I decided to do this tour after realising that I either didn't know quite what I wanted to do with my life or wasn't ready to pursue it. I'd travelled before, overland London to Kathmandu on a somewhat disorganised commercial trip. The company went bankrupt before the end leaving me to complete it alone on Indian busses and trains which was no bad thing. I also spent two months a couple of years later in Malaysia and Thailand. These were some of the best experiences of my life so before becoming boring and settled I wanted to do some more traveling. This time however I decided to do it independently and then I decided it would be good to do it at a human pace, seeing things change continuously. Cycling seemed the natural option.

 

To Singapore via Russia came by chance, seeing Andy's advert on the web I thought wow, what a route. Somewhat off the beaten track! It will be very challenging and really is no joke. We will come back different people.

 

The trip was given a boost when I won first prize in an Amnesty International Christmas raffle, more than doubling my existing savings. Amnesty exists to promote human rights and it must be said that some of the countries through which we are passing do not have the greatest record in this respect. I can only hope that contact between ourselves and local peoples proves to be a positive thing in improving our understanding of the situation and perhaps spreading a little information about our side of the picture.

 

Prior to this I studied International Relations at Nottingham Trent University between 1994 and 1997, worked at the House of Commons for 18 months and then planned my escape.

 

As you might imagine from someone working at Parliament, I am very interested in politics, although my affiliation is to ideas before parties. These do coincide fairly well however. I have a musical side, playing the piano, largely in an unstructured, improvisational manner. And my other love, travel.

 

I have lived in and around Brighton virtually all my life and although I admit I am biased, it really is a very special place.

 

Brighton is a very diverse town (city now) with many sides to it. It is a seaside resort made popular in the 19th century initially by the Prince Regent's frivolity and has grown from there.

 

With the coming of the railway it became an easy place to get away to and developed the tacky seaside resort side of things. The Palace Pier, amusement arcades, Brighton Rock and fish and chips. People still come for these today.

 

It also has a very trendy aspect, perhaps a little up it's own arse, with buzzing nightlife and some "cool" clubs, not to mention some prominent musical and artistic residents. Then there is the more bohemian side of things including the Brighton festival and the "muesli eating classes" (thanks for the phrase Sam). It also has the largest gay population per capita in the world, or so I heard.

 

So all in all a pretty tolerant and diverse place. What is more it is more than possible to see one side of things and hardly even be aware that the others are there - the old fashioned seaside resort aspect is cheak by jowl with the trendy bars on the beach but you wouldn't necessarily notice the other was there.

 

The cliche is that you come to Brighton for the weekend and stay twenty years, and I know from friends who have moved down that this does ring true. As you might guess, it has a very special place in my heart and I am going to miss it greatly. Home is a place to return to however and this is what makes it special. First you must leave in order to return.

 

Having said all that, I actually come from 10 miles outside Brighton, a place called Hassocks just north of the South Downs. The Downs too mean a lot to me, being a very voluptuous, curvacious landscape on which I spent much time exploring and walking on as a kid. Something of their qualities comes across in the photos I think but you truly have to go there, walk them and sit in the quiet country pubs nestling beneath them to really appreciate them. I look forward to experiencing the Downs again, but not until I have seen many things between here and Singapore.