Explorers
Today’s world has been mapped, its peoples discovered, delights and curiosities brought in the light for all of us to share. But it was not always so… Great explorers and travelers, writers and seekers, like Captain James Cook, Mark Twain, Richard Burton and others set out into new lands and cultures with keen insight and a thrill for adventure. Read some bios here and get inspired to venture into the world yourself. There are still stones to be unturned.
Road Junky has 12 Explorers articles. Scroll down to view.
Ryszard Kapuscinski, Accidental Gonzo
In 1966, in the same year that Hunter S. Thompson’s relationship with the Hell’s Angels was ending with a sentimental goodbye beating, Ryszard Kapuscinksi was being doused in benzene ...
Marco Polo - Great Explorer
“I did not tell the half of what I saw.”
Marco Polo remained defiant to the end, insisting on his death bed that the stories of his travels were the gospel ...
Tom Thumb Telling Travel Stories Live at the Road Junky Festival
I had told my stories a million times before around camp fires, in dingy hostels, to the drivers who picked me up – but never to a crowd of 250 ...
Arthur Rimbaud - French Poet, Traveler and Rebel
The French symbolist poet, Arthur Rimbaud, wrote profound, shocking, furious poetry that outraged the sensibilities of his time in a way far greater than the likes of Ginsberg would do ...
Interview With Ludovic Hubler - World's Greatest Hitchhiker?
Our previous article on Ludovic Hubler remains one of the most popular pages on Road Junky. Ludo spent 5 years hitchhiking around the world, across continents and oceans, deserts ...
Henri de Monfreid - Smuggler and Writer
‘I have lived a rich, restless, magnificent life.’ Henry de Monfreid declared a few days before dying in 1974 at the age of 95. How many of us could honestly ...
Teresa Bancewicz - 76 Years Old, See the World on $8 a Day
Many people dream about traveling, about seeing the World and meeting people but always find excuses to stay at home. Yes, excuses, because actually, if you want, you can hit ...
Richard Burton - The Greatest British Explorer
Richard Burton was the translator of Arabian Nights, the classic series of tales about djinns, robbers, and princesses told nightly by Scheherazade to forestall her execution.
Richard Burton was a 19th ...
Wilfred Thesiger - Great Travelers
By many considered the last of the great explorers, Wilfred Thesiger died in 2003 at the age of 93 in an old folks home in sleep Surrey, England. The ...
Ibn Battuta - Muslim Explorer
Ibn Battuta was one of the greatest travelers the world has ever seen and hardly ever heard of. Making Marco Polo seem like a casual backpacker, Ibn Battuta was ...
Ludovic Hubler - World's Craziest Hitchhiker
Ludovic Hubler is a mildly insane Frenchman who at the age of 25 decided to hitchhike around the entire world, including the oceans. It took him 5 years.
We like ...
Peter Pinney - Great Travelers
Peter Pinney (1922-1992) exemplified the idea of the traveler who carries little, gets by on wits alone, and is willing to forage into the unknown despite all odds. He wrote ...
