Ben Leo Hollis

A few years ago I cycled from the UK to Australia. I just released a new video covering the latest part of that trip! 🚲

Check it out by clicking below!⬇️

I Cycled Solo Through The Balkans And Met A Bear Episode 4 of my trip cycling solo from the UK to Australia.Subscribe to see the next episode, coming soon!Follow me on instagram at

The Jeepneys of Manila.

In the Philippines megacity capital, without a metro or a fully-connected rail network, public transport consists of 'jeepneys', which race around its congested grid of streets.

After WW2, the US left a surplus of military jeeps, and the original jeepneys were converted by hand into the elongated, highly decorated jeepneys of today's Manila.

The Philippines was the first colony of the USA, after Spain sold the islands to them in 1898. To this day, the US exerts a massive influence on the Philippines, ranging from the insane popularity of the NBA there, the ubiquity of fast food joints (spot the Jollibee in the last picture), and the vast number of Filipinos who work in the US and send money back home.

Filipino food is definitely more Spanish influenced though, from its earlier colonial ruler, and many of the dishes feature lots of fatty, fried pork, similar to snacks across Spain.
If you're Spanish and buy turrón though, it's not a nougat snack as in Spain but 'turon', a deep-fried banana, and it's soooo good.

Manila used to be known as the Pearl of Asia, and was one of the richest cities in the Eastern Hemisphere. Tragically, it was bombed heavily by both Japanese and Americans during WW2, destroying almost the entire centre and making it the most badly damaged city in the entire global conflict.

As a result, today it's known more for its chaotic traffic than its architectural beauty, but its definitely a super interesting city, with really friendly people, amazing food and a lot to learn.

faces of PNG - n°.3

find out more about tree planting in the eastern highlands at the link in my bio

faces of PNG - n°.2

faces of PNG - n°.1

Angisaro, Angambere and Brian wash in the river. Keremu, Papua New Guinea.

The bush knife is an essential part of life in PNG's Highlands. It's used to clear a path through the bush, to dig steps into otherwise slippery muddy paths, and to cut crops like sugar cane and bananas.

In this instance, the bush knife is used to cut long grass, known as 'pikpik', to dam the river. This is done to make the stream deep enough to submerge yourself in, the few opportunities these mountain boys get to practice their swimming.

All bathing, drinking and washing of clothes and dishes is done in the mountain streams surrounding villages, aside from a couple of taps installed by missionaries in village centres. In villages further down valleys, pollution in these water sources is a bigger problem due to more villages being upstream. Therefore, locals try to use water only very early or late in the day in these places, generally before or after villages upstream are releasing contaminants.

To find out more about PNG, visit the links in my bio. linktr.ee/benleohollis

Bubumary. Keremu, Papua New Guinea.

Funerals in the Eastern Highlands highlight the area's complex gift-giving culture and customs.

After the tragic passing of Bubuman, Bubumary sits by his coffin in this photo. This is adorned with clothes brought by the local community, which will be given to the maternal uncles of the deceased after the burial has happened. These are given based on the involvement of these uncles in the deceased life.

Funerals occur over several days, as relatives come to gather and mourn from surrounding villages and communities. They often culminate in a mumu (feast), in which a pig is killed and cooked in celebration.

To find many more posts like this, scroll down on my feed.

And to find out more about ecotourism opportunities in Papua New Guinea, visit the links in my bio. linktr.ee/benleohollis

Brian on the way to Wesan, Papua New Guinea.

While hiking through the bush, plants are often worn as decorations, especially by children. These can include leaves like those shown above, or moposo (ferns).

This photo was taken on the long hike to the remote village of Wesan, in the Bismarck Ramu Ranges mountains. Villages here aren't connected by road, and require tough mountain hikes to reach adjacent villages, often taking several days. These villages are now often inhabited by very small numbers of people, and rely exclusively on subsistence farming of crops like kaukau (sweet potato) for survival.

To find out more about visiting Papua New Guinea, including completing the challenging 'Wesan Trail' multi-day hike, check out the links in my bio. linktr.ee/benleohollis

Jerry on Mount Hurusasa. Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea.

Customary land ownership is complex in Papua New Guinea, with a patchwork of land belonging to each village and family. In the Daulo District, each village has ownership of a mountain adjacent to the village, and Keremu village's mountain known as Hurusasa.

This mountain is covered in thick bush, and needs the expertise of older chiefs to navigate. At the top, there are a set of caves which are a spiritual site for the village, being a place of crucial importance for local gods and ancestors. A set of traditional rules are thus applied, and eating, talking loudly, and mentioning certain words is forbidden on the mountain.

Mount Hurusasa can be hiked with the help of local guides, by staying at the newly-created Daulo Ecolodge homestay nearby.

To find out more about visiting Papua New Guinea and staying in the Daulo Ecolodge, or about local tree-planting initiatives in the area, visit the links in my bio. linktr.ee/benleohollis

Chief Kins chops timber for a new house. Ambiamto, Papua New Guinea.

Chief Kins, an elder of the village of Ambiamto, here chops rainbow eucalyptus trees for use in a new house, with men carrying the timber down to the site of the house.

Behind Kins, you can see the deforested hills of the Eastern Highlands, which have been cleared over the last few hundred years for use as firewood, or gardens. Bananas, kaukau (sweet potato), coffee and taro are some of the main crops grown, mainly for a subsistence farming lifestyle.

To find out more about visiting Papua New Guinea and staying in the Daulo Ecolodge nearby, or about local tree-planting initiatives in the area. Visit the links in my bio. linktr.ee/benleohollis

Phillip goes fishing. Keremu, Papua New Guinea

In the village of Keremu, children often spend free time hunting. This can be in the forests, using catapults to kill birds or cuscus (a nocturnal, possum-like marsupial), which can have serious effects on local wildlife populations.

In this photo, Phillip is holding a spear which has a short bit of elastic attached, used to fire the spear at fish. He also uses goggles to look under rocks where rainbow trout shelter from the rapid flow of the mountain stream.

To find out more about visiting Papua New Guinea and staying in the Daulo Ecolodge nearby, or about local tree-planting initiatives in the area. Visit the links in my bio. linktr.ee/benleohollis

In June and July, I travelled on my own to a remote village in Papua New Guinea's Highlands. In partnership with WWF, I helped a small community organisation expand their tree planting and sustainable farming initiatives, to increase tree cover in the area, and create sustainable local livelihoods.

This helps support the intact cloud forests adjacent to the villages, and I also helped document the wildlife they have there. As well as this, I spread awareness in the village and local schools, about the drastic impacts that local hunting is having on fauna populations. It's done using catapults, often by very young children.

We also documented the first ever Doria's tree kangaroo individual in the local area using a camera trap (See image). The species is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN.

In addition to this, we've started an ecotourism initiative in the village, to produce more sustainable income for the villages and promote protection of the forests long-term.

To find out more, check out their newly created websites and videos (link in my bio), at:

DauloCommodities.com and DauloEcolodge.com

website photography, video and design by me

Four off-duty policeman pose in the countryside outside the small town of Spitak, Armenia. In 1988, Spitak gained international attention in the most tragic of circumstances, as a 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit Armenia, with Spitak at its epicentre. The nearby city of Gyumri, then named Leninakan under Soviet leadership, had most of its centre destroyed instantly, with thousands of deaths, and Spitak was, according to some reports, 'wiped off the face of the earth'.
Today though, although memorials of people of all ages remain visible around the region, the people have turned to other things, and these men waved me over to eat and drink by the roadside all afternoon. The drink of choice? Russian vodka, not Armenia's famous cognac, paired with stews, vegetables and plenty of lavash.

A boy says a prayer at Geghard Monastery on Genocide Memorial Day in Armenia.
On the 24th April every year, the nation falls silent, and the population make their way to holy sites to pay their respects to the hundreds of thousands of Armenians who died at the hands of the Ottoman empire. Geghard Monastery, in the mountains outside of the country's capital Yerevan, is one of the oldest of these sites, and is carved directly into the mountain's rock face.

Armenia has a population of 3 million, however some estimates put this as less than 40% of all ethnic Armenians, with millions of Armenians fleeing the country in the years following World War I to escape the genocide, with large diaspora communities around the world including in the US.
The impacts of this historical trauma affect the entire region to this day, and contributes to Armenia's closer ties to Russia than its neighbours, with its relations with Turkey, Georgia and Ukraine being less hospitable, and with Ukraine, Turkey and many other countries officially refusing to recognise the genocide.

In April and May, I cycled around Armenia and Georgia, two countries which have for generations found themselves at the meeting point of different empires, from the Byzantines and the Persians in the past, to Russian, Turkish, Chinese and Western powers today.
Home to two of the oldest known languages and writing systems in the world, the countries are also home to amazing food, from լավաշ to ხაჭაპური, and people so friendly that I didn't need to get my tent out much (although I did because the landscapes are stunning).
The landscape is unforgiving at times, with much of the two countries being at high altitude, sitting amongst either the Greater Caucasus or Lesser Caucasus mountain range, with this being all the more challenging since the countries are very much still developing economically, and a very large proportion of Armenia's population is directly involved in agriculture, out shepherding sheep on high, harsh plateaus, where I cycled in snow even in May.
The landscape isn't the only challenge people in the region face, and as they find themselves at the interface of different empires and ideologies, it's often a hub of migration between different regions. Currently, their cities find themselves filled not only with Ukrainians, but also with hordes of young Russians seeking to find a new way of living, for both economic and political reasons.
As a result of this constant mixing, the South Caucasus isn't always a harmonious place, with war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, historic trauma between Armenia and Turkey, and closer ties between Armenia and Russia than Georgia would like, but, especially with blossoming tourism, the region and its people seem filled with hope about the years to come.

Episode 3: LANDSLIDE IN THE ALPS, out now on YouTube.
covering one month of cycling, from the UK all the way to Venice, Italy, on my way to Australia. Featuring some dramatic scenes

Go watch, subscribe and share this post!!! ;))

https://youtu.be/ydyC32UPm_w

out tomorrow: TACKLING THE ALPS BY BIKE. episode 3!

Set yourselves a reminder and go catch up on the last 2 episodes!

Watch EPISODE TWO: WHEN COWS ATTACK now on youtube!

Featuring beautiful scenery, suprise guests and aNIMALs, detailing the first chapter of my journey

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn_Jor1lcXM

When Cows Attack: Day 1 Cycling to Australia

Some of my photography is currently being exhibited at LCB Depot, will be there until Friday 25th March!

Leicester people go check it out while you wait for the next episode of the SOLCYCLE this Sunday;)

HOW TO CYCLE AROUND THE WORLD (with almost no money) VIDEO is OUT NOW

Link below: go like, comment, subscribe and show some love by sharing this post if you feel like it!!! Next video next Sunday!!!!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pz7F6oHxSAU

TOMORROW, 4PM UK TIME, it begins!

TWO DAYS until I'll be launching the first episode of my new YOUTUBE video series that I've been working on!!
There will be videos EVERY SUNDAY starting from this week, detailing my adventures cycling solo from England to Australia, and wildcamping, on a seriously low budget.

My old videos are now online so click the LINK BELOW, SUBSCRIBE and get excited!!!!!

share and set a reminder if you feel like it and spread the lurve


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KZQHAjJ-N-M

An open letter to Daily Express columnist Carole Malone:

[email protected] ; Subject: Immigration Article

Dear Carole,

I'm referring to your column from 15th August 2020, which I recently found in a pile of papers, which I found quite distressing (title: 'Channel boat people taking us for mugs').

I'm a 20-year-old white student, and my age puts me in the so-called 'snowflake generation', and has also made me lucky enough to grow up in Leicester, now Europe's first white-minority city, surrounded by the diversity that makes Britain great. It is what makes my city dynamic, international, open-minded, adaptable and incredible. My sixth-form college was incredibly diverse, largely Muslim, which meant I was surrounded in my classes with a driven work ethic to succeed that I never had in my whiter secondary schools. I was the only white person in some of my classes, and in fact, the other white students in some of my classes dropped out after messing around and failing their exams- this meant I made new great friends that not only had similar interests and hobbies, but also had different backgrounds, different family dynamics and responsibilities; many of my friends didn't have the freedom I enjoyed as they had to work to support their families and were more strictly driven to succeed in academia. One of my best friends recently told me how his parents, married in Somalia, torn apart by war, had to live apart for 6 years until they both separately made their way to Europe and, with enormous difficulty, eventually managed to secure asylum in different countries and then were reunited. Most aren't so lucky.

Last year I cycled from the UK to Australia for a year raising money for the charity Stand Against Racism and Inequality. I went through 31 countries, most much less developed than the UK, and the biggest lesson I was taught by the journey was the absolutely vast, omnipresent impact of colonialism. I am now at university in London, the city I view as probably the greatest in the world, and I now realise that the reason it is so great, so international and so historic is because for hundreds of years we pillaged the resources and labour of most of the world, and stowed it away in the buildings, artefacts and ongoing economic prosperity of London and our country.
When you say in your article that 'we simply can't' take in refugees, I humbly ask you to reconsider our responsibility as citizens of this great country. We have an economic position that most in the world will never be able to imagine. Due to the value of our passport, currency and minimum wage, we can travel the world, something that most of the friends I made on my cycling trip in villages in India, Myanmar and Indonesia will never be able to do. Their countries were owned by us, their resources taken and their economies suppressed as we cemented ourself as the sole powerhouse of the global economy alongside other European nations. I obviously agree for checks to be made on those arriving here, but I personally don't feel I have any right to tell the '4,300 people' that have arrived this year by tiny boats, people that risk their lives and leave their lives and loved ones behind crossing the sea to this country, that they don't deserve prosperity in the UK and I do.
You are a hero, in a way, to millions in this country. My dear, dear grandparents read the Daily Express and, I'm sure, are influenced by your columns in their subconscious feelings towards their diverse neighbourhood, in their voting and in their view of this country. Many older people believe this country is in many ways a crumbling wreck, which has lost what makes it great. I'm humbly asking you to reconsider your view; this country is amazing in so many ways, and central to all of these is our international status, our diversity, open-mindedness and sense of global responsibility. I hope that one day you can share my vision of our beautiful country, which I think is a much more productive view and has allowed me to enjoy the riches that come with globalisation, immigration and diversity- and maybe, just maybe, through your success, your reputation and the platform you have, or just your conversations, you can one day transmit this perspective to someone else.

Many thanks,

Ben Leo Hollis
www.benleohollis.com

Also:
If you have 3 minutes spare, this is an amazing video of a refugee rejected for asylum in the UK:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTdC7QIGJ1w&feature=emb_logo&ab_channel=ImperialWarMuseums

If you have a couple of hours spare, I'd highly recommend the films 'The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind' and 'Beasts of No Nation', both available on Netflix, which show a group of people not usually portrayed in films
If you have an afternoon spare, and live in London, I'd highly recommend the free exhibition 'Refugees: Forced to Flee' at the Imperial War Museum if Tier 2 allows, especially the incredibly moving footage from inside a refugee camp in Greece.All people have different perspectives on all issues, and some of these things have shaped mine. Thank you.

Article:
"Channel Boat People taking us for mugs" by Carole Malone, August 2020

we goin up there chief

Bleak is beautiful.

Months of identical blue skies had made me miss sexy, unpredictable rugged nature. Victoria's landscapes reminded me of a less human-influenced UK, where I was about to return, so even though it was freezing, my camera constantly had rain on the lens and I kept getting literally blown off the road- i lurved it @ Great Ocean Road, Australia

What dyou get when you cross untamed Antarctic winds with thousands of miles of ocean? Huuuuge freezing waves, which carve Australian rock like its clay, leaving a few crazily-adapted plants clinging on through the freezing gusts as black coast recedes under white waves. What's even crazier is the thought that the Traditional Owners of the land, the Kurrae Wurrong people, managed to survive here with v basic clothing in these wildest of environments.

The Aboriginal people of Australia, like so many non-white peoples, were decimated, exploited and abused by white people, who still benefit today from the natural wealth that was seized from them, as they strained to repopulate the country with whites only, with darker-skinned peoples in nearby Asia deemed unworthy residents apart from as forced labourers. Nevertheless, despite an overwhelming repent and apology by most Australians, even over the course of my short trip in Australia I witnessed hate speech scrawled on walls against ethnic minorities. Even at this coastal site I found racist stickers, fuelled from the 'free speech' hate speech of western politicians Fraser Anning or Donald Trump.

I chatted to someone from Melbourne on a train in vietnam, who described how violent Sudanese immigrants had 'invaded' his home city. This hurt, coming from a man living in a city which survives on its status as a diversity hub, and from a man who's race invaded this land and brutalized its occupants.