I always thought the Middle East was just rock and sand and full of fanatical nutters. And so to cast off my ignorance and prejudice I travelled down to the country with probably the worst reputation of all, Syria.
Earlier this year myself and Alina tried entering an Uzbek exclave surrounded entirely by Kyrgyzstan. If you saw the video you will know that we were not allowed in. But we don't give up that easy.
Since we began exploring the former USSR we have discovered all kinds of wonderful examples of Soviet art and technology. However this time I went in search of the biggest prize of all.
This journey that started for me aged 17 in Anna's Russian class has now come to an end. I have been officially banned from Russia for a period of three years. What great memories were created.