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.
