Mumbai scribe's curious no-frill globe-trotting

Mumbai, Jun 19: A Mumbai-based journalist has embarked on a globe-trotting journey and his is no oft-beaten path. Vishnudas Chapke, who quit his journalism job after working with few English newspapers, has decided to traverse the countries with hitch-hiking and using other cost-saving ways.

He has a shoe-string budget, barely sufficient to manage the paperwork and procedures that are needed for international travel. Starting his sojourn from Mumbai on March 19, he has covered four countries and is currently in Hanoi, capital of Vietnam.

Chapke asks for a lift from fellow commuters to cover the distances. For night halt, he requests local residents for shelter, and if that is not available, he sleeps in the open or stays at temples, pagodas and bus stations.

Once, after running out of money in the middle of the journey, he posted on Facebook seeking monetary support. "A few strangers, besides some friends responded," he said. "My plan is to circumnavigate the globe by land in 20 months.

I would use water transport only in case of reaching the nearest port to continue my surface journey," he said. "From Vietnam, I plan to go to Australia in a freighter, and am waiting for necessary permissions and more financial assistance," Chapke said.

PTI