My first overseas trip took me to Buenos Aires in 1992 to play chess. These maps follow the cities I’ve visited since, from tournament halls in Europe to family holidays closer to home.
Cities & towns
93
Countries visited
27
Australian places
33
First overseas trip
1992
South America
Buenos Aires
Argentina / 1992
I travelled to Buenos Aires for the World Junior Chess Championship. It was my first overseas trip.
Asia
Singapore
Singapore / 1994
I first visited in 1994 and returned in September 2023.
Budapest to Niš and back · 1994 I stopped in Subotica and walked across the border. The line sketches the rail corridor in both directions. The exact crossing and the two border-town names are unknown.
Bergen to Trondheim by rail · c. 2005 Likely route via Oslo, following the Bergen and Dovre lines. The dashed line follows the rail corridor approximately. Bergen Line · Dovre Line
Helsinki to Kuopio by car · 2018 We drove north from Helsinki. The line shows a likely route via Lahti, Heinola, Mikkeli and Varkaus.
Europe
London
United Kingdom / 1994
I played the Lloyds Bank Masters in London.
North America
Los Angeles
United States / 2026
On our first day in Los Angeles we walked around downtown as a family. I’d waited years to get to the US and I couldn’t stop smiling.
Most memorable trip
North America, for the first day in Los Angeles alone. I’d wanted to visit the US for years, to see it for myself and make up my own mind. That first day, walking around downtown LA with my family, I couldn’t stop smiling. We were finally there.
Where I’d like to go next
China. Every time I see it in the news, I come back to the same question. Where does the propaganda end and the truth begin? We’re planning a family trip to mainland China so I can see it for myself.
Otherwise, the world’s a big place. I’ve only seen a small part of it, and I don’t feel like I’m missing out. There are plenty of places in Queensland alone I’ve never been. My father-in-law is quite proud that he’s been to Uluru (Ayers Rock) and I haven’t.
Travel by year
Select a place to see it on the map. Airport-only connections are excluded.
1984
1992
1994
I travelled from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, flew to Rome, then went on to Zürich, Biel, London, Hastings, Moscow and back to Amsterdam. Another leg took me from Livorno to Corsica. I also went from Budapest to Niš and back, stopped in Subotica and crossed the border on foot.
1997
2000
I went to Istanbul for the Chess Olympiad.
2005
I lived in Vilnius for a time.
c. 2005
Around 2005 I travelled through Scandinavia with my girlfriend, now my wife. We visited Stockholm and Oslo, and took the train from Bergen to Trondheim.
2015
c. 2017
We visited Bangkok, stayed on Phuket and went to James Bond Island in Phang Nga Bay.
2018
We drove from Helsinki to Kuopio.
2019–20
We visited Hanoi in December 2019 and spent 1 January 2020 on a boat cruise in Ha Long Bay.
2023
2024–25
Our family trip to Italy, France and Switzerland, December 2024 to January 2025.
2026
Year to add
Closer to home
Cities, islands and country towns, with a closer look at the places between Dirranbandi, the Granite Belt and Brisbane.
33 places across five states and the ACT.
A closer look · Southern Queensland
Australian places
Select a marker or a place name below to see its story.
A personal record, still unfolding. More places, dates, photographs and stories will find their way onto this map over time.
Map outlines: Natural Earth (public domain). City pins mark approximate centres. Island, bay and regional pins mark approximate locations. Current boundaries are used for historical visits. The totals count each settlement once, include Australia and Thailand, and count Hong Kong under China. The city and town total excludes islands, stretches of coast, peninsulas, regional visits and the rainforest retreat.