.jpg?h=190&q=75&auto=compress,format "Panorama of Hong Kong business district in a summer day")
Lightfoot Travel
WhatsApp Business Account
Choose Lightfoot Travel
- Knowledge
- Expertly Crafted
- Value
- Peace of Mind
Rob Lilwall spent three years cycling from Siberia to London, then six months walking home to Hong Kong from Mongolia. On top of this he cycled across the USA with his wife Christine. The explorer tells us more about some of his greatest adventures
The Expedition Where I Learnt The Most…
On my first expedition I learnt that if I threw myself in the deep end, I would learn how to swim (in my case, this meant cycling through a Siberian winter and learning to survive in the extreme cold). I found that fears get easier to face, the more you face them. And I learnt that there are a lot of kind people in the world. Most people want to help you, or if they can’t, to introduce you to someone who can. And finally I learnt that tough times don’t last.
The Expedition That Was The Most Challenging
It was probably either going through the jungles of Papua New Guinea with a bicycle, or dragging a home-made beach cart 1,000 km across China’s Desert of Death (The Taklamakan). Both very hard, but in different ways.
The Expedition That Is The Most Memorable
In the Takalamakan Desert in China, I almost gave up several times. I almost gave up when the dunes were too big to drag my cart across; when the police caught me; and when I got a lot of punctures from reeds. What helped was having a clear goal; calling my wife and my friends who gave encouragement and helped me regain perspective; and rewriting the negative story in my head with a more positive story about about how much I was learning, and how I still had options ahead.
The Expedition That Was The Most Scenic
Many to choose from. One morning in Siberia when it was minus 40 I woke up to see frozen waterfalls hanging off the side of the valley – extraordinary.
Follow Rob Lilwall's latest adventures
Suggested Itineraries
From $5,180 pp
Mongolia for Families
Ulaanbaatar & Central Heartland
- The kids will love the experience of sleeping in traditional Mongolian felt tents, or ‘gers’
- Whether it’s horse ack riding or walking, get the kids out in nature and be active all throughout this holiday
- Learn about Mongolian culture first-hand by staying alongside a nomadic host family, helping them with their daily chores and letting the kids play and interact with the host children
From $8,050 pp
Mongolia’s Eagle Hunting Festival
Ulaanbaatar & Central Heartland
- Living alongside a nomadic eagle hunting family and learning about their age-old traditions and ways of life
- Attending the annual Ulgii Eagle Hunting Festival and getting caught up in the excitement of this event which locals spend their lives training for
- Experiencing a less mainstream part of the country and really getting off the beaten track
From $10,930 pp
Classic Mongolia
- Scrambling up the towering Khongoryn Els sand dunes for a glorious sunset and then sliding back down
- Riding camels with an authentic nomadic camel breeder in the Gobi Desert
- Staying at the luxurious Three Camel Lodge
- Horse riding through the forest to the seldom-visited Tovkhon Monastery
- Spending the night in your own bespoke ensuite luxury ger that has been set up in the wilderness just for you
Destinations Featured in the Article
Similar Articles
MEET NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC'S EXPLORERS IN RESIDENCE
