Cricket fan Tommy Lamb has taken his love for the sport to a whole new level by attempting to go to Australia to watch the Ashes without taking a single flight. The idea was sparked after his dad told him the story of how the Lonely Planet founders travelled overland to Australia in the 1970s. The 18-year-old heard the tale during a family holiday in Turkey two years ago, and the challenge stuck with him prompting the teen from Manchester to embark on a five-month, 10,570-mile journey across the globe.
Tommy also gave himself an extra challenge to play cricket in every country he went through. He told Luxury Travel Daily:
“I felt it was a great way to connect with locals and force me out of my comfort zone.”
“Even when I’m only in a place for 24 hours, I have to go out and talk to loads of different people. I know I’ll get rejected a few times and look a bit mental, but that’s all part of the fun.”
He added: “Knowing I was taking a year out when I finished school, and that the Ashes were down under that winter, I thought it was the perfect opportunity for me to do such a challenge.”
From travelling through rural Albania to sharing a game with a Mullah in Iran, probably his favourite country he said, who bowled him a beamer, to the massive city and skyscrapers of Chongqing in China, and even spending nights sleeping in caves, his journey has been anything but ordinary.Â
One of the most memorable stretches took him through Pakistan’s Balochistan region under police and military escort, as independent travel there is not permitted for foreigners.
He’s also spent the night wild camping in an Iranian cave with dogs howling outside, to hitchhiking all the way to the border with Armenia.
Tommy’s travels, however, have also been marked by a very frightening event. While travelling through Vietnam he was in a serious motorbike crash, leaving him with a fractured skull, a broken nose and multiple cuts and bruises.
He said: “I don’t remember anything at all, not before nor after. I’ve only been told I suddenly drove off the road and hit a metal pole. Despite the injuries I’m recovering well and should be good to continue my journey just under two weeks after the crash.”
He spent days recovering alone in a foreign hospital and then in a hotel near the city of Hanoi. Tommy described the experience as a true mental test, marked by boredom and solitude.
Other surreal situations have included wild camping in a cave in Iran surrounded by howling dogs and hitchhiking to the Armenian border.
His family’s responses ranged widely. While his father was excited and even jealous, he said his mother was concerned and his older thought he was being overconfident.Â
“My dad was excited, jealous even,” Tommy said. “My mum was nervous, and my older brother thought I was overconfident. But I’m lucky they supported me.”
For Tommy, reaching Australia would be the ultimate achievement, a moment of immense pride, finally getting to watch England play an Ashes series down under, all without taking a single flight to get there.
He said: “It would be an immensely proud moment. I’ve always dreamt of watching England play an Ashes series down under, and to get there in this way would no doubt be the proudest achievement of my life.
“The aim was to prove that people everywhere are helpful and kind, and that things always work out one way or another. If I complete this trip, I’ll have proved that to myself more than anyone.”
The final stage of his journey will see him making his way through Southeast Asia before tackling the Pacific crossing. He plans a fast-paced route by bus, passing through Ho Chi Minh City, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore, aiming to arrive in Bali by early December. Here, however, the challenge intensifies. With very few passenger ships still operating, he must find a cargo vessel to carry him the enormous final stretch to Darwin, Australia.
His travels have given him a new perspective on the world, showing him just how kind and helpful people can be.Â
