Purpose and Method

Goals

• Live daily life in a way that I can delve into the subjects, issues that interest me, going beyond academic knowledge.
• To know other places, forms and ways of life. Compare, see their similarities and differences. Search for the universal in being.
• Promote intercultural understanding. To know more about the traditions, everyday life of peoples I come across.
• Appreciate the nature of each place. Try to understand more about their forms of life and their environments.
• Follow ancient routes, visit the birthplace of some of the world's religions.Visit places that were the wellspring of some of the greatest ideas of human knowledge

Method

Locomotion

The bicycle is my basic transport technology; it is user and environmentally friendly , economical, simple easy to combine with other modes of transport (boats, planes, trains). I believe it gets a traveler closer to the population of the areas traversed

Shelter

My modes of accommodation are multiple: Camping, Servas hosts, temples, conventional (hotels, guest houses, youth hostels) I try to experience places not only from the tourist perspective but also from that of the local person.

For this I find staying with local hosts invaluable. This can be done both randomly (when one gets invited by strangers) or through an organization such as SERVAS (An organization for promoting peace through cultural exchange)

Sometimes I also visit voluntary communities centered around different foci: religious (temples, monasteries), ethnic (indigenous, tribal settlements), work (artists, craftsmen)

Conventional tourist accommodation gives me a chance to meet other travelers and exchange experiences as well as sometimes giving a rest from re-telling my story for the umpteenth time...In some countries I will try " traditional " traveler lodgings such as Ryokan in Japan.

Camping is also a favorite way of passing the night, especially when I visit nature reserves, as well as emergency accommodation when I can't make it to the next lodging In addition to a tent I carry cooking and other accouterments to create a feeling of home.

Cultural Exchange:

In addition to the one-to-one/many contacts I have through SERVAS and otherwise, I try to reach people through the press and through my internet presence. I usually contact the press in all the countries I visit. Whenever possible, I also try to visit educational institutions, industries and other private and public organizations.

I have used the Internet over the years to keep in touch with people, follow newsgroups and send occasional travel reports to newsletters, travel publications. My hope now is to have a fluid exchange using the tools of the emerging mobile communications technologies.

Experiment with Communications Technologies

Over the years I have developed a strong interest in communications derived from my necessity while traveling. From my first use of e-mail from Universities in different countries, I went to carrying a small handheld computer and land telephone modem( first with acoustic coupler, then modular connection). I am now experimenting with using a GSM cell phone interfaced to my palmtop. Unfortunately the slowness in implementing roaming agreements between countries (especially in emerging nations) as well as the limited signal coverage has frustrated expectations about effortless international mobile communications (using handheld sets). The best hope lies with low-orbit satellite systems such as Irridium, Globalstar, Teledesic,etc..

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