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Why is this man from Nagaland travelling the world on a bamboo bike

By Rediff Get Ahead
July 09, 2018 12:14 IST

Yakuza Solo has travelled across 23 European countries and USA on a self-made bamboo bike.

Yakuza Solo in Belgium. Photographs: Courtesy Yakuza Solo/Instagram

Back in school, Nagaland's Yakuza Solo used to be one of the 'worst students in class'.

'That's because I didn't know what I was good at,' he writes on Instagram.

Today he is a trailblazer, who is cycling the world on a bamboo bike to let people know about Nagaland.  

For him Nagaland is 'the land where smiles are abundantly found.'

Solo believes that 'the world infers your community through the way you project yourself'.

So he decided to set out on a journey across countries to make people aware of the state in Northeast India.

The theme of his cycling world tour is three-fold -- to HOPE for change, to MOVE for health and SAVE Earth.

When people see him cycling around, they quiz him about the bamboo bike out of curiosity and that's whether the conversation starts. 

Bamboo plays a huge role in the lives of people from Nagaland; they use it to build their homes, furniture and also for cooking. 

Hence Solo thought it would be fitting for him to travel the world on a bamboo bike. 

He has already been to a dozen of countries including Belgium, France, Austria, Italy, Serbia, Bulgaria, Poland, Finland, Sweden and USA. 

Take a look at some of the pics clicked during his journey. 

Yakuza with the Great Wall of China in the background

A bamboo bike being assembled.

He shared this postcard from Times Square, New York City. 

Yakuza with his bamboo bike in front of the Eiffel Tower.

'One of the biggest challenges of travelling alone is taking a decent picture of yourself,' writes Yakuza on Instagram. 'The pain of adjusting the camera, placing the frame at a right angle, running around like a headless chicken to capture the moment in 10 secs, returning to the camera and checking if it (the shot) was okay.'

The bike at a local market in Kosovo. 'Everywhere I go, the locals always guide me to the biggest church in their country, the oldest village in the region, the largest and tallest building in the Balkans, the longest bridge, etc.'

His collection of stamps from across the world.

People take pics of the bamboo bike.

The green shoes travelled 20 countries before giving way. 

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