Inderjeet Mani - Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Burma, Sri Lanka, and India

I am Inderjeet Mani, a traveler, writer and computer scientist. I was born in India way back in 1955. My passion for exploring faraway places developed during my childhood, when my family lived in different countries (we had homes at different times in Germany, Sweden, Nepal, Sri Lanka, India, and Mauritius, from where we explored many of the surrounding countries). I also discovered the satisfaction of writing early in life. As a student in Europe, I also traveled a lot by backpack, sleeping on trains, buses and in the odd youth hostel.  Later, I 'settled down' (how I hate that term) and became a university professor as well as a scientist at IT companies in the USA. Whenever I got a chance to travel and hike in different parts of the world (mainly in North and Central America, Europe, and Asia), I did, recording my impressions in travelogues along the way. Some of my travel writing is found at manitravel.wordpress.com . I also authored six books, details of which are at my website: http://sites.google.com/site/inderjeetmani.

1) Tell something about your life before and the reasons why you have become location independent.

I enjoyed my work in advanced computer science research, but every institution squeezes more out of you than you'd like, and the harder you work, the more you are wrung dry and faced with the prospect of more drudgery. At a certain point, I came to realize that my time was far more valuable than money. Mind you, every youngster wants to hit the road and live a nomadic lifestyle, and that urge never really dies inside. Once we had fulfilled our financial responsibilities to our children (sending them to college, etc.), my wife and I decided that it was high time we exited the rat race and spent the remainder of our lives pursuing our passions (travel, exploring other cultures, language, food, interesting company, and of course writing more books). The time for excuses was over. Of course, our decision to leave would not have been possible without years of careful saving.

before in New York

2) How did you plan a new life as a location independent?
In 2005, just before I turned 50, we were living in Boston. We decided soon after coming that we would be there only a short while, and meanwhile we started our search for a base from where we would begin our nomadic life. That is, we chose not to live out of a backpack, but instead to rent an inexpensive apartment in one country for a few years, so you can cook, sleep comfortably, take language classes, etc., meanwhile exploring the neighboring countries by backpack, and then moving to another country after that. (Other seasoned 'expat' travelers we met along the road also had adopted the same philosophy. It was only the youngsters who chose to simply backpack from country to country or to move from one surfing spot to another for years on end.)

Chiang Mai

After considering Morocco, Italy, Thailand, and Costa Rica (choices we narrowed down after considerable travel and search), we settled on Chiang Mai, Thailand for three reasons: first, it was very affordable, second, the culture was such that it seemed guaranteed to provide us with almost endless fascination, and third, it provided a good gateway to Asia.  In 2008, we sold our house in Boston, and got rid of all our possessions except for some books and a few paintings. It was sad to say farewell to a fine piano,  several thousand books, all kinds of exotic statues, scrolls, etc., but we basically gave it all away to strangers and to a consignment store. What was left was one duffel suitcase for each, and seven small cartons for each of us that we shipped to Chiang Mai. Those cartons were mostly books and papers.  In retrospect, we should have gotten rid of the seven cartons as well, as it gave us a headache with the Thai customs who wouldn't clear it until we came in person to fill out forms, etc. (They refused to believe that people collected books for pleasure, and thought we were trying to resell the books in Thailand. The country has many charms, but its reading habits are not one of them.)

Malaysia

3) What is your job or source of travels funding?
Savings, and occasional IT consulting. We have to live within our budget, and so far we have found it to be quite easy, because of the vast difference in cost of living between West and East.

Golden Triangle- Thailand

4) Which countries have you been?
As I mentioned, I lived in many countries as a child, and I traveled to lots of places as a student and while working. After beginning our nomadic life in 2008, we traveled in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Burma, Sri Lanka, and India.

Cambodia

5) What are the places you have loved more? and why?
It is hard to pick one country over the other -- each has its own graces and charms. Of course, the ugly commonalities of consumer culture are everywhere in our globalized world; after a certain amount of travel, one learns to ignore all that. There are valleys along the Mekong in Laos that are of such a timeless beauty that it is hard to put into words. It is hard to resist some of the mountain landscapes in the Golden Triangle of Thailand along the border with Burma, some nice walks in the jungles of Malaysia, lured on by bright birds and the hoots of monkeys. There are valleys in the Indian Nilgiri mountains where you just want to lie down in and sleep forever.

Mekong - Laos

6) Is there any difficulty that you've to face in your travels? how did you get it?
The main difficulty is dealing with the selfishness and stupidity of human beings. This has led to destruction of the environment and marginalization of millions who are living in poverty. To simply travel as a tourist and not to attempt to do anything about it is a serious mistake. It is not enough to simply follow the best practices of eco-tourism where possible. Therefore, we have tried to help others along the way, volunteering with several organizations, including one that combats child trafficking along the old opium trails in the Golden Triangle (see  http://cosasia.org as well as http://www.repubblica.it/solidarieta/cooperazione/2011/02/26/news/traffico_organi_umani-12919694/ -- though the pictures are wrong there!!) 


7) Why do you think someone should decide to become a location independent?
Each person is different, and may have their own reason -- fleeing, self-discovery, boredom, etc. No matter what reason, you grow much faster on the road.