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When I first read about Mark Boyle’s quest to walk 9000 miles from Britain to India — without money — I was impressed at his boldness and confidence in humanity. The plan was to walk 15-45 miles a day offering his skills in return for food and accommodation, all in aim of going back to communal living. Starting off with two friends in Bristol, they began with no problems as several people offered them meals and lodging. When they reached France, mainly because they don’t speak French, they were misunderstood to be a bunch of freeloading backpackers. Out of food, cold, and severely sleep deprived, they decided to go back home. Shows how important it is to be able to communicate effectively — your life may depend on it!
Boyle is a strong believer in the Freeconomy Movement that wants to rid the world of money all together. The idea is beautiful as it works towards promoting unconditional kindness within a community as you mutually receive and give help, either between yourselves or you “pay-it-forward” (yes, like the movie!).
It’s definitely an extreme idea, one that I don’t see happening on a large scale, but the difference it can make on a small-scale is worth every effort put into promoting the movement. According to the BBC, the Freeconomy Movement currently has 3000 members over 54 countries.
Trust when traveling is one thing, but depending on trustworthy people to sustain yourself is another. Three people expecting to get by for 2 1/2 years as they walk across several countries, solely on the hope that people will help them throughout their trip is a deep dip in faith, idealism at its core.
I’m an idealist. I respect Boyle’s plan and salute his courage and belief in this mission. Radical movements are not often successful, but they make enough noise to create a stir — in this case, whatever gets stirred will be well worth it on every count.
I was happy to hear that he has not given up: he is currently walking in the south-east of England. As he tours around the UK, he will learn French and set out again. You can read more about him and his ideas on his blog.
Hopefully he should get enough press by then that should get the word out, open people’s minds to the idea, ultimately helping him on his quest. If he pulls this off, it will be a magnificent step towards promoting peace and relationships between people across the world that surpasses all demographic and geographic barriers.
Good luck, Boyle!
March 4th, 2008 at 3:18 am
There is something really odd about this story. If they gave up because they could not communicate in French, what on earth were they thinking. Is the plan to learn the language of each country?
March 4th, 2008 at 4:15 am
Sounds like they’re already defeated in their overall aim. If the press generated by the story is what allows them to survive France, that is not the message they set out to spread.
March 4th, 2008 at 9:38 am
What a nutter. He’s a few miles into France and already can’t make himself understood - what did he expect further down the road? Perhaps he should have crossed into Belgium. And who would attempt anything like this without knowing any other languages - I speak 6 and still feel I need to know more to get the most out of travel - let alone get a message of brotherly sharing across!
He also noted that he won’t be applying for any visas or paying border fees but will just stroll up to the borders. That means that even if he does learn French, he’ll get stuck and laughed away at the Turkish or Iranian borders.
March 4th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
What a loser. Oh, is that too judgmental? Isn’t everything relative? No, it isn’t.
This is just another type of self-involved nonsense. It’s all about him, just dressed up as something else.
He’d be better off to get a job and use the money to help some of the planet’s truly desperate poor.
March 5th, 2008 at 6:21 am
Hmmm. I suppose I got a bit carried away with his plan, that in turn seems not planned-out well at all.
I still think the idea has merit, but yes, not being able to speak French is a bad reason to turn back.
I guess we’ll have to see if he gets back on track somehow and starts all over again.
March 9th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Idiot. The irony is depending on the kindness of strangers and having to give up in France.
The real tragedy is that he is yet another fool who is making idealism synonymous with being naive and ignorant.
March 10th, 2008 at 4:15 am
This spectacular failure has a linguistic dimension. He really ought to have learned Esperanto. There is a network of Esperanto speakers willing to help travellers. It works. I know because I’ve used it. Further information is available on esperanto.net
March 12th, 2008 at 8:22 am
That or it’s a very bad reflection on the character of the people in northern France!
May 4th, 2008 at 8:55 am
I expect around August he’ll be announcing he’s given up 20 km into Italy because they can’t understand him. Maybe in December we’ll get to hear how things fare after he stows away in the ferry to Greece and can’t turn around but can’t be understood, either.
Perhaps he should have begged a phrasebook instead.