
- The Banana Pancake Trail
  As much a concept as a series of criss-crossing transport connections, the Banana Pancake Trail asks important ethical questions of so-called independent travellers.
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Asides
In Ulan Bator, with just five days to go
Where to for travel writing
Where to for travel writing?
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- Arriving in Calcutta