Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Epic 13-month trip round the world, flight-free
This sounds like an amazing trip and if I have an ounce of envy in me, this is where it would usually shine.
As he writes in The Guardian, Ed Gillespie has just completed an epic 13-month trip round the world, and he did it all without flying. It took 381 days and 45,000 miles. (Though the circumference of the earth is only around 25,000)
As Gillepsie mentions, flight-free travel is not for everyone. Which is a good thing. It is more time consuming and more costly. The advantages are endless. Most importantly, you stop seeing the journey as purely a mechanistic means of getting to your destination, but rather a part of the whole holiday experience.
"Perhaps it's understandable that the cattle-truck trauma of budget airline travel has conditioned us to see the journey as the distasteful, stressful but unavoidable topping and tailing of our foreign escapism, but it needn't be like that. We should enjoy the overland journey as a leisurely seduction to be savored rather than the wham-bam-thank-you-maam instant gratification of flight," he writes. Envy has definitely set in by now.
You can read his entire travelog at http://www.lowcarbontravel.com/
Filed under: Transportation
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tyson Williams Apr 13th 2008 6:42PM
I am so jealous - I would love to do it!
AlfaMike Apr 14th 2008 8:37AM
It does sound like fun. And he can talk pretty too, I like the leisurely seduction vs wham bam quickie metaphor, lol.
iva.skoch Apr 14th 2008 8:39AM
I liked that one too.
Ed Gillespie Apr 24th 2008 11:03AM
Aw shucks guys...thank you kindly
You know the worst bit about such a long trip?
Coming home! Been back at work a month now and already the memories are fading faster than an old Polaroid in the sunshine...
: (
iva.skoch Apr 24th 2008 11:05AM
Hey! Great to hear from you. Must have been an amazing trip. So, what's next for you?
Ed Gillespie Apr 24th 2008 12:22PM
Back in the saddle with my eco comms company www.futerra.co.uk working on a greenwash guide (unmasking corporate eco-lies!) and writing a book about the trip - should keep me out of mischief for a few months!
iva.skoch Apr 24th 2008 12:24PM
Sounds busy. Please keep us posted with your plans. Good luck with everything!