Paul Theroux, Bill Bryson, Michael Palin all have ventured forth to provide vivid and compelling accounts of exotic peoples and strange lands. But none has ever been daring (or perhaps stupid) enough to arrive in a country not knowing a single thing about the place. Until now.

In the spirit of Stanley and Livingstone, Brian Thacker set out for far-flung lands armed with nothing more than an air ticket and an armful of immunisation shots. He didn't know the local language, the currency or even the climate of the various places he was heading for; not to mention their political, religious or cultural situations. He didn't take a guidebook; he didn't even do a quick web search.

And so it was that Brian found himself on an incredible journey that would see him set up home inside Gabon airport; dodge civil unrest in Togo; receive a history lesson from a Ghanaian prostitute; anger the Vodou gods of Cotonou; gatecrash the King of Futuna's party; become lost in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan; and narrowly avoid being shot in the backstreets of Bishkek.

Brian Thacker has so far managed to get himself lost in 72 countries. He doesn't have his own pith helmet, but he does own a lovely beige safari suit. When he's not lost in the African jungle Brian lives in Melbourne with his wife Natalie and daughter Jasmine.