The Art of Travel, Overlander Style

Today I leave for Cuenca, a small town near Madrid famous for it's hanging houses built on a cliff face overhanging a river. It is 'real' Spain, it will be difficult for me to find people who speak English.

To travel alone, away from your own culture, for so long (6 months), is difficult. I think everyone needs a base, a place to call home, a place to return to.

There is still a lot of the world I want to explore, to document. But I am aware I must find a happy mix...between travel and home, between being a stranger in a strange land, and being amongst friends, having community.

I think Vietnam will be difficult for me, I am now ready to settle in to some editing, setting up my site, arranging a television deal. I have to dig deep to find 'community on the road', comradeship amongst the tribes of the world. By meeting people via couchsurfing and hospitalityclub I have found this....but I am always moving, friendships are fleeting, the pace frenetic.

You want to travel the world...this is the reality, it ain't all a bed of roses. But this is a lifestyle choice I want to explore, and I'm currently finetuning the possiblities. 'Can I travel and have a family as well?' 'How do I travel in the most environmentally friendly way?' 'Can I really know a town in three days?' 'Do people still want to watch documentaries?' 'Should I ditch this moustache?'

I must go, a train to catch at three, a new town by six, adios.