Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Before this big adventure could happen, however, I had to deal with logistics, the great
hurdle to any worthwhile dream. I needed to find a motorbike that would survive the rough
roads and tough times that the journey would surely entail. I decided I would call it Kind-
ness One, because, much like Air Force One, it would be an ambassador to the world . . .
only a little yellower. I had to settle on an outline for my route around the globe. I also had
to find a way to cross two oceans, a number of continents, a laundry list of cities, and a few
hostile states on kindness alone, all with my yellow bike tagging along. And I needed to
get visas, lots of them.
Then there was the little detail of how I wanted to do this. Would I bring along a TV
crew to catalog my experiences, or would I be documenting my own adventure? I wanted
the journey to be as intimate as possible, yet I also recognized how many people could po-
tentially be touched by it through the medium of TV. I decided to go with the TV crew. But
only under one condition: They would stay back until I invited them into whatever story or
life I was joining. I wanted to do this trip alone. And I wanted to connect with people first
before cameras showed up in the background. The crew would be the silent sidekicks of
my adventure; but in many ways, they would also be my witnesses. As will you.
By the time this journey is over, I hope you will see how an act of kindness really can
change the world. You will meet Tony, the homeless man who taught me that true riches
don't reside in our wallets but in our hearts. You will see the courage shown by my friend
in Cambodia, whose life was ravaged by illness, loss, and natural disaster. You will meet a
doctor whose passion for service restores the sight of the poor. You will see how one well-
intentioned, but flawed human being can travel around the globe on the kindness of others
and be reborn. And there are many others whom you will not meet: strangers who for a mo-
ment became friends, passing quickly through the day to offer me food, gas, and the means
to keep going.
Salman Rushdie once wrote, “To understand just one life, you have to swallow the
world.” We don't have to travel this entire blue planet of ours to have that experience. We
just have to be willing to see each other. I see you, and you see me. Then the masks of who
we think we should be fall away. And we greet one another in ways that need no language,
that require no masks. We set out on the journey of life, getting to partake in this brief but
beautiful adventure together.
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