Nice. We are always looking for ways to augment our flow of qi here at AsiaWheeling.

Thanks for the clarification. Keep them coming!

Lauren,

Great question, and I will try to keep the answer brief and direct given the nature of this medium. First, Asia is huge. Containing four billion people, it is home to 60% of the population of planet earth. It also contains extremely diverse environments ranging from the Gobi desert to the Indonesian archipelago to the Frozen tundra of Russia. As a large landmass, it provides a wide breadth of experience “under one roof.”

Much of this population is developing rapidly from economic, urban, and cultural standpoints, making it a diverse and intricate subject of study that our readers in the west have not been exposed to. Catalyzed by information technology and liberalized global trade regulations, as well as the ejection of colonial forces during the 20th century, countries of Asia will play a much larger role on the world stage. Additionally, Asia represents a vast number of people that will go from being relatively impoverished to prosperous in our lifetimes. It is our goal to both experience and communicate the ways that this will happen, and in what locales it will happen most quickly and most recognizably.

Third, the logistics of Asia lend themselves very well to this venture. Trains connect almost all of China, India, Russia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Central Asia. Low cost airlines proliferate when air travel is necessary, and for the most part, Asia is an safe place to be. No trains connect Africa or Latin America like in such a way, and while fascinating, these continents offer less cultural diversity and more security issues than our current itinerary.

The other fantastic synchronicity about Asia is that it is bicycle friendly.

We love the tough questions like this, so keep them coming!

Rachel,

Good question. This is actually something we’ve started to do, and are a huge fan of Indonesian “Taro Net” for this purpose. The main reason that we don’t carry snacks around is that it adds to the amount we carry, as we assume we can just get food anywhere. The problem is that we forget to eat. We’ve been getting much better recently and have been eating lunch earlier in the day. Thanks for your concern!

Butchie