Walking Home From Mongolia: Ten Million Steps Through China, From The Gobi Desert To The South China Sea

Description

Starting in the Gobi desert in winter, adventurer Rob Lilwall sets out on an extraordinary six month journey, walking 3,000 miles across China. Along the way he and cameraman Leon brave the toxic insides of China's longest road tunnel, explore desolate stretches of the Great Wall and endure interrogation by the Chinese police. As they walk on through the heart of China, the exuberant hospitality of cave dwellers, coal miners and desert nomads keeps them going despite sub-zero blizzards and treacherous terrain. Rob writes with humour and honesty about the hardships of the walk, reflecting on the nature of pilgrimage and the uncertainties of an adventuring career, while also giving insight into life on the road amid the epic landscapes and rapidly industrialising cities of backwater China.

Reviews

I'm not sure Rob Lilwall knows it, but he has penned a two-wheeled classic. I wanted to rise up singing and strap on my bicycle clips. -- The Guardian (for CYCLING HOME FROM SIBERIA) Lilwall has a wonderful ability to inspire trust in his readers -- The Guardian (for CYCLING HOME FROM SIBERIA) Lilwall's story is a remarkable one...enhanced by the fact that he has a writer's skill for conveying a sense of place. -- The Sunday Telegraph (for CYCLING HOME FROM SIBERIA) A rite of passage adventure, full of thrills, excitement and endurance tests -- The Irish Times (for CYCLING HOME FROM SIBERIA) Rob Lilwall is such a transparently decent, honest and likeable bloke that it is difficult not to become involved in the highs and lows of his journey...Ever since Odysseus, the traveller has returned home to find himself wiser and more fulfilled than when he departed. Rob Lilwall is no exception. -- TES (for CYCLING HOME FROM SIBERIA) Full piece on Walking Home from Mongolia -- Geographical Magazine 20130805

Author description

Rob Lilwall is a writer, adventurer, and motivational speaker who regularly transfixes audiences with tales from his 30,000 mile journey by bike from Siberia to England. Rob has written about his journey for magazines and journals worldwide. In 2004 Rob gave up his job as a geography teacher at a state school near Oxford and set off around the world with nothing but a bike and a healthy dose of fear ... around three years later he arrived home, with some remarkable stories to tell. Find Rob on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/walkinghomefrommongolia or at twitter.com/roblilwall or on the web at walkinghomefrommongolia.com