Travel Story : heather ellis - africa
After surviving that experience , I questioned what I was doing in Africa risking my life . I questioned should I go home , but the moment I thought about doing that , I could not give up . My only thought was an overwhelming sense of expectation for my journey and what I would discover . I rode on through Uganda and across Zaire ( renamed Democratic Republic of Congo in 1997 ). Then and today , it is one of the most difficult to travel and lawless countries on the planet . And while I encountered many challenges , wild and remote places , and extraordinary people on what became an odyssey across Africa , I was embraced by all . I was shown ubuntu .
After Africa , I found myself in London , where I worked for 12 months as a motorcycle courier . I ’ d been told by the British motorcycle travellers I ’ d met in Africa , that good money could be made and I needed to top up my travelling funds for the ride home . This ride , the second-leg of my world motorcycle journey , was through Europe , along the Silk Road through Central Asia and by train through China , to Vietnam . It is detailed in the sequel , which will be available in 2018 . As well as the travel narrative , the sequel explores the twist that is revealed in Ubuntu . It also explores questions about our mortality . Was the Silk Road my one last adventure , my one last search for meaning , which also became a search for salvation ? I wrote the first draft of Ubuntu in London when that extraordinary adventure was still fresh but I also kept a detailed journal while travelling . In fact , I wrote three and it was in Africa that I discovered writing . Travelling alone , writing became my friend and was how I debriefed at the end of each day . I wrote about every adventure in detail ; I wrote the conversations ; I wrote all those thoughts churned up in my helmetencased head as the miles slipped past .