Commander of Awesome
Posts: 23,151
Sep 9, 2011 11:05am
Ever dream about packing up and leaving it all behind? Ten years ago that’s exactly what Keiichi Iwasaki, then 28 years old, did. But he didn’t take a plane or a boat. For the past decade he’s been pedaling his way around the world on a bicycle. It all started in April 2001 when Iwasaki left his home in Maebashi, Japan with just 160 yen, around $2, in his pocket. He intended to bike through Japan, but enjoyed the trip so much that he caught a ferry to South Korea and hasn’t looked back since.
Two years ago we posted about Keiichi’s unusual adventures, which he funds by performing magic tricks on the street. When we last spoke to him, he was in Switzerland, preparing to climb Mont Blanc, Europe’s highest peak. Keiichi not only achieved this goal, but he managed to make it even more impressive than his climb to the summit of Mount Everest.
Summiting Mont Blanc (Photo Courtesy of Keiichi Iwasaki)
“When I climbed Mount Everest, I climbed with 17 members and many Sherpa (mountain guides), so they made the route, fixed the line for us, and made it easier to climb. But on Mount Blanc, I climbed completely alone,” Keiichi told me from his current location on the Adriatic coast of Italy. This meant that he had no one to tie his ropes for him, leaving him vulnerable to slip over the cliff. Keiichi also had no guides so he had to find the trail left by former climbers, which wasn’t always easy. Luckily, he made it to the summit; a moment that Keiichi said made him realize that nature is both beautiful and dangerous.
After this achievement, Keiichi biked to Liechtenstein, Austria, France, Monaco, Malta and Italy using the same bicycle he bought in Spain two years ago (his fifth bike, after two broke and two were stolen).
Keiichi, who has not been back to his native Japan since 2002, says he sometimes misses his family and friends back home, although Skype and email help to stay connected.His parents have visited him five times and a number of friends have met him during his travels. Despite occasional bouts of homesickness, Keiichi plans to keep traveling since he still has the “emotion and curiosity to see the world.”
Keiichi is in no hurry to leave Italy – he’s enjoying the historical architecture and, of course, the “
izza, wine and gelato” – but he hopes to go to Africa next. And in the next five years, he plans to bike his way through North and South America. After that? Perhaps a quick trip back to Japan to eat some “real Japanese food,” and then he hopes to sail around the world by boat.
In the meantime, he’s happy to bike around the world, still funding his trip entirely on magic tricks.
http://intelligenttravel.nationalgeographic.com/2011/09/08/update-man-bikes-around-the-world-with-2-in-pocket/
Two years ago we posted about Keiichi’s unusual adventures, which he funds by performing magic tricks on the street. When we last spoke to him, he was in Switzerland, preparing to climb Mont Blanc, Europe’s highest peak. Keiichi not only achieved this goal, but he managed to make it even more impressive than his climb to the summit of Mount Everest.
Summiting Mont Blanc (Photo Courtesy of Keiichi Iwasaki)“When I climbed Mount Everest, I climbed with 17 members and many Sherpa (mountain guides), so they made the route, fixed the line for us, and made it easier to climb. But on Mount Blanc, I climbed completely alone,” Keiichi told me from his current location on the Adriatic coast of Italy. This meant that he had no one to tie his ropes for him, leaving him vulnerable to slip over the cliff. Keiichi also had no guides so he had to find the trail left by former climbers, which wasn’t always easy. Luckily, he made it to the summit; a moment that Keiichi said made him realize that nature is both beautiful and dangerous.
After this achievement, Keiichi biked to Liechtenstein, Austria, France, Monaco, Malta and Italy using the same bicycle he bought in Spain two years ago (his fifth bike, after two broke and two were stolen).
Keiichi, who has not been back to his native Japan since 2002, says he sometimes misses his family and friends back home, although Skype and email help to stay connected.His parents have visited him five times and a number of friends have met him during his travels. Despite occasional bouts of homesickness, Keiichi plans to keep traveling since he still has the “emotion and curiosity to see the world.”
<DL style="WIDTH: 442px" id=attachment_15464 class="wp-caption aligncenter"><DT class=wp-caption-dt></DT></DL>
<DD class=wp-caption-dd>Performing magic tricks in Italy (Photo courtesy of Keiichi Iwasaki)<DL></DL></DD>
<DD class=wp-caption-dd>Performing magic tricks in Italy (Photo courtesy of Keiichi Iwasaki)<DL></DL></DD>Keiichi is in no hurry to leave Italy – he’s enjoying the historical architecture and, of course, the “
izza, wine and gelato” – but he hopes to go to Africa next. And in the next five years, he plans to bike his way through North and South America. After that? Perhaps a quick trip back to Japan to eat some “real Japanese food,” and then he hopes to sail around the world by boat.In the meantime, he’s happy to bike around the world, still funding his trip entirely on magic tricks.
http://intelligenttravel.nationalgeographic.com/2011/09/08/update-man-bikes-around-the-world-with-2-in-pocket/
justincredible
Posts: 32,056
Sep 9, 2011 11:06am
I biked around the world twice with $1 in my pocket, so NBD.
But seriously, that is pretty cool.
But seriously, that is pretty cool.
karen lotz
Posts: 22,284
Sep 9, 2011 11:06am
Longest link ever
gorocks99
Posts: 10,760
Sep 9, 2011 11:06am
link?
justincredible
Posts: 32,056
Sep 9, 2011 11:07am
Also, he looks like an Asian Joey Votto.
like_that
Posts: 26,625
Sep 9, 2011 11:07am
Well, we obviously know this wasn't LJ.
Nice link fail though.
Nice link fail though.
Commander of Awesome
Posts: 23,151
Sep 9, 2011 11:09am
Yeah I noticed, not sure how that happened. Fixed.karen lotz;888858 wrote:Longest link ever
LJ
Posts: 16,351
Sep 9, 2011 11:20am
SUPER AWESOME PWN DUDE!!!!like_that;888861 wrote:Well, we obviously know this wasn't LJ.
Anyway, that is pretty fucking awesome.
Heretic
Posts: 18,820
Sep 9, 2011 12:21pm
I might actually feel envy for someone now. That dude has the life!
se-alum
Posts: 13,948
Sep 9, 2011 12:24pm
That is pretty cool.
Scarlet_Buckeye
Posts: 5,264
Sep 9, 2011 1:31pm
How the HELL is this guy earning enough by performing MAGIC TRICKS...
(insert Arrested Development quote...
(insert Arrested Development quote...
... to travel AROUND THE WORLD?!?! Mind boggling.Michael Bluth: So this is the magic trick, huh?
George Oscar 'Gob' Bluth: Illusion, Michael. A trick is something a whore does for money...
Commander of Awesome
Posts: 23,151
Sep 9, 2011 1:43pm
Doubt he's living the high life though the article doesn't specify. If you're sleeping outside for free I could see making enough to eat/buy hiking gear.Scarlet_Buckeye;889013 wrote:How the HELL is this guy earning enough by performing MAGIC TRICKS...
... to travel AROUND THE WORLD?!?! Mind boggling.
password
Posts: 2,360
Sep 9, 2011 11:46pm
I hope he stays in Italy, we have enough homeless people to take care of over here.
hoops23
Posts: 15,696
Sep 10, 2011 2:08am
Pretty cool.
Tobias Fünke
Posts: 2,387
Sep 10, 2011 2:30am
Scarlet_Buckeye;889013 wrote:How the HELL is this guy earning enough by performing MAGIC TRICKS...
(insert Arrested Development quote...
I think I love you.
brutus161
Posts: 1,686
Sep 10, 2011 9:47pm
Whatever. The world paid me 5 bucks to bike around me.justincredible;888857 wrote:I biked around the world twice with $1 in my pocket, so NBD.
But seriously, that is pretty cool.