Sam Manicom’s favourite way to travel getting lost!

Sam Manicom has been around the globe on his bike.

Sam Manicom was manager of a sports goods shop when he decided to pack it all in to follow his dream. After a few beers one evening, he reckoned there was no reason to stay in a job he didn’t enjoy.

So he decided he was going to learn to ride a motorbike and travel across Africa. That was in 1992 and the trip ended up lasting eight years, as Sam travelled round the world.

Along the way he began writing articles about his adventures for magazines and these were so popular he branched out into books.

Sam’s latest audiobook, Under Asian Skies: Australia to Europe by Motorcycle, has just been released.

He told The Sunday Post about his favourite destinations.

“The section of my journey from Australia and New Zealand through to Asia and the Middle East is without doubt my favourite experience. By the time I had got that far I’d finally learned to ride my bike properly.

“One thing that shone through during this period was the constant change of cultures I had to deal with. I also covered just about every type of landscape, from desert to jungle and glaciers.

“I was moving from the developing world to the developed world and back again. I’m a real disaster magnet, which makes for some interesting journeys.

“I was hit by a van in Australia and ended up on the road, trapped under my bike. Petrol was spewing out and I was scared I would go up in flames.

“I was lying there waiting for someone to help and, lo and behold, the first three guys that turned up were Hell’s Angels bikers.

“One bent over to me and said: ‘G’day mate, how’s it going?’ It was just pure Australian!

“I spend 75% of my time doing things off the beaten track, but I also check out the tourist spots such as Ayers Rock and Sydney Opera House.

“The local dishes are also a must try wherever I go. I love the pie and chips they serve in Australia. They squirt a little bit of tomato ketchup under the crust of the pie before they cook it, and it’s great.

“There’s also nasi goreng, an Indonesian fried rice dish, which I like, and the curries in India are completely different from what we’re used to in the UK.

“They’re full of flavour and it’s not so much about the heat. Another certainty on trips like these are the illnesses.

“Dysentery will get you sooner rather than later in India and it knocked me for six. I also had dengue fever in Thailand. To me there’s no better way to see the world than on the bike.

“I do plan the trips but I find getting lost or chatting with a local is the best way to find something new. It’s all very different from my childhood holidays. I was born in the Congo and my parents moved back to the UK when I was 10.

“They were skint, so we didn’t go on many holidays, but if we did, it would be the Lake District.”