BRITON PLANS TO WALK TO INDIA SANS MONEY
A British man is planning to walk to India without using money. He expects to rely on the goodwill of people along the way or work for bed and board.
Former dotcom businessman Mark Boyle, from Bristol, aims to reach Mahatma Gandhi’s birthplace after the 14,500-km trek. He reckons it will take him about two and a half years.
“I have got some sunscreen, a good knife, a spoon, a bandage… no Visa card, no travellers’ cheques, no bank accounts, zero. I won’t actually touch money along the way.” The 28-year-old told BBC radio.
Walking between 25 km to 70 km a day, he plan to work his way through France, Italy, eastern Europe, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan before reaching Porbandar.
On his blog, Mr.Boyle said he was setting off on Wednesday. “I will start writing a new chapter in my life. From this point on I endeavour to never touch money again,” he wrote at www.justfortheloveofit.org/blog.php.
Describing the trip as a “pilgrimage,” he said he aims to demonstrate a “harvest philosophy” in which people can live by sharing skills rather than using cash.
“My mum and dad always speak about a time in Ireland when people came together and took in the harvest together, and no money changed hands,” he said in his soft Irish accent.
“It was your friend John down the street or Mike round the corner and everyone came together and chipped in. But now folks tell me back home that they don’t even know anybody in the street anymore, the door is always locked. My message is, we have got to get back to a time where actually we have got to open those doors and get back to a communal way of living,” added Boyle, who describes himself as a “freeeconomist”.
Having traveled in Asia before, he believes he should be alright there. But he expects the phase of leaving Britain and traveling through Europe to pose problems.
Courtesy: AFP/The Hindu, Madurai, January 31, 2008
A British man is planning to walk to India without using money. He expects to rely on the goodwill of people along the way or work for bed and board.
Former dotcom businessman Mark Boyle, from Bristol, aims to reach Mahatma Gandhi’s birthplace after the 14,500-km trek. He reckons it will take him about two and a half years.
“I have got some sunscreen, a good knife, a spoon, a bandage… no Visa card, no travellers’ cheques, no bank accounts, zero. I won’t actually touch money along the way.” The 28-year-old told BBC radio.
Walking between 25 km to 70 km a day, he plan to work his way through France, Italy, eastern Europe, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan before reaching Porbandar.
On his blog, Mr.Boyle said he was setting off on Wednesday. “I will start writing a new chapter in my life. From this point on I endeavour to never touch money again,” he wrote at www.justfortheloveofit.org/blog.php.
Describing the trip as a “pilgrimage,” he said he aims to demonstrate a “harvest philosophy” in which people can live by sharing skills rather than using cash.
“My mum and dad always speak about a time in Ireland when people came together and took in the harvest together, and no money changed hands,” he said in his soft Irish accent.
“It was your friend John down the street or Mike round the corner and everyone came together and chipped in. But now folks tell me back home that they don’t even know anybody in the street anymore, the door is always locked. My message is, we have got to get back to a time where actually we have got to open those doors and get back to a communal way of living,” added Boyle, who describes himself as a “freeeconomist”.
Having traveled in Asia before, he believes he should be alright there. But he expects the phase of leaving Britain and traveling through Europe to pose problems.
Courtesy: AFP/The Hindu, Madurai, January 31, 2008
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