My story

How it started

Growing up in Australia, going somewhere completely unfamiliar and working it out as I went seemed like a big deal, until I did it. That first trip showed me the world is easier to get around than most people think, and a lot more worth seeing.

What I travel for is that feeling of being somewhere new and a bit lost, like standing on the Ala-Kol pass at 3,900m on day four of a horse trek, watching the sun go down over Huacachina from the top of a dune, or looking at the Shanghai skyline from the Bund at 10pm. A lot of the time I'm nowhere near comfortable, and it's completely worth it.

Why I write the guides

Madler Travel started because I kept giving my friends the same advice over and over. Most of it wasn't written down anywhere useful. The guides online were vague, out of date, or clearly written by someone who hadn't been there in years. So I started writing up my routes the way I wish someone had done it for me: the route, how to get around, what everything cost, and the stuff you only find out once you're there.

So far I've written guides for China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Peru, Bolivia and Kazakhstan. I'd rather do a few places properly than rush through a list, and I write each one up while it's fresh so you don't have to start from scratch.