From the UK to Oz. On a Bike!

From the UK to Oz. On a Bike!

The distance is over 11,000 miles, and this maniac did it!

 

Back in December I had the pleasure of working alongside freelance writer Oli Broom from the UK. Oli flew in to Denmark to write several articles about the cycling culture here (or just culture, as the locals kept reminding him), and one of the stories we were covering centred around CycloCross for CyclingPlus magazine.

I was a little hungover as I stood there waiting for Oli to arrive at Skovbrynet Station, but arrive he did – on a Brompton bike. For those of you not in the loop with types of bicycles, a Brompton is basically a very-well-built bike that can be folded for storage. In other words, they’re designed more for convenience and portability than for speed and comfort. Bare in mind it was also winter, so I was even more puzzled to see that Oli had cycled the entire 13km from Copenhagen sans gloves, which meant his arse was really aching and his fingers were completely numb.

But the physical torture wasn’t over for Oli, who then had to keep up with a group of hardcore cyclists on much faster bikes as we travelled another 1.5km up and down hills in order to reach our photoshoot location in the woods.

I wasn’t struggling too much – even with my camera equipment strapped to my back. But naturally Oli was a bit behind, so I waited for him at the top of the hill and watched him huff and puff his way towards me.

“How’s it goin’ fella?” I asked.

“Oh, I’m alright,” he replied. “This is nothing compared to some of my earlier trips.”

“Such as…?” I enquired.

“Such as the time I cycled from London to Brisbane.”

Now my interest was peaked, so for the next few minutes Oli told me his story; a story that lead to him becoming a writer.

Alone in the woods

Oli’s tale is centred around The Ashes – a huge cricket tournament played by Australia and England every year. One year it’s played in England, the next in Australia, and so on and so on. The trophy is a small vessel containing the ashes of the cricket stumps of the first ever tournament, and it’s extremely tiny and very modest. Cricket fans (like all fans, I suppose) are passionate about the sport and the results, but I’ve never met anyone passionate enough to cycle to the other side of the world to watch it. In fact, when I try to discuss cricket with the Danes, not one of them gives a shit. Fair enough; if a sport isn’t popular in your country then chances are you’re not that in to it. Still, knowing how much the Danes love their sport I’m surprised that no-one has tried to introduce it to them.

Anyway, I digress…

Oli and 17 friends left London for the South Coast of England on 10th October 2009. When they finally reached Dover, 16 members of the group turned around and headed back to their safe jobs and relationships. Oli, however, jumped on a ferry to Dunkirk to begin his cycling adventure through 23 countries.

“My first night camping alone in a forest was pretty scary,” he told me. “And it was only Belgium, so not particularly renowned for violence or crime.” Still, luckily for Oli he was carrying seven cricket bats that were given to him by a sponsor. “I played cricket in 19 countries and gave a bat away to any deserving cricketers I met along the way.” A great cover story for the cops when you’re caught busting someone’s face open in the woods past midnight.

After cycling through Europe and parts of Africa on his Santos touring bike, Oli flew to Mumbai in India and cycled onwards to Dakar and down to South East Asia. And it was whilst in Thailand that he was struck down with Dengue Fever – a mosquito-borne tropical disease brought on by a virus. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles. In some circumstances it can be life-threatening.

Turning Back

For two weeks Oli lay in hospital with thoughts of quitting: “I thought of giving up at that point,” he told me. “I was tired and really ill, and all I wanted to do was go home.”

Thankfully the illness passed and he eventually arrived in Darwin in Northern Australia via a cattle boat. But his journey was far from over.

For another two months Oli cycled hundreds of miles through the harsh outback of Australia, changing over from the smooth but dangerous asphalt roads with their constant stream of road trains, to the tougher dirt roads that were often covered in thick sand. To make things more difficult, Oli was carrying up to 15 litres of water at one point, plus 65kg of baggage.

Amazingly, 412 days after setting off Oli reached the Ashes tournament in Brisbane and was greeted by England cricketer Andrew Straus. To make the whole experience even sweeter, England won 3-1 to retain the Ashes, meaning that Oli could return home to start work on his book, CYCLING TO THE ASHES: A Cricketing Odyssey from London to Brisbane.

Hate your job? Then quit!

After our photoshoot we cycled back and chatted some more. Listening to Oli it was clear just how much this experience had opened up his world to new possibilities and opportunities. Not only has his book received glowing reviews from celebrities and members of the public, but his ideas continue to blossom and I genuinely felt inspired by them. As we sat on the train I could feel the juices flowing in my own head. Instead of explaining them to you here, you should go follow him on Twitter, or check out his new website www.slowcyclist.co.uk – especially if you want to join him on his next cycling adventure to Transylvania.

The reason I wanted to share Oli’s remarkable story was for two reasons. Firstly, his life before the trip was office-based and he’d had enough. Lots of us find ourselves in this situation, and I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who regretted giving that lifestyle up after they chose to do so. Myself included.

Secondly, to iterate my original point, this crazy bastard CYCLED over 11,000 miles to watch a bit of cricket. Remember that next time you drive five minutes down the road to buy a pork pie from the supermarket.

 

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How to get an upgrade to Business Class

How to get an upgrade to Business Class

The first time I ever asked for an upgrade to Business Class on an international flight I got one. Not just for me, either, but for my partner too. So I decided that it’d be nice to share my secret with you all, because I can’t think of any reason why you wouldn’t want to travel in style and luxury.

Before I go on, I suppose I should mention a blog that I once read, written by a young American girl who wanted to receive a free upgrade from Seattle to Delhi. Many months in advance, she apparently rang up the Customer Services department for the airline she was going to travel with and did some serious sucking-up. She was told that there were no upgrades available at that time, but that her name could be added to a list of people who had requested it.

Fair enough.

Then she rang back closer to the date of departure to make sure that her name was still on the list. It was. To increase her chances further, she had booked herself on to a separate flight from her travelling companion and was therefore travelling alone.

“Be polite and smile down the phone,” she advises her readers, of which there were thousands after it went viral.

And even as she enquired at Check-In about her Upgrade Status she was flatly told, “Not today, love.” But refusing to take no for an answer, and purposely wearing her Sunday Best, she marched right up to the Boarding Desk and asked ( nicely ) one last time. And this time she was successful. She describes in great deal the events and the excitement she felt as she finally boarded her flight and got to turn left in to Business Class instead of right in to Cattle. It was a great story.

Unfortunately for you, dear reader, my story contains neither excitement nor planning. It does, however, contain a dash of whit and a sprinkle of simplicity.

travel photography, rejsefotograf, travel photography, photography by matthew james, how to get a free upgrade to business class, travelling business class, emirates, new zealand, australia, thailand, christchurch, sydney, bangkok, backpacking, you know when you live in a van

For three weeks we’d been sleeping on-and-off in a hire car as we travelled across New Zealand. It was chuffing cold!

The date was 18th June 2012 ( my gran’s 92nd birthday ) and my partner and I were flying from Christchurch, New Zealand to Bangkok in Thailand via Sydney ( yes, you guessed it, in Australia ). Wearing a pair of red trousers and a hoody ( very gangster ), I approached the Checking-In Desk with my usual friendly smile and demeanour. After a chilly three weeks sleeping in a car during a cold New Zealand winter, we were ready to ditch the layers once again and relax on a beach somewhere for my 30th birthday. And it was this looming date in my Life Calendar that prompted me to ask my next question:

“This is going to be my last chance to fly Business Class before I turn 30 next week,” I told her. “I don’t suppose there’s any chance of an upgrade, is there?” She continued to stare at her screen as she entered my passport details, no doubt having heard similar stories many times in the past.

“You can pay to upgrade, sir,” she finally replied, “like everybody else.”

“Pleeeease,” I begged like a cheeky schoolboy who really needs to go to the toilet. It was still a no.

On the flight we sat with all the other pilgrims but who can complain about the quality and service of Emirates when you’re used to Ryanair?

It was a very quick turnaround in Sydney and we were a little dismayed to see the amount of Aussie’s who were going to join us on this leg of our journey. It was their winter holiday season in the southern hemisphere so they were heading en-masse to the tropics for the same reason as us. Our ticket stubs contained the same seat numbers as before so we simply decided to sit and wait until everyone else was aboard before we got on ourselves. It was going to be a packed flight.

As I approached the desk alone ( Lia had been to the bathroom so was quite far back in the queue ) I was suddenly asked to stand to one side as soon as my passport was scanned. Naturally I bricked it and wondered what I’d done wrong, but then I saw a handful of tickets with the words BUSINESS CLASS in bold lettering at the top. My pulse quickened and my excitement levels went through the roof as I was handed the ticket of joy; I felt like Charlie after finally finding that Golden Ticket. Then I remembered Lia: what if she didn’t get one? “Do you have one for my girlfriend, too?” I asked politely. It turned out that he did. I looked up to find Lia in the queue and she too looked worried as she saw me standing there. I hoped the smile on my face would relieve any worries she might be having, but I gave her the thumbs up just to be sure and even waved the tickets at her. She still didn’t understand until I beckoned her to queue-jump and come on over. Then the penny dropped. Hard.

Turning left on the plane is an experience that everyone should go through at least once in their lives. In my seat I couldn’t help but peek over my shoulder at the others back in Coach. I heard one woman say, “God, it looks nice in there,” as she was led kicking and screaming to her normal seat. I knew this might never happen again, so I soaked it up as much as I could and took another sip of my complimentary champagne.

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The Golden Ticket: My Business Class evidence from Sydney to Bangkok.

There were only 21 of us in Business Class that evening, but we were a mixed bunch. At first I was ( accidentally ) sat next to an Iranian man with several wives. They were not present, by the way. He was considering moving back to Iran from Australia because he was “only allowed the one wife.” Meanwhile, Lia was also accidentally sitting next to a lone female traveller from Afghanistan. She also had an interesting tale to tell, but I was already smashed by this point, so I don’t remember a single thing she said. Possibly something about sea urchins, tetris, and receipts.

Apart from the pair of us, the only other free upgrade seemed to be a young man with shorts, a hoody and a baseball cap on. If there was a rule about not allowing folk on board with renegade dress-code then it certainly was ignored on this flight.

The expensive wine, beers and cocktails began to flow and each dish ( starter, main and dessert ) was served individually with quality silverware. We had our own TVs and remote controls in case we were too lazy to reach for the screen ( we were ) and the seats, with the flip of a switch, turned in to our beds for the evening. After we were correctly reseated next to each other, I still couldn’t resist the urge to slide up the partition screen between us so I didn’t have to look at Lia’s smug grin for the next ten hours.

Part of me didn’t really want to sleep, as I just wanted to gorge on everything around me. But eventually it came to me ( rather easily, in fact ) and I slipped in to a delightful snooze under my warm blanket. I woke up once to find a stewardess touching me. Relax, she was just doing her job ( my blanket had slipped below my chest and she was tucking me back in again ). It was a bit awkward, though, to be honest. Do you say ‘Thanks’ or ‘No thanks, I’ve got it under control’? In the end I decided it was best for everyone if I just allowed this strange woman to carry on prodding me in my semi-sleep state. It was the closest to the Mile-High Club I’ve ever been. That’s a lie, actually.

In the very early hours of the morning we touched down in Bangkok and stepped back in to reality. In stark contrast, we spent the rest of the night sleeping on the floor by the escalators until 6am came around. The public transport system didn’t kick in until then, so we were kind of stranded there until it did.

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Always hold a glass of cold wine or champagne by the stem so you don’t warm it up. This is as far as my wine knowledge goes.

Trust me, I have tried every time since then to get a free upgrade with the big airlines, but it hasn’t happened. To this day we don’t know whether we got upgraded because of my cheeky request or because the flight from Sydney was too full. But with limited space in Business Class, surely there were better specimens on board from New Zealand than us. We’ll never know.

What I do know is I now have the bug. Is it wrong to say “I’m going to [NAME OF COUNTRY] for pioneering medical treatment and might not make it back. Please can I have an upgrade?”?

I feel it’s an experience worth lying for. What I do know is, you don’t need to go through all the trouble of pre-planning an epic mission to get an upgrade. Whatever the scenario, the decision is going to be made by the airline personnel on the day of the flight. So smile, don’t dress too much like a tramp, and mind your Ps and Qs.

Good luck.

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Nikolaj Coster-Waldau returns to his home country to take action An overwhelmingly massive wall of ice on regular display is one of the many stunning visual images in the popular television series Game of Thrones in which Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau plays...

Nordic Race: A mudfest for my camera

My first Nordic Race photography experience I don't know about you, but personally I like to be warm, dry and clean at this time of year. It's the reason I wear nice thick gloves, waterproof trousers and jackets, and a pair of boots every time I leave the house. On...

Calm sea; rough ride

From the Archives: My experience moving to Copenhagen in 2012 I grew up in a small town 40 miles south of Manchester - home of Smiths, Oasis, and other great High Street retail outlets (insert smiley). And it was from Manchester Airport that I left England for what...

PBMJ: Now we are 2

I've only got one pair of hands... until now! Finding a solution to doing everything myself has long been at the top of my long list of priorities. I've found over the years, that it's definitely getting easier to outsource some of the work I do, especially when...

Getting the Shot: RaiseNow Group Portrait

Somebody once asked me, "Do you find that it's always the first idea that works?" in regards to planning and executing a photoshoot. I admit I had to think about it. Sometimes definitely, and in these scenarios you can pat yourself on the back for a job well done. Go...

Following in the footsteps of Obama

Where would a former President of the United States go to eat when in Copenhagen? For my first blog post in nearly two millennia I thought I’d tackle something a little light-hearted. Despite never really pursuing a career in food photography, it appears it has found...

Who needs a photo education anyway?

Is it really worth paying to learn to be a better photographer? ”Sixteen hundred kroner!” So cried the partner of one my clients recently when she found out what he was paying me to teach him. More than once this week the conversation has turned towards education....

No Man is an Island

Finding solitude amongst Denmark's hidden gems Words by Joe Miller, Pictures by Matthew James Harrison It’s always hard in life to accept it when you lose friends, family or anyone close to you. People change, they move on and find pastures new. We live, we die… but...

Aarhus: European capital for culture 2017

Words: Joe Miller, Photos: Matt Marsh Every year, two European cities receive the prestigious title of ‘European capital of culture’ and in 2017, we welcome Denmark’s second largest city, Aarhus, as the holder of one of these two titles. Over the next year, fascinated...

Fact: Danish Newspapers don’t care about swans!

How a chance encounter with a big white bird didn't really amount to much In this industry, every day is a fresh start. Sure, you have the usual amount of daily tasks – social media, sending invoices, archiving images – but the commute to work every morning is a...

Beer+Barcelona+The Eixample=despair

Getting lost in the city's cleverly-designed grid system "Allow me to state here how much I love Barcelona; an admirable city, a city full of life, intense, a port open to the past and future.” Perhaps the future is now and the past is the present, but whichever way...

Recreating the sunset…without the sun

I made absolutely no secret of the fact that I got my very first National Geographic Traveller commission earlier this year. It was, without a doubt, the proudest moment of my career so far, and I’m not ashamed to say so. I wrote a lengthy piece about it for the...

Best Instagram Photos of Copenhagen 2016

Copenhagen has to be one of the world's best places to photograph I’ve been fortunate enough to live in many special places around the world over the years: France, Australia, many parts of the UK, and of course Denmark. Each and every one of these places has been...

A photographer’s perspective of Shrovetide

What really happened when I went home to document the biggest game of football in the world? Although I couldn’t see it at that particular moment, somewhere up ahead a ball made of Portuguese cork was being fought over by hundreds of men. Their aim was simple: to...

Press Trip to Crete: Part Three

The mixed emotions of being a Travel Photographer Once again, olives reigned supreme on the fourth and final day of our Press Trip. I completely ignored them at the breakfast table, settling instead for some eggs and some sort of chocolate cake. My head was absolutely...

Press Trip to Crete: Part Two

Long Days and Pleasant Nights At a height of 848m above sea level, Father Andreas’ Shepherd’s Shelter - known locally as a Mitato -sits on the slopes of Crete’s highest point, Mount Ida. Getting there with a hangover was not fun, and my drinking companions from the...

Press Trip To Crete: Part One

Strangers become friends thanks to alcohol The first time I ever tried Greek cuisine - it was goat’s cheese I remember - I had a thumping headache. I was about ten-years-old and my primary school class were doing a project on Ancient Greece, so we were very lucky to...

A job offer I really really wanted

However you earn money to keep your business going, never lose sight of your goals Over the past few years I’ve learned a great deal about running a business and adapting my photography skills to different genres and clients. I’ve never classed myself as a wedding...

10 tips for awesome autumn photographs

This blog post originally appeared over at matthewjames.dk Autumn: Mine and many other people’s favourite time of year. The food is amazing, the fashion and clothing gets more interesting, and the world becomes softer to photograph. But how can you make the most of...

Danish Imports: The Psychologist and her son

Due to some technical issues we're running a little behind here, so let's get back on track with our Danish Imports exhibition from last year's photo exhibition. Today we take a look at the life of Chilean Psychologist Paula and her son. Paula Cavada gives multiple...

Getting Liked on Instagram

Over the last couple of weeks I've been committing myself to setting aside at least an hour every day to concentrate on Social Media. It's something I've been struggling with for quite some time now, as I struggle to find the time, patience or topics to tweet, write...

Copenhagen to Crete, Part Two: An Aggro-Blogging experience

Long Days and Pleasant Nights At a height of 848m above sea level, Father Andreas’ Shepherd’s Shelter - known locally as a Mitato -sits on the slopes of Crete’s highest point, Mount Ida. Getting there with a hangover was not fun, and my drinking companions from the...

From Copenhagen to Crete

Why a late-November trip to the Greek island was just what the doctor ordered The first time I ever tried Greek cuisine - it was goat’s cheese I remember - I had a thumping headache. I was about ten-years-old and my primary school class were doing a project on Ancient...

Danish Imports: The Opera Singer

We've come to the end of our revisit to the Danish Imports exhibition, and today we're finishing off with somebody who I'm very fond of. I hope you've enjoyed reading these interviews and the images that accompany them. A lot of love and time went in to the planning...

Danish Imports: The Freaks

"I won't tell you the name I was born with, because what's a name, anyway?" These are the words of wisdom from the polite, baratone vocals of the tattooed gentleman that is Enigma. Covered from head to toe in jigsaw puzzle tattoos and sporting a pair of silicone horns...

Danish Imports: The Neuropsychologist

Grasia Maria Banegas initially moved to Denmark from Honduras in Central America as a volunteer for MS (Action Aid Denmark), to join an educational program called Global Change, where she trained to become a campaigner and youth facilitator.  Coming from one of the...

Danish Imports: The Psychologist and her son

Due to some technical issues we're running a little behind here, so let's get back on track with our Danish Imports exhibition from last year's photo exhibition. Today we take a look at the life of Chilean Psychologist Paula and her son. Paula Cavada gives multiple...

DO IT FOR MOM (Do it for Denmark)

It's highly unlikely that you've missed this one, but if you're reading this from outside Denmark then you might want to read on. This is the new tagline for a funny commercial that came out recently in Danish media. It’s a video that starts off with an older lady...

To refugee or not to refugee, that is the question

Today I wanted to open up the floor to a close personal friend of mine and fellow expat, Michelle Exarhos. Michelle was born and raised in the United States but is, in fact, half Danish. Here she shares her views on the recent refugee scenario playing out in Denmark...

Danish Imports: The Boxer

The next story from last year's Danish Imports photo exhibition comes from Michal Jezierski, who had a very long and interesting story to tell about his move to Denmark. Michal Jezierski is perhaps one of the friendliest people I’ve ever met and is full of positive,...

Copenhagen Half Marathon Pictures

So did you take part in yesterday's Copenhagen Half Marathon, or know anyone who did? The streets were absolutely alive, especially for the first half of the race where optimism was high and the mood was positive. There were no less than 23.786 runners taking part and...

Danish Imports: The Journalist

Continuing the Danish Imports theme, today we take a look at Brazilian Noemia Colonna's story. “Sometimes it's good to be like the Brazilians," is Noemia Colonna's advice to the Danes. "We're easy-going, more flexible and and not too obsessed about planning and...

Danish Imports: The DJ

This is the third instalment of my Danish Imports blog posts, looking at the stories behind people's decisions to live, work or visit Denmark. Today's story focuses on Danish DJ, Nikolaj Yu Andersen. You can read previous stories about Meriel or Luke if you'd like a...

Danish Imports: The Architect

Today I'll be sharing the second story behind one of my Danish Imports subjects, Luke Lorimer. If you missed the first post then you can read it here. These images were used for my first exhibition, Danish Imports, which was held at Generator Hostel in Copenhagen...

Danish Imports – One Year Later

Exactly 12 months ago I was celebrating my very first photo exhibition here in Copenhagen. It was something I'd been thinking of doing for a couple of years and it was a definite learning curve for me. Not only was I under pressure to include a selection of images I...

It’s Marathon Time

You can't really miss all the maps, posters and warnings that are dotted around the city at the moment. That's right; it's that time of year again where 12,000 people put themselves to the test and run for 26.2 miles. The Nykredit Copenhagen Marathon (to give it its...

Same-Sex marriage in Denmark

Or, how Sasha and Anthony got one step closer to happiness written by Antoaneta Borisova This is the story of Sasha and Anthony, a lovely gay couple, who have been struggling to be together for more than six years now. I use the word “lovely” not because I want this...

Denmark: the land of pork, windmills and same-sex marriage

Or, how Sasha and Anthony got one step closer to happiness written by Antoaneta Borisova This is the story of Sasha and Anthony, a lovely gay couple, who have been struggling to be together for more than six years now. I use the word “lovely” not because I want this...

Red Bull Cliff Diving Returns to CPH

If you've had your head in the sand for the past few weeks (or have just moved to the country) then you might have missed out on some pretty awesome news: the return of Red Bull Cliff Diving to Copenhagen. Back in June 2013, several of the world's bravest athletes...

Danish Photographer wins prestigious prize

World Press Photo of the Year 2014, First Prize Contemporary Issues. Photo by Mads Nissen A photograph that highlights the difficulties facing sexual minorities in Russia has won the World Press Photo contest's top prize. 'Jon and Alex', from a project called...