For me getting in to travel hasn’t been a lifelong affair. I grew up in very quite, very beautiful, but not very exciting West Wales in the UK. My parents weren’t ones for travel, my mum is afraid of flying and my dad just doesn’t see the draw. Growing up our family holidays would not go much further than France, for me that’s how it started.
I caught the travel bug not out of experiencing it’s wonders and delights but as a reaction to a lack of i! I have always been fascinated by history and culture and regular read books on the Middle East and Africa growing up, dreaming and imagining exploring through these mystic lands. So as soon as I was old enough to afford it and go alone I was off! My first trip was to Egypt in the summer of 2010, 6 months before the revolution began. It was an amazing place and travelling the entire length of the Nile from Alexandria to the border with Sudan I saw a vast swath of the country, and I loved it. I loved the freedom, I loved the pace of life, I loved the new experiences, and I wanted more. For me that cemented it, travelling is amazing for the soul and for the mind and I have forever more encouraged everyone I meet to do it during their lifetime.
Coming back from Egypt I settled in to my university travels. As with all universities I met people who had travelled further and longer than I had, but that proved to strengthen my resolve, I had to travel again. After a year of fun and parties, and a few failed exams (maybe too much partying) I knew I needed to get back out in to the world, my student digs were getting claustrophobic.
So that summer I worked hard and saved the pennies up to fund my next adventure. Africa had me hooked It’s home to some of the last unspoilt and non-westernised cultures left in the world and I knew I wanted to see more. I began in Marrakech, staying just outside the city walls I spent my days exploring the Souks and quiet streets of the old town. Marrakech has such an amazing vibe, it’s a true oasis in the desert and takes you back a thousand years in a the space of a few street corners. In Marrakech my love of exotic food grew, the amazing tanginess and salads kept drawing me back for more and by the end of the trip is was definitely a little wider around the waist.
After some time in Marrakech It was time to go deeper in to Africa, Ghana was calling. Flying in to Ghana airport in the early hours of the morning we paused to circle for a few more minutes after the caption announced “we’re just waiting for the ground crew to open the airport,” always a good sign that you have exited the rat race! Once I’d cleared the airport I took a three hour mini bus to a small village where I’d be spending my time. With one shop and a bar there wasn’t much else to do in town but sit back and relax, and when I found two Irishman heading back the way I’d come the next day after a two month stay, it would have been rude of me not to drink the night away with them. My time in Ghana taught me a lot about loosing track of time, something which has stayed with me ever since, much to the annoyance of my girl friend!
After Ghana I joined the real world and set down to work. Not entirely devoid of excitement my job has taken me to some interesting places including Romania, Italy, Czech Republic, Malta and more time that I can count, Germany. But if anything these trips have done nothing but tease me, taking me on a taxi ride of the streets, to a hotel, then to a boardroom, then back again, seeing little more than a view through a car window. But not anymore, time to make a change a get back on the road for some real travelling!
Follow my journey and come along for the ride @rogueyuppie
Rogue Yuppie 