Nathan Leroy, host of Under the Sun, is in his 30s and from London, England. He was born in Leicester, England, but moved to London when he was 11.
As a child growing up, Nathan would spend hours looking at the atlas and the world map he had on his wall, fantasizing about all the places he might one day visit. However, he had no idea how much traveling he would one day do.
When Nathan was 21, he decided to pack his bags and see what life had to offer outside of London. He took off on what he thought would be a one-year trip.
He packed light, taking just a backpack on a plane to Istanbul, Turkey. His intention was to go on to India, but his timing was wrong because it was the middle of monsoon season. Instead, he decided to take his time and journey some of the old silk route. It was not really possible to do the complete route, which would have included going through Afghanistan.
He spent six months traveling through Turkey, Iran and Pakistan before crossing the border between Lahore and Amritsar to get to India. It was a beautiful journey, he said. But, he said that as he got deeper into the journey he began to realize that it is the people that really brought places alive. This was very apparent in Iran, where he found that people had as much, if not more, interest in him as he did for their country and culture.
After visiting Iran, he headed to Pakistan. Nathan found Pakistan to be a diverse country with many different tribes, customs and people, who have not changed their way of life since before the time of Alexander the Great. The people of Pakistan were happy to share their secrets with Nathan. There are three mountain ranges meeting in the north of the country: the Karakorums, the Hindu Kush and the great Himalayas. Nathan took a trek near Gilgit, Pakistan. The city has an elevation of more than 5,000 feet. Nathan went places that had an elevation of more than 9,000 feet, which he said was an amazing view. But, he said, it was also a very dangerous place if you are not prepared and at times he was sure that he wasn't going to get down with his life.
