CURRENT MISSION

Explore Turkey...ride the French Alps with my two best mates...celebrate a wedding in Italy...live in Paris...wrestle with the French language...return home and begin studying medicine!

ABOUT ME

My brother and I grew up on the travel stories of our parents, who between 1979-81, travelled around Europe and the USA on a motorbike.

Seeing their slides, photos, and hearing of their adventures was a very strong influence on both of us to travel abroad. In our family, travelling was always encouraged and valued as a crucial part of your development as a person, and something vital to a balanced life.

Living at the 'bottom of the world' also definitely encourages a sense of curiosity about the lives of people around the rest of the world.

In an age where we have such sophisticated and accessible methods of communicating across the globe, it stuns me that the ignorance which causes suspicion and fear between the world's people persists. I believe travelling is the single best tool to eliminate this ignorance, which is why I love it so much. From an early age I've always asked a lot of questions. For me, physically travelling to a place and asking the people you find there those questions, is often one of the best ways to find answers.

After a few years spent either travelling, or working to finance another trip, I've finally decided to commit myself to becoming a doctor, so the trip I'm on at the moment I expect to be my last for a few years. With many years of university and hard work ahead of me, I'm determined to make as many stories as possible on this trip!

PHILOSOPHY

life is fast, live slow.

Interests

Sharing food, one of the greatest and kindest acts there is between humans. What you can learn in the process of sourcing, preparing, and eating a meal with another person is profound. In particular when travelling to foreign countries, there is no greater levelling influence than sharing conversation and a meal with another hungry human :)

Riding bikes. For me, the bicycle is the single best combination of machinery and human effort in existence. With a bike I can travel and explore my physical and psychological limits. Most important of all, I can regularly find and enjoy some quiet headspace. I always have the greatest clarity of thought after having flogged myself on a bike.

Conversations. I love the line in 'Fightclub' where Helena Bonham Carter's character makes the distinction between a 'conversation' & 'waiting for your turn to talk'. Really talking with someone, or a group of people. Really listening. And then really caring about the answers to the questions you ask, costs you nothing and can be the most rewarding use of your time there is.

• causes
• dining
• cooking
• breakfast
• traveling
• cycling
• wrestling
• medicine

Music, Movies, and Books

I'm slowly getting better at photography, now that I'm travelling I put more work into it. I love the french humanist photographers WIlly Ronis and Robert Doisneau. My favourite photographer of all is Sebastiao Salgado, his work almost makes me weep when I look at it.

To read I try and divide my time between investigative journalism, George Monbiot, Waldo Bello, Felicity Lawrence, Vandana Shiva, Michael Pollan (particularly on the subject of our modern industrial food system.)
and fiction....
most recently Jean-Paul Satre's "Roads to Freedom" trilogy (after a long long trawl through the english bookshops of Paris)....actually I'm still reading it. I also love Haruki Murakami, Bill Bryson, JRR Tolkien, DBC Pierre, Franz Kafka, Ben Elton, Peter Carey, Tim Winton, Robert M Persig Chuck Phalanik.
Music.....well Leonard Cohen, Sigur Ros, The Audreys and Xavier Rudd are not negotiable...apart from that how about I just give you my ipod for a little while?

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

After I finished my studies in mid 2008 I went travelling for the first time. In September that year I walked the northern, coastal route of the Camino de Santiago.
I started alone on the first day, then met a german bloke at breakfast. We walked the whole 900kms together. It is easily the best use of a month I have ever made.
Spending an entire month alone with your own thoughts is not always easy.....not at all. It really was one of the most incredible experiences i have ever had.
After my brother and father, the German I walked with, Michael, is probably my closest friend. After spending every minute together of an entire month, you really get to know another person well.

Teach, Learn, Share

I love to cook. More than that, I love the cultural exchange that happens in another persons kitchen. I'd love to learn something about the traditional foods of your country, or their modern interpretations.

I want to get seriously good at using my camera as an instrument to record the moments of my life, and also to educate people. If you take photos too, I can learn SOMETHING from you. I'd really love you to show me :)

I can teach you the principles behind making your body stronger, more flexible, faster and leaner. I studied this for 3 years, trust me 80% of what is taught to people regarding this is complete BULLSHIT.

Countries I’ve Visited

Andorra, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Germany, Italy, Sweden

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