From a young age, self-taught British photographer Alex Gandy dreamed of going on far-flung adventures, inspired by childhood stories of Ernest Shackleton and Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island."
Working as an urban planner in chaotic London, Gandy took up cycling as a temporary escape from city life.
"Zipping through the streets, dodging cars and pedestrians became ... almost a form of meditation," he told Business Insider.
After some hard saving, Gandy came up with a plan. In 2013, he left his job and began training for a massive undertaking: a bike ride across the Asian continent.
Starting in Istanbul, Turkey, Gandy set off on a 15-month journey through 13 countries, encountering hospitality and kindness, as well as countless obstacles, along the way. He used his photography skills to document his travels, keeping a blog of his trip as he went. He also collected money for a charity for children in Nepal.
From a dog bite in Turkey to cluster bombs in Laos, the trip definitely took its toll on Gandy. Still, the freedom and experiences he gained by the nearly 14,000-mile-long adventure were priceless.
"On the road, I could be whoever I wanted to be," he said. "Not everyone has a 22,500-kilometer bike ride to put on their CV."
Gandy has shared photographs from his series, entitled "May Your Footsteps Fall Upon My Eyes."
SEE ALSO: This guy spent 1,000 hours riding Greyhound buses to photograph his 'heroes'
Why a bicycle? "The bicycle gave me the freedom to go just about anywhere I wanted and forced me to travel at such a slow pace that I really got to know the countries I was traveling through," he explained.
"It's remarkable how just being able to say hello to someone you're passing can completely transform your experience of a place," he said. Here, villagers converse on the side of the road in the eastern Turkish town of Savsat.
Gandy spent a couple of hours chatting, drinking tea, and playing backgammon with stall owners in the new market building in the Turkish city of Ardahan.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
NOW WATCH: The most expensive and extravagant vacations in the world