From Cape to Cairo - Great Journeys
By
Tom Thumb, Posted Dec 10, 2006
From the pinnacle of the largest continent to its Arabic beginnings, respect is always doled out to the traveler who heads from Cape Town to Cairo without getting murdered along the way.
The trouble with this epic voyage is that you have to pass through devastated countries like Sudan along the way. Not to mention border checkpoints in places like Kenya where bandits routinely shoot at passing vans to slow them down and rob them.
Still, that shouldn’t put off the dedicated road junky and you can take heart from the fact that Paul Theroux managed to pull it off at the age of 60 and tells the tale in his book, Dark Star Safari, an inspiring read for anyone who feels travel has got just too tame.
Another danger on route are the African cities that only Jackie Chan would plan on walking around after dark. Try to arrange all your visas in advance so that you need to spend as little time as possible in them. The heart of Africa is out in the country and that’s where you’ll want to be staying.
Tom has been traveling non-stop since the age of 18 and co-founded Road Junky in 2004. Follow him @tomglaister
He’s the author of Hand to Mouth to India, an account of hitchhiking from England to India with no money and which will soon be rereleased by Road Junky Books.
Tales of a Road Junky featuring tales of breaking people out of jail in Delhi, selling fake Rolexes in Japan and other adventures in Israel and Brazil will be out later this year.
He also writes fiction for anyone who never really grew up and his latest novel is Bozo and the Storyteller – download the audio book for free or even buy a copy…
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