Well, I suppose I’d better write something about why I’ve started this blog… In just over 8 days, I will be setting off on a very interesting journey – to try and travel around the world without catching a single flight. I am doing this both to raise awareness about low-carbon, sustainable travel and to prove to myself that it can be done. My girlfriend is going to be running a blog which is going to cover the ethical and philosophical dimensions of the trip – this one is more for the practical side of things though there will certainly be some crossover between the two!

On top of the obvious challenges along the way, I am also going to be writing a number of software projects – the big hurdle being that for most of the time I expect to have infrequent internet access. For the modern software developer this is quite unusual (this rules out most of the google APIs and web services, for example!) so I am going to try and write about some of the tricks I discover along the way.

While travelling I am going to be bringing my tiny laptop (an eeePC 901, running Ubuntu Natty for ease of use), a single rucksack which has a small satellite backpack attached (great for long train journeys, our primary mode of transport) as well as a bag full of extras dubbed "The Mule".