Northern Africa and the Middle East - Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways to See the World - page 150

THE CYCLISTS
When Amy and Wim Meussen got married, they didn't opt for two weeks in the sun
for their honeymoon. Instead, they took ten months off and cycled fi rst from Belgium
to Turkey, then through the deserts of North Africa, and fi nally from Singapore
up through Southeast Asia into China, pedalling over 10,000km along the way.
Averaging about four hours on the road each day, they had plenty of time to learn how
to distill schnapps in Germany, dive Mediterranean coral reefs in Turkey and enjoy
water fi ghts with the locals in Laos on New Year's Eve. Along the way they camped in Europe and stayed
in cheap hotels in Asia, with their whole trip costing them less than E 10,000. To read a blog of their
travels visit W amyandwim.travellerspoint.com.
THE CARAVANNERS
One cold winter's day in 2007, John and Thea Verhoeckx, a couple of middle-aged
Dutch social workers living in the North Sea town of Breda, decided to chuck it all
in. They sold their house and made that legendary mid-life investment - a horse-
drawn cart. Over the following year, accompanied by their dog and two horses, they
travelled 3200km across Europe in the slowest way imaginable, wending their way
through the Netherlands, Germany, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. So intent were
they on freeing themselves from all cares that they didn't even take a map, choosing to simply go where
fortune took them. Along the way they were interviewed by various newspapers and TV stations and,
as a result, were inundated with offers of places to stay or meals to share by people fascinated by their
courage and perhaps a little envious of their freedom. You can read their story at W www.slow-express-
journey.com.
THE TRAIN TRAVELLER
Mark Smith, better known as The Man in Seat 61 (after his favourite seat on Eurostar)
is a lifelong train enthusiast who has travelled all over the world by rail. His website
( W www.seat61.com) is a labour of love and the fi rst port of call for anyone looking
to travel by train. Combining knowledge gained from his own experiences with those
from the legions of fans who send information garnered from their own trips, this
marvellous resource provides details on just about every rail route in Europe as well
as extensive information on worldwide train travel, from advice on how to get visas and where to buy the
best tickets for your journey, to photographs of carriage interiors from Almaty to Zambia. If your eyes tire
from squinting online for too long, you can buy his book on travelling to Europe - The Man in Seat 61
(Bantam Press) - whose clear, unfussy layout will help you browse, dream and plan.