Friday, February 01, 2008

A pilgrimage for humanity

A British man has started a walk to India without using money, relying on the goodwill of people along the way or working for bed and board, he said Wednesday.

Former dotcom businessman Mark Boyle, from Bristol, aims to end up at Mahatma Gandhi's birthplace after the 9,000-mile trek, which he reckons will take him about two and a half years.

"I've 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 15 and 45 miles a day, he plans to work his way down through France, Italy, eastern Europe, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan before reaching Gandhi's birthplace of Porbandar on India's west coast.

Boyle describes himself as a 'freeeconomist'- a movement which began in United States and aims to create a moneyless society. On his blog, Boyle said he will also account for how it feels physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually to walk to India - the highs and the lows, the good days, the non-so-apparently good days and the days when he is on the edge of despair!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing this. It will be very interesting to follow this event,