Soliloquy of a Wandering Pilgrim

In 2012, I embarked on an inspired journey across Africa with my bicycle. I started off from the small town of Nanyuki in Kenya and finished pedaling in Walvis Bay, Namibia. 49 days on the road, 5 countries and 4500 kilometers later I realized that I have met the 'Real' Africa- its people. However the details of my journey can be found by visiting the following link : (http://himalaya-raja.blogspot.in/2012/09/trans-africa-on-bicycle-solo-tribute-to.html) It truly was and still is the best journey of my life so far. Within the first few days of riding I had realized that this was going to be a very unique trip indeed. As I progressed I met people and made friends. Everyday, every place, every time, without fail I found friendship and unconditional help came in the form of food, shelter and even cash. They were always there when I needed one. The universal language of friendship prevailed. During those days in Africa I used to send dispatches to Uttar Banga Sambad, a Be...

[A solo bicycle journey from the Equator to Tropic of Capricorn and from East Coast (Indian Ocean) to West Coast (Atlantic Ocean) through the African continent]  H.W.Tilman’s journey across Africa along the equator on a bicycle back in 1932-33; inspired me to get out there and begin my very own Trans African  bicycle adventure. Instead of retracing or repeating Tilman’s route I however preferred a route of my own. I would start from the Equator in Kenya and finish near the Tropic of Capricorn. Instead of heading down south in a straight line (as the road network would permit of course); I decided to touch the east coast of the African continent in Dar Es Salam. By doing so my route got an added value of East Coast to West Coast traverse along with the primary goal of Equator to Capricorn journey. My route would take me through the Kenyan Highlands, Great Rift Valley, the Masaai Steppe, Foothills of Mt Kenya, Mt Meru and Mt Kilimanjaro, The Usambara Mounta...

A break from ‘my’ known and ‘my’ obvious “ ...does your enthusiasm hold good only for mountaineering?’ ‘By and large I do everything with enthusiasm, as long as it doesn’t concern bureaucracy, which I hate like the plague.’ Is there another climb to come?’ ‘I would like to travel to Tibet, to South America, I would like to experience so many countries, get to know so many areas..." The above conversation takes place somewhere in Cologne, Germany in 1979. Questions asked by anonymous public, answers given by none other than Reinhold Messner. (Source: Crystal Horizon, Reinhold Messner, p.60) Today mountaineering is the only activity I can put to practice and use it to earn bread for my family. But it is not just livelihood. It was never just about work. I am passionate about it. That is why I had left a job in the Pharmaceutical Industry in the first place. 8 hectic years in pharmaceutical marketing was enough to suffocate and slow poison me. I had quit without even ...