Frequently Asked Questions
Why are you doing this?
Well it’s obviously because I’m bonkers. And it’s been my dream for years.
I want to set a brand new Guinness World Record™, to raise money for WaterAid, show that the outside world isn’t such a scary place, have some great stories to tell the grandkids and PROVE IT IS POSSIBLE!!
How on Earth did you get Lonely Planet, National Geographic and BBCW on board?
The planets aligned! I’m a video director in my day job, making music videos and stuff in Liverpool. One day I got a call from Mark Bowness, the joint founder of the excellent www.tribewanted.com (and fellow scouser). He wanted me to help him out with a couple of videos. I told Mark of this crazy plan I had to visit every country in the world in one year without flying and he suggested I put a pitch video together for an online adventure competition, which I duly did.
I didn’t win the competition, but soon afterwards I learned that the BBC had acquired Lonely Planet. Fired up by the possibility, I sent the pitch video to Lonely Planet, just as I happened to be in Melbourne for my girlfriend’s sister’s wedding. They called me in for a meeting. So I went round and met up with a top bloke called David who was Head of Development for Lonely Planet Television. He asked me if it this madcap scheme was possible – I showed him my 17-page itinerary and said an emphatic YES.
That’s all he really wanted to know. They checked out my other travel vids that I had made for YouTube and liked what they saw. Lonely Planet looked to National Geographic for the commission for the television show, which was duly granted at the end of November 2008. The BBC also came in on the deal, and the stage was set for the most epic adventure of my life!
So are they paying for everything?
I wish! No – I’m paying for all the travel myself out of my own pocket (plus 3 credit cards and a hefty overdraft!!) I also have to pay for all my own visas, insurance, medical bills etc. So I’m basically betting everything I own on successfully completing this adventure. But I don’t really own anything much, and as long as I’ve got my health and my girl I’ll be content.
Blimey! This must be costing a fortune! Are you rich?
Far from it! Look – public transport is not really that expensive except in Europe and there you can get an Interrail pass pretty cheaply. I’ve been Couch-Surfing (www.couchsurfing.org), I don’t stay at hotels that cost more than $10 a night and anyway, I’ve slept most nights on whatever mode of transport I was on. Also, nearly all the boat rides that I’ve had have been free (the boat was going there anyway!), I tend to only eat cheap street food and, if you look closely, you’ll see that I’ve been wearing the same pair of jeans for four months (nice!).
I don’t own any property, I don’t have a mortgage or any dependents and I still haven’t paid back my student loan (ten years and counting!).
IN SHORT - YOU COULD DO THIS!! Backpacking is NOT expensive! Give up the cigs, man – that’ll save you a fiver a day (£2,000 can get you LONG way in Africa, Latin America and Asia!), don’t waste your money on DVDs that you’ll never watch, mobile ringtones, lottery tickets, porcelain figurines, clothes that you’ll never wear or expensive bottles of Stella in swanky nightclubs. Get onto www.moneysavingexpert.com and check out how to live life on the cheap, save up a few grand and hit the road – if you’ve got a European, American, Australian, New Zealand or Canadian passport you’ve already got an Access All Areas pass to the WORLD. USE IT!!
What’s the hardest thing about doing The Odyssey?
The hardest thing is probably getting to islands. If you haven’t got your own yacht at your beck and call, it’s tremendously tricky and time consuming to reach places like Cuba, Sao Tome, Comoros and Cape Verde without flying.
The next hardest thing is visas. Travelling around the Americas and Europe on a British passport is a cinch, but once I got into Africa and Asia, working through all the paperwork needed to get from one country to another was/is an absolute nightmare.
What else is hard is not seeing my beautiful girlfriend Mandy for months on end. She’s waiting for me to finish this so we can settle down, get married and breed tiny little ginger adventurers – more than anything else, the thought of being reunited with her is what keeps me going.
Why WaterAid?
Because clean water and sanitation should be a basic human right. I can’t stress this enough. 2.5 BILLION people do not have access to a toilet. Water-borne diseases are the BIGGEST killer of CHILDREN on the PLANET. Unfortunately, we in the West are more interested in saving the lives of animals (in the UK we give more money each year to the DONKEY sanctuary in Cornwall than we give to the NSPCC) than kids.
Whenever I hear of some batty old woman who’s given a million pounds in her will to the cat’s home, my stomach turns over.
I know building toilets and sewers aren’t as cool and right-on as tackling the AIDS crisis or calling for Debt Relief, but those causes have already got a zillion people (and celebrities) fighting the good fight – I wanted to champion a cause that is politically and religiously neutral (I don’t own the sky-armour or BFG-9000 necessary to take on The Vatican over condom use) and fails to receive the media attention it deserves.
The world is desperate for the toilet. And you can help.
So when you get a minute, head on over to www.justgiving.com/theodysseyexpedition and throw a fiver into the pot. You might just save a real actual baby human’s LIFE. Seriously.
Are you scared going to all these crazy places?
Nope. And that’s not naivety, I’ve travelled to some proper basketcases before. The vast majority of people mean no harm whatsoever and will fall over themselves to help you get to where you need to be. And, so far, I’ve never felt threatened or in any immediate danger.
You’re just passing through these places! You’re not really experiencing them!
This comes up a lot. Three points to consider:
1. When Dame Ellen MacArthur travels around the world in a yacht to break a world record, ALL SHE SEES IS WATER!
2. Okay, so I’m just dipping a toe in some places, but others I’m staying for a few days or even weeks, and I’m always travelling with locals, staying with locals and eating with locals… apart from taking photos of some landmarks (that I’ve usually already seen) I don’t know what else I need to do to ‘experience’ a place!!
3. Hey, at least I’m not just sitting on a beach complaining that the hotel air-con wasn’t working last night!
Can you speak any other languages?
I try my best, but I have to admit I have absolutely no aptitude for languages. I speak a bit of Spanish and a bit of French. Sorry, my brain is just not wired that way. The fact that I got a B in GCSE French just goes to show how dreadful the British Education System is at actually teaching you anything useful (or handing out grades that reflect one’s abilities).
To be honest, in most places all I need to say is that I’m from Liverpool and that makes most people smile and shout “Steven Gerrard”! Even for an Evertonian like myself, it’s one hell of a useful ice-breaker!
What do you miss most about home?
The obvious stuff – friends, family, lazy days, crazy nights, going the flicks, live music, summer festivals… I miss my girlfriend massively, but she’s in Australia. I guess I better start re-apprising my definition of ‘home’!
Who are your influences?
My Dad, Michael Palin, Douglas Adams, Ernest Hemingway, Hunter S. Thompson, Louis Theroux, Steven Fry, Dave Gorman, Charlie Brooker, Toby Amis, Derren Brown, Penn & Teller, James Randi, JJ Abrams, Rod Serling, Richard Dawkins, Sir David Attenborough, Ben Goldacre, Chris Morris, John Safran, Tim Schafer and Ben ‘Yahtzee’ Croshaw.
From the world of fiction: Odysseus (obviously!), Phileas Fogg, Sherlock Holmes, Bilbo Baggins, Dr. Who, R2-D2, Manny Calavera, Indiana Jones and Yossarian.
What are your favourite places so far?
Madagascar! Or Uzbekistan. Or maybe Iran. And Key West. And, er, Colombia. I like places that surprise me!
If you had to strap somebody to a chair and force them to watch a movie, what would it be?
Suvillian’s Travels.
When do you think you’ll be finished?
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGHHHH!
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You said something about your “17-page itinerary”.
Is it published anywhere on this site?
It would be very interesting to get technical layout of the whole travel in “compressed” form
You are the first person to have visited all the countries without flying. Wow. (Why didn’t I think of that first?)
Two sneaky questions:
Question 1: Did the rules allow you to fly back to the UK to sort out visas or appear on TV as long as you returned to the last place you reached overland or was that also ruled out. (except Russia but that will be done next week)
Question 2: If Russia didn’t count because you didn’t have a visa why does North Korea count if you didn’t get a visa either and instead “only” visited the North Korean side of _the hut_ in the demilitarized zone?
1. He was allowed to fly back to the UK to sort out “things”, if need be. Like the time in Sri Lanka.
2. Russia didn’t count because he basically snuck across the border, without any authorization. North Korea DOES count, because he took an official tour of the demilitarized zone, between the north and south, the tour takes you to a room that is split down the middle between the two nation, you are allowed to step into North Korean territory, so you have effectively “visited” North Korea. This is a popular method used by travelers to step foot in North Korea. The conventional way is much more difficult and very expensive. So yes, it counts.
Hello Graham,
Congrats with your record, mate. This is a very inspiring and great adventure.
Hi, sorry, re read the blog and answered my own question regarding flying, thats what i get for just skimming over stuff !
What a fantastic journey, can I ask why flying was not permitted to acomplish these voyages ?
My sister and I are under 26 wanting to traverse the EU before I’m off to college. We’re Americans, so obviously it’ll be a bit more expensive to travel, but could you give a figure as to how much it might cost for us to travel for about 2 months? Any additional tips are welcome! Thanks for all you’re doing/did!
hi Graham
I just wanted to say….You One Lucky B******
Could a woman do the same thing?
Yes, I think she could, but I don’t think it would be as easy. Getting in and around deeply sexist countries like Saudi Arabia would be much more of a challenge (but not impossible) and being the only woman on board all-male cargo ships in Africa and the Middle East is not really a situation you’d want to put yourself in – you’d be well advised to stick with the major shipping companies. The other option is to learn to sail and steal a yacht – you’d get it done in a year!
Graham, what you’re doing is crazy and inspiring. Quick question, how far do you think someone can get without much planning? is it possible to just overland it with a british passport? how far would i get?
You’d get pretty far on a British passport! Most countries you don’t need a visa or you can buy them on the border. You can generally get the other visas (the ones you have to obtain before rucking up to the border) in a neighbouring country. In fact, the only really tricky visas to get hold of are for Angola, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Algeria, Iran, all the ‘stan’ countries and Russia. GOOD LUCK!!!
Hi Graham
Just spent a cold, wet morning on the Isle of Man reading about your amazing adventure, bet you were surprised to find you weren’t the only boy scout on Funafuti! Best wishes for the remainder of your journey. Regards Janet (Jay’s mum)
Why did you begin in Uruguay?
hey graham! just one quick question…what do you plan to do after youve finished your expedition?
I would love to do a few more travel adventures and while I’m out gallivanting I’d like some clever agent who wants to make a wheelbarrow full of money to get some of the feature film scripts (Zombies! Aliens! Peter The Great! Monsters made of blood!) I’ve written circulating around Hollywood.
If I manage to get a few scripts optioned then I’d eventually like to get behind the camera and direct, but that won’t be for a few years yet. I’m in no rush.
And if that doesn’t work, there’s always politics…!