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I rode a moped from Thailand to England. This is what it taught me

Alex Pope
Nirish Shakya Harry Jackson sits on a moped. He has short dark hair and a beard and is wearing a T-shirt, cream-coloured top, a necklace and shorts, He is by a building with foliage all around him.Nirish Shakya
Harry Jackson rode his moped from Thailand to England, via countries including Nepal, India, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates

Six years ago, Harry Jackson's life was "a mess".

Addicted to drugs and alcohol, he was admitted to hospital and, after getting the treatment he needed, decided he needed to change his life.

Now a YouTuber, he has made a "vlogumentary" film called Thailand to UK: 498 days – A Moped and a Dream about a life-affirming adventure he undertook.

Jackson, 29, from Felixstowe, Suffolk, posts as We Hate The Cold to his 742,000 YouTube subscribers and 211,000 Instagram followers.

We Hate The Cold Harry Jackson poses on a moped, with his left thumb up. There are rocks behind him and a large handpainted sign featuring the name and altitude of the mountain pass, along with some colourful flags. He is pointing to the sign, wearing boots, trousers, a jacket, holding a helmet and wearing a jacket. We Hate The Cold
Jackson's journey took him over one of the world's highest mountain passes, in India

Three years ago, after ending his DJ career and selling a website he had created, he decided to travel the world.

"I first went to Thailand to learn to speak the language but thought 'What could I do if I had no limits?' and that was to motorbike from Thailand to England," he says.

"I wanted to see things and experience things. I was 27 at the time and I'm not getting any younger.

"People my age were settling down, having children and buying houses, but I thought this might be the last time I could be free, so I thought I would seize the opportunity.

"I wanted to do something cool."

We Hate The Cold Harry Jackson, to the right of the picture, stands by a building in Iraq with six people. They are all smiling and looking at the camera. We Hate The Cold
Iraq was not what Jackson expected, he said

So began his trip on a Honda CT125 bike named Baby Sai that started on 26 July 2024 and finished on 10 December 2025 at Harwich, Essex.

He took an indirect route, clocking up 27,000 miles (43,000km).

Having previously run a 50-mile (80km) ultramarathon to raise £5,000 and awareness for the charities Taking Action on Addiction (TAOA) and Mind, he decided to use his epic ride to raise more funds for TAOA as he believes addicts "can be looked down on".

We Hate The Cold Harry Jackson is standing by ruins in Iraq. He is looking to the right of the frame and standing by a large pile of rubble. He is wearing a light-coloured jacket, brown gilet and has short dark hair and a beard. We Hate The Cold
Jackson saw at first hand the remains of Saddam Hussein's palace in Iraq

His trip took him through countries including Laos, Nepal, India, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iraq and Turkey, and then home via a host of European countries.

"Iraq was an eye-opener. All I ever heard about was the danger, but the lens I went with was shattered," he says.

"I could not have been more wrong about that place. I was welcomed into people's homes, who gave me food and made me safe."

In Nepal, he witnessed – and documented – protests that brought down the government.

"My video about its revolution got 33 million views and it went global," he says.

We Hate The Cold Harry Jackson pictured with a large group of people, in Nepal. They are in a room, all smiling and looking at the camera. Some women are sitting or kneeling and the rest are standing up. Many have their thumbs up. We Hate The Cold
One highlight of the journey was taking part in Dashain celebrations in Nepal

"I'm a bit famous in Nepal. If you walk down the road with me in Kathmandu, they stop me for selfies, which is really strange.

"I was making all these videos before, but that video shot me to a YouTube career overnight."

On his epic journey, he says: "It's totally changed my world view.

"We all have our one home, and our home is Earth and we all want the same thing.

"I realise I am far more capable than I was. At the start, everything was scary and worrying but then more and more happened and you become capable of dealing with it."

We Hate The Cold Harry Jackson, pictured with a large group of people in a room, all standing up and smiling. He is in the middle, with a scarf around his neck. We Hate The Cold
Jackson says he is "now a bit famous" in Nepal

Most importantly, it taught him that "the world is amazing and a lot less harmful than we think".

He also found out people were "much more generous" than he realised.

"There's just no difference between people in the world; everyone is kind of the same," he says.

"If you treat people with respect and love, often you get it back."

We Hate The Cold Harry Jackson on a moped, by a large passenger ferry, at Harwich docks. He is holding up a union jack and has a helmet on his handlebars. He is smiling and has short dark hair and a beard. We Hate The Cold
Jackson arrived back at Harwich in December

Jackson's film can be seen on YouTube and will be shown at the Adventure Bike Rider Festival, at Ragley Hall, Worcestershire, from 26-28 June.

"I've got the world's best job – I love it," he says.

"If you trust in humanity, then everything comes back to good eventually."

Details of information and support with addiction are available at BBC Action Line.

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