My name is Tommy and I am the person behind this blog.

Traveling has been an important part of my life for more than 20 years and I have found myself appreciating travel days at least as much as the ruins, museums and other sights.

When I started this blog in 2015, I had been to 75 countries on six continents. That’s more than most but a lot less then some. North and South America feels most “at home” since I have spent most of my traveling days there. I am really looking forward to spending more time in Africa and in Southern Asia. And yes, even getting to my last continent in the Pacific and Indian Ocean.

My plans are a bit sketchy at best, but as I am getting older I am counting days till the day I can let go of home and just go. And it seems not to be too far away…. But I know how I will travel once I get going. Travel writer Paul Theroux wrote in Dark Star Safari that “travel is a transition, and at its best is a journey that begins with setting forth from home. I hated parachuting into a place. I needed to be able to link one place to another. […] The other way, going slowly, crossing national frontiers, scuttling past razor wire with my bag and my passport, was the best way of being reminded that there was a relationship between Here and There, and that travel narrative was the story of There and Back.”

I feel exactly the same way as I rather sit on a bus for 24 hours than jumping on a plane for one hour, given that I have a choice. So if you’re looking for a place to read about overland travel a bit out the beaten path (but not taken to the extreme), in for long bus rides on bumpy roads, see decent pictures, get a few travel tips, and you have the time to read about the experiences of a lone traveler – I say welcome. As the travel go on I hope you’ll find interesting pieces and pictures from Central Asia, Africa, South and Central America and the Middle East. If you also want to follow my travels on Instagram, you’ll find me at busygoingnowhere.

The name of the blog isn’t taken from anywhere in particular, although while preparing for the trip I’ve read a lot of travel blogs and books. I then found out that Pico Iyer wrote about “going nowhere” in his latest book. Mr Iyer, an established travel writer, explained in a discussion at TED Global 2014 that: ”I think it [going nowhere] refers to two things: first, sitting still […]. Second, […] not to feel like you always have to get somewhere. So I think going nowhere in some ways seemed to me a more promising alternative than always trying to get somewhere”.

My personal take on the expression “going nowhere” means that I don’t have a certain goal (city, place) where my travel is supposed to “end”. I’m going nowhere in particular, you might say. The trip itself, no matter where it takes me, is my goal. Contrary to Mr Iyer, I won’t be sitting still at one place when I am ´going nowhere´, but in my mind there’s no better way of describing my travel plans. But I will get to see a lot of places along the way, which is also why I added “(and everywhere)” to the name of the blog.

Another well known travel writer, The late Jenny Diski, claimed in Stranger on a train that it takes dedication to travel without a goal. Considering all the necessary preparations I have had to do for making this trip happen, I wholeheartedly agree with her.