"Backpackers" carried packs on their backs. They traveled the world and followed the aromas of banana pancakes, dreams of remoteness and the Lonely Planet's recommendations. Of this, we all agree These days the "Flashpackers" roam the earth. Decked with electronic gear and assorted power chargers, internal flight bookings and reservations at hidden spa-resorts. They have a different outlook to the laid-back rovers of the past. Snap it, log it, blog it. We are all Flashpackers now, we cannot avoid the inevitable upward pressure of the digital world, no matter how much of hobo we try to be. I once sat next to a guy from Seattle escaping the American Dream by cruising down the Mekong in Laos. He proudly told me how he was trying to live on just one dollar a day. Mike was scruffy ... read more

Last run of the day, fading light, a quick joint and then drop into untouched snow between dark green trees. Powder fizzes as your board cuts over it, and we were riding fast, snaking tight, blind corners through trees. Fizz- Turn - Swoosh - Cut - my stomach was up in my throat, gripped in concentration as me and Oli raced down the dense forest. Oli shot off to the left, i took a right hand swerve around a clump of trees. As I carved fast, i came up against a wall of tree trunks - Instantly my brain calculated i could not stop in time... CRACK! A moment of freeze-frame, the taste of blood in my mouth and i sank into snow up to my shoulders. Then silence. Then came the pain, deep in my ... read more

(part1 - ) The map arrived on a cold, dark, wet London morning in January. The map was a glowing ray of adventure and mystery on a cold, dark, wet London morning. An Adventure that would see me facing death in a cold, dark, snowy paradise. Bulgaria - March 1997 They say that a journey of a thousand miles starts with one small step, but that's not true - a journey starts long before a shoe is tied, before a bag is packed or a ticket booked. Travel starts in your head. When an idea grabs you and you know that you must go. When your everyday routine screams boredom at you and a cold, wet morning feels like a commute though a graveyard of dreams. When a map like that turns up, you know that ... read more