Flying Solo.

Travelling around the world has been one of the best things I've done in my life. I've been to over 200 cities on every continent except Antarctica.. This trip to China will mark around my 60th country visited.

There are few things that I could imagine being more fulfilling and enriching than the freedom, experience and adventure of travel. One such thing happened earlier this year. After the loss of our first boy - Hendrik a year earlier, Natalie and I were able to welcome his little brother Ryland into the world on the 8th of May this year.

It wasn't an easy start to life for Ryland or his parents. Our little man was born at just 24 weeks + 5 days (around 4 months early), measuring 32cm and weighing just 888g. For months he needed breathing support, extra medication and 24 hour hospital care. After 115 days in hospitals, Ryland was eventually able to come home and start his life with his family. That was barely two and a half weeks ago.

Family is important. I have two younger brothers. Years ago, middle brother Jared started dating, and then moved in with lovely girl from China named Yuan. They always flagged that any potential wedding ahead would be based in China, especially with Yuan's parents and majority of family living there. I always indicated an enthusiasm to be a part of such a wedding. Time passed, and after years of living together, Jared finally got around to proposing. The gears of wedding organisation started to slowly turn, and between the tragic loss of our boy and a trip to Japan, a date was set in place, which we all agreed to. I considered it might be an opportunity to visit a handful of countries in the region I'd yet to see. Taiwan, maybe Laos, maybe South Korea?

This wasn't to be. The timing of such a date didn't work out so well. A month after we returned from Japan, Natalie discovered she had a passenger on board, due not far from the wedding date.

It made for a very difficult situation. Now, to attend my brother's wedding, I'd have to leave my wife and newborn child behind. That's what I'm having to do. I'm striking a balance, between not wanting to be parted from my family for long, and not wanting to miss both my brother's wedding and an opportunity to explore the world's most populated place.

Both my brothers, their partners and my parents are already there now. Tomorrow I'll be flying to China for just 9 days. Four by myself, in and around Beijing, a transit day to Taiyuan, and then four days with family around the wedding in Xinzhou. That way I can be at the wedding, see China, and be reunited with my family before too long.

For all my adventures over the last decade, it's actually been 12 years since I took off on overseas trip completely solo. In 2008 I toured Asia with family, in 2010 I set off for the World Cup in Africa with friends and since 2011, I've had Natalie by my side to share overseas travel with almost every year. It'll be a shame not to be able to share this trip with her. I'm fairly certain little Ryland isn't quite ready or interested to catch the travel bug just yet.

I'm curious to see what kind of experience China will turn out to be. For such a short trip, there seems to have been a lot of work organizing it, none more so than the Visa. China will be a unique experience in that it's the first country I've been to with extensive internet censorship. No Google. No Google Maps. No Yahoo. No search engines basically. No Facebook. This will mean trawling through Chinese based browers/ search engines/ mapping sites and alternate communication methods. It remains to be seen what internet will actually work over there, this blog website included. My communication methods appear restricted to Whatsapp, WeChat and Hotmail.

The last few months I've been focused on Ryland, watching him grow and strive from such a fragile beginning. Unlike most trips, I've hardly focused on this one at all, or given it much thought. Now however, it's here, and I hope to make the most of it. I'll be exploring Beijing myself for a couple days, then doing a guided hike out to the Great Wall, heading along a wild wall (un-restored) section. I'm looking forward to being a part of a different culture, especially in the context of a wedding. I'll hope (internet availability and functionality pending) to be able to post daily blogs on this site, including a few photos and comments. I'll look forward to everything ahead, and getting back to my family in just over a weeks time.Read more