Alexander Campbell is a 27-year-old Australian man who in February 2023 embarked on a four-year plan to walk around the world. You can follow his day-to-day travails and triumphs on his Instagram account, where he presents well-edited video updates on his journey.
So far he has walked across his native Australia, up through Malasia and Thailand, and across Nepal, Pakistan and Central Asia.
I find it fascinating to get regular updates of where he has gone, and what logistical and physical challenges he's met: wind, rain, snow, dogs, lack of water, border guards, authoritarian police, no place to pitch his tent, etc. He travels with what seems to be an impossibly small backpack. He sleeps in a tent when nightfall finds him in a remote setting, as it often does, but he will sleep in hotel rooms when possible, and even the homes or porches of hospitable people he meets.
His current updates have him finally emerging from the endless flat deserts of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan into the far greener and hilly Azerbaijan. When he walks by the road, so many people stop and insist on giving him food, and in Uzbekistan, passersby were so generous, they would force cash onto him, despite his objections.
It's a really fun follow, and it's a delight to start the day with an update from this trek. His walk has so far raised over $125,000 for The Fred Hollows Foundation, working to give eye care and prevent blindness for poverty-stricken people around the world. You can help at this page, or sign up for Campbell's Patreon to get bonus content.
Here is an ABC (Australia) interview with Campbell from six months ago.
Previously:
• Rolf Potts is traveling around the world with no luggage
