Anne & Mark’s Odyssey
Anne and I developed our relationship over a year of very diverse experiences.
Anne and I set off on our so-called Odyssey. It was meant to last six months; we made it a year — exploring astonishing places like Mongolia, the Altai Mountains of Russia and Ethiopia. From Southeast Asia we crossed China and Mongolia by train, wound through the Baltics and Ukraine, then spent the bulk of the year working our way down through East and Southern Africa.
Play the map — our path across Asia, Europe and Africa, 5 July 2002 – 12 June 2003.
Four moments that still stand out above the rest.
Trekking the Altai
Days on foot through the remote Altai Mountains of Russia, where Siberia, Mongolia, China and Kazakhstan all meet.
The lip plate tribe
Visiting the Mursi people of Ethiopia’s Omo Valley, known for the striking lip plates worn by the women.
The Mongolian steppe
Wide-open grassland stretching to every horizon, and a taste of the nomadic life that’s shaped Mongolia for centuries.
Learning to fly, George
Taking to the skies for the first time in George, South Africa — an unexpected detour that stuck with me.
Tap a flag to open that country’s page.
Malaysia
Vietnam
China
Mongolia
Russia
Estonia
Latvia
Lithuania
Ukraine
Turkey
Egypt
Ethiopia
Kenya
Uganda
Rwanda
Tanzania
Zanzibar
Malawi
Zambia
Zimbabwe
South Africa
Lesotho
Swaziland
Mozambique
Australia