About

MRP @ Mexico - 2009

Hi … I’m Michael Robert Powell – from New Zealand / Aotearoa … But actually I’m a citizen of the world, or more accurately: I am a nomad and I live out of a backpack. I love travel and have been seriously-nomadic across the planet – for over two decades, and this travel site follows my crazed, intense, free-wandering life.

Since 1988, I have experienced 100+ countries & territories.

Travel is my life …

I have no home, no base, just living out of a backpack and alone, traveling without plans, exploring anywhere I choose, mostly steered, by whatever happens.

I enjoy an uncomplicated, simple life.

michael robert powell photo thecandy trail egypt

MRP @ Luxor, Egypt, 1995

While I hold a university degree – in History – I’ve never had a permanent job, never owned a house or car or motorbike but once had a TV. And today, I remain on the road; and still single, never married, no children, few assets, no social circle or societal niche.

So what have I been up to all these years? … Well, here’s a handful of extreme travel experiences to seize your interest:

Arrested in “Saddam’s Iraq” by the military, in Kurdistan; accused of being a spy

Hitch-hiking the Sahara Desert & the Sahel, from Algeria to Nigeria

Enjoying Carnaval and later mugged at knifepoint(s) in Rio, Brazil

Overland – mostly hitching – from England to India via Iran, where I was caught amid a deadly bus accident …

MRP @ Duatabad, India, 1990

Drugged, abducted, robbed, ditched in Siberia, Russia

Amid a cyclone in Bangladesh that killed 138,000 people

Trans-Siberian Route – numerous city stop-overs – from Beijing to London

Antarctica by ship. having whisky and ice-berg on New Year’s Eve

Swimming with seals in Galapagos Islands

Caught amid riots in Indonesia, and India

Horse trekking in southern Colombia, thru FARC territory

Slow boat down the Niger River to Timbuktu, Mali

Hitching over the Himalayas from Tinggri, Tibet to Kathmandu, Nepal

Escaping from Indonesia by fishing boat then hitching in a military Blackhawk from the Island of Auturo. To be the “first tourist” in the new East Timor, on 14 Jan. 2000

MRP @ Antarctica, Jan. 2003

Actively participating in a Voodoo ceremony in Togo

What’s with “the candy trail …” as a travel site name?

It is a metaphor about the freedom of travel to find one’s own knowledge while pleasure seeking across the world.

MRP age 23, Nemrut Dagi, Turkey, 1989

The “trail …” is obviously the journey, the way, the path. And “the candy” is the reward that leads me along the trail: the amazing places – the monuments, the landscapes, the experiences of exotic food, sex with strangers, and a host of other crazy & beautiful encounters … And the nicest piece of candy is: what I learn from it all.

Get more answers from my FAQ page

Yeah, there’s plenty to blog about …

Maybe a book of crazy travel stories will eventuate. But for now here’s a teaser of raw diary, stories, photography, videos and art about the good, bad, and the ugly … With the intention to convey something about the nature of travel and our world – something fresh and interesting that you may not have experienced or thought about …

Why travel?

I’m driven by a fascination of history, world cultures, and an appreciation of stunning scenery and nature. And, I am addicted to the journey – that freedom and unpredictability, of being on the road …

My footprint:

Because of budget, the modern world, also because of the way I like to travel – I only fly when I must: usually to get out one-way to then travel onwards overland, unplanned, and making the route as I go by local transportation, staying in simple hotels or family guesthouses, spending at small restaurants or food-stalls and other local businesses so that as little of my money as possible goes to large-foreign-owned enterprises or to brutal, corrupt, host governments – so that mostly my money passes directly to the local, everyday people.