Maybe we'll call it the Microworld Tour

Rick Segal and I met for seven hours yesterday to finalize plans for our world tour. In the end, we have decided to go to fewer countries and to spend longer time in the ones we visit.  This of course means a lot fewer flights and more time on the ground meeting people, getting sense of cultures by walking through neighborhoods and seeing sites that we may never get the chance to see again.

When you think of connected technology, the world is indeed a faster, smaller place.  But when you drill into a map and you think of the people you meet and the places you go, the trip we had originally envisioned would require a year or more.

We always knew it would be a survey tour, that both Rick and I saw it as a way to start conversations, that some of those conversations may last for many years. But if we try to cover too much ground, then even out "Blink" visits, would not give us enough insight and understanding into what's happening in the neighborhoods where we do not hang out.

With that being said, it remains an awesome trip and an imminent one. In 9 days we will wheels up from Toronto and San Francisco to meet at an airport gate in Japan.  From there we fly to Beijing. Here's the final schedule, complete with some adjustments still to come:

• 8.13-20 China.  Trip includes visits to several cities. These include Hong Kong, Shanghai and at least one other.
• 8.20-23. Thailand.  Visit Bangkok and Phuket. Visit a tech farm. Also swim.
• 8.24-27.  Vietnam.  Visit Ho Chi Minh City, a place I went to great lengths to avoid in my youth. We're meeting with Internet entrepreneurs.
• 8.28-9.2 India. Visit Bombay, Bangalore & other cities to be determined.
• 9.3 Helsinki.  We hear the food and view are great.
• 9.4,5 Estonia.  Meet with VCs, Skype executives, entrepreneurs and investors--all thanks to Ross Mayfield. Visit 12th century Medieval City.
• 9.6.  Shel to Stockholm for business meeting.  Rick to Amsterdam to wander aimlessly in Wondelpark.
• 9.7-8 Regroup with Rick in Dublin. Survey Trinity College and historic pubs. Meet series of entrepreneurs as guests of Enterprise Ireland.
• 9.7-8 People's Republic of Cork. Blogger Party at Taste of Thailand. 9.8 Meet individual entrepreneurs.
• 9.10-12 Rome.  Check out connectivity in Colosseum. Speak to Italian entrepreneurs in America Embassy. Meet with entrepreneurs.

To those of you we had hoped to see like Dennis Howlett in the UK and Nicole Simon in Germany, I express my regrets and can only say, "See you next time." The world is a bigger place than I had thought.

Comments

[Steph]

Add Lausanne/Geneva in Switzerland to your next microworld tour ;-)

[Jeroen Leenarts]

Too bad you are not coming to The Netherlands yourself. Would be nice to meet in person. Even if only for a few minutes.

Looks like a lot of fun. Do mind the jetlag though. :)

[shel israel]

Jeroen,
I have no plans, but I love Amsterdam and I expect that life will take me there within the next 12 months.

[/pd]

All the best Shel ..God Speed !!

[Harsh Dhundia]

Shel,

Good luck with the tour and I hope it proves to be succesful. If you need some help while in India, let me know. I'm sure there are people to tell you more about India - but I could offer a few pointers - Bombay is definitely the most cosmopolitan of Indian cities. You might want to pick Suketu Mehta's book 'Maximum City' to get an insight into Bombay. Bangalore is about new found glory. You might want to take a look at Calcutta - the most leftist and least globalized of India's big cities...yet it produces India's best literary people and even scientists. Check out Delhi suburbs (Gurgaon and Noida) if you want to see cities whose prime source of income is outsourced services work (call centers) from America, unlike bangalore where there is enough product development too.

In any case, good luck and if you decide to visit Delhi and have time, my partners at LinknSurf India office would love to meet with you.

Harsh

[Nicole Simon]

Well. There is always the chance to miss you in America as well (as I just did with Rick) ;))

[Ben Casnocha]

Shel -- This sounds like a great trip. I look forward to following along! I intend to visit China, India, and Japan this fall and would love suggestions and good people to connect with to get a sense of the entrepreneurial and tech scenes there.

[Ted Demopoulos]

Good luck!
Haven't taken a tour like that since I've had kids - I'd eventually miss them a lot. My wife would miss my help at home, and maybe me eventually. We're accustomed to my being gone a lot - pre-kids.

I'd gain 10 pounds probbably - I wish you better luck!