Safi believes that writing has three components: style, story and process. He achieves style and story through having a good process, which he breaks down into five “hats”, or forms of behaviour: two in the research and reading phase, and three in the writing phase.
Read MoreEstonia was fantastic, with regional variations that belie its small population. People were keen to share their stories of independence and identity, which shaped my understanding of life in the liminal space between East and West.
Read MoreI found the topic to be very resonant in San Diego, with its large Mexican population, and which runs right up the (already existing) border wall. I really enjoyed San Diego, and wrote about the city, and the border crossing, for Telegraph Online.
Read MoreLeh is buzzing, as locals make the most of the short tourist season. Four-wheel drives zip through town, with boats tied to their roofs for white-water rafting ; the rhythmic tapping of tiny hammers echo from jewellery shops; and Kashmiri merchants, laden with carpets, shift their latest deliveries into freshly-painted shop fronts.
Read MoreThe World Nomads team wanted to interview me for their podcast, and they asked me about Albania, which I travelled to in search of a British World War Two secret mission.
Read MoreEpic journeys; new horizons; themes of courage and endurance; and connecting with a different reality or culture. Words to live by.
Read MoreLike most young boys in the 1980s, I was fascinated by two things: dinosaurs and volcanoes. The vast power of a volcano, spilling forth red lava after a dramatic explosion, inspired excitement and fear.
Read MoreThat was exactly the response I had hoped for. I was at the offices of the Telegraph newspaper, and I had just shown Ben Ross, the travel editor, and Greg Dickinson, the social content editor, my route along the New Iron Curtain.
Read MoreThe journey gave me enormous respect for members of the Special Forces and underlined once again the horror of war.
Read MoreIn June/July 2014, I joined Levison Wood for the Sudan leg of his Walking The Nile expedition. Due to security restrictions, we had to cross the Bayuda Desert at the edge of the Sahara. I wrote the article up for Etihad Inflight Magazine, and you can read it here.
Read MoreBut how does one film one’s adventures in the first place? Camera work is a huge field, with masses of terminology and kit to get your head around, let alone thinking about filming a story, constructing a sequence or planning shots. Most adventurers can barely afford their own expeditions, so paying for a camera-man is out of the question. How, then, does a budding explorer-presenter take his first step into the world of media?
Read MoreBut as much as conditioning, I've been learning how to stop things going wrong in the first place. And central to this, is looking after my feet.
Read MoreGiven the limited surroundings, I'm walking everywhere I can in London. Not only to prepare my body, but to break in my new Altberg desert boots. Check out the video
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