"The First Step" iwys's Profile

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Kashmir

Bali, Bangkok, Kyoto, Colombo, Istanbul, Samarkand, Des Moines, Ulan Bator, Rio, Marrakech….

When I was seventeen, I entered that list in the back of my diary, as I lay on my bed, looking out of the window at the pictures made by the clouds in the sky. I never really believed that I'd ever visit any of those places, but I'd just read On the Road, The Great Railway Bazaar and The Lonely Planet Guide to South-East Asia, and I was so full of wanderlust that I was fit to burst.

Sinaia

One day, I just stood on the road in front of my house and stuck my thumb out. It's really true: the first step is the hardest. I've been traveling pretty well ever since. I have visited one hundred countries, but I still haven't been to all of the places on my original list, and, in a way, I don't want to...yet. I want to save a few for later.

Angkor

I've visited some of them though and who'd have believed that I'd wind up one day riding a bicycle around Bali, sleeping on a tatami mat in Kyoto, staying for more than a year in a house on stilts at the edge of the South China Sea, sleeping in a yurt in the Gobi Desert, or traveling overland, half-way round the world by train from Beijing to London, or by bus from Mexico to Chile?

Palmyra

Yemen

Intro Updated Apr 25, 2010
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Comments (275)

hopang Dec 25, 2011 at 9:32 AM Report Abuse

Hi Ian, Wishing you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2012. Hope you have a wonderful time! ~ho & pang
Robin020 Oct 3, 2011 at 6:53 AM Report Abuse

Amazing photos and reviews Thanks
cheezecake_deli Sep 3, 2011 at 12:12 PM Report Abuse

Happy belated birthday!
olja1234 Aug 30, 2011 at 9:27 PM Report Abuse

Belated Birthday wishes Ian.
hunterV Aug 30, 2011 at 8:46 AM Report Abuse

Hello, Ian! ~ Many happy returns of the day!.... All the best in the future! ><><>< Have many wonderful new journeys!
suvanki Aug 30, 2011 at 2:47 AM Report Abuse

Happy Birthday Ian!
takla73 Aug 30, 2011 at 12:44 AM Report Abuse

HAPPY happy birthday ian and have a nice day Greeting from Alexandria Egypt TAKLA
evaanna Aug 29, 2011 at 11:49 PM Report Abuse

Happy Birthday, Ian! Enjoy your special day.
cachaseiro Aug 29, 2011 at 10:54 PM Report Abuse

Happy birthday Ian.
MM212 Aug 29, 2011 at 9:38 PM Report Abuse

Happy Birthday Ian!