Why do we travel? Is it to escape a mundane, routine, predictable existence? Does our passion for globetrotting stem from a realisation that our time on this planet is short, and a curiosity to explore it? Certainly, we are blessed with a wonderful richness in the diversity of cultures, languages, cuisines, history, architecture, religions, climates and scenery, and there is no better way to experience it than to immerse ourselves. The fourth-century philosopher Saint Augustine likened the world to a book, describing those who don’t travel as reading only one page.

Time is running out. Television, the internet, modern transport and globalisation mean that the world is becoming ever more homogenised. Many places have already lost their innocence or been spoilt by mass tourism. Others will soon. And the planet’s environment is slowly being destroyed by over-population. Places which just a few decades ago had crystal clear air, pristine water and azure skies are now murky and brown.

Like many of us, I spent a good deal of my adulthood hostage to a mortgage. In 2004, at age 47, I realised there was more to life, got my first passport and a decent camera, and jumped on a jumbo. It didn’t take long for the travel bug to bite. This book is a collection of some of the experiences from the peregrinations I’ve done since, some independently, with friends or family, others in organised tours covering a full spectrum of styles. Over a thousand stunning colour photographs, including many that have been used by travel companies in their brochures and advertising. Enjoy.