HOW I FOUND OUT THAT MY LIFE SUCKED AND HOW I WANT TO CHANGE THAT

I started traveling several years ago. At first small weekend trips to European cities. I spent the summers with family and friends in Denmark, Hungary, Italy and Croatia. I worked two months in Turkey during university for a natural protection project. But that was not enough. I got bitten by the travel bug.

So the greater trips followed soon: Thailand in 2011, Vietnam in 2012, California in 2014, Japan in 2015, Iran in 2015 and again in 2016.

I changed my style of travel. Years ago I planned down every trip to the most minute detail. I read tons of books, travel guides and blogs. And as a consequence I ended up where most tourists end up – with the crowds on the hotspots and trails everybody visits. I didn’t like that. So I stopped reading and researching before a trip. And I discovered a new way of traveling.

I tried hitch hiking the first time in Croatia and Bosnia and couch surfing in Iran. I was completely blown away by the friendliness and hospitality of the people I met. Getting in contact with local people was never easier. I met countless people on the road and through couch surfing. They showed me their city, village or region, they introduced me to their friends and family, they invited me to their homes, work places, university, birthday parties and family celebrations.

– Dinner with new friends in Sanandaj, Kurdistan in Iran, 2016. –

There was one problem though. Five weeks of vacation every year were not enough to satisfy my wanderlust. Although I somehow managed to use every single public holiday and long weekends for my travels, that was not enough. When I traveled I needed some time to adopt, to reach the travel flow. But when I finally succeeded, I was already heading back to the airport going home. I needed more time. I needed to book a one-way ticket. With no date set for a return.

After I quit my job in early 2017, finally, I was free to do anything I wanted. And there was one thing I dreamed of for years. Hitting the road for a longer time. My own world-trip. The Journey.

PLANNING ‘THE PHOTOGRAPHIC JOURNEY’

My rough route (subject to changes) of the world-trip:

1st year Central & SE Asia (2017 – 2018): Austria – Lithuania – Georgia – Armenia – Iran – Turkmenistan – Uzbekistan – Kyrgyzstan – Tajikistan – Afghanistan – Pakistan – Northern India – Nepal – Bhutan – Bangladesh – Myanmar – Thailand – Malaysia – Singapur – Indonesia – Timor-Leste – Papua New Guinea

2nd year Australia & Oceania, Central & South America (2018 – 2019): Australia – Pacific Island-hopping – New Zealand – Mexico – Guatemala – El Salvador – Honduras – Nicaragua – Costa Rica – Panama – Columbia – Ecuador – Galapagos Islands – Peru – Bolivia – Chile – Argentina – maybe Antarctica

3rd year Africa (2019 – 2020): Gabon – Republic of the Congo – Angola – Namibia – South Africa – Botswana – Zimbabwe – Zambia – Malawi – Tanzania – Burundi – Rwanda – Democratic Republic of the Congo – Uganda – Kenya – Ethiopia – Eritrea – Sudan – Egypt – Libya – Tunisia – Algeria – Morocco – Spain – France – Italy – Austria

SO HERE ARE THE RULES FOR MY WORLD-TRIP

I will travel low budget.

This means I will avoid expensive hotels and transportation. I will try couch surfing and home stays as often as possible, stay in cheap guest houses, work in hostels for free accommodation and food and so on. So I can make sure my savings will last as long as possible until I need to work frequently to continue ‘The Journey’.

I will travel over-land as much as possible.

I really want to avoid flights. First of all I like the slower travel-style more and second, it will keep the costs down as well. So I will hitch hike a lot, travel with cheap buses and trains and any other options I can find. 
There are some exceptions for taking flights: to avoid crisis regions and war zones (e.g. in Afghanistan and border regions of Pakistan), to skip countries where I can’t get a visa (yes, this might happen even with a German passport) and – of course – for some passages over sea (my sailing experience is quite limited).

I will travel light.

When I first travelled to Thailand I carried a heavy bulky backpack with at least 20 kg of stuff I never used. Last year I travelled the Balkan and Iran only with a hand-luggage sized small backpack. It was perfect! I never felt as free before in my life. For the trip I want to keep the weight down below 10 kg – of course – excluding my camera equipment (which will be around 4-5 kg in an extra bag). So I will focus on packing multi-functional stuff and clothes.

I will not blindly follow my route as planned.

You might ask why to have a planned route in the first place. This is just a list of countries and places I would like to visit. But of course I know that these plans will change any time I met somebody along the road and follow invitations and recommendations. I want to stay as flexible as possible. And if I like a place very much I will stay longer.

I will stay off the beaten track.

I am not interested to follow the main tourist routes and visit all the places which are recommended by the Lonely Planet. I want to get lost again and explore regions off the tourist track. I am not interested in taking picture #100,000 of the Taj Mahal. I want to search for something not many were lucky enough to see before.

Jim Richardson, photographer at National Geographic, once said ‘If you want to be a better photographer, stand in front of more interesting stuff.’ That is what I will do the next years to come: traveling – exploring – and standing in front of more interesting stuff.

I’m going on an adventure!

Follow me.