Born: Campbell River, B.C. Canada

My e-mail address `donroamer` could explain a great deal. Since my first trip abroad to Australia in my early 20`s on a working holiday visa, I`ve `roamed` through 30 countries. Friends and aquaintances have previously mentioned that if I kept hitch-hiking I wouldn`t live to tell about it. My method of transport has frequently been rather unorthodox but so far so good and certainly many contacts with interesting characters and experiences along the way.

After high school and during work semesters at university I was involved in various survey projects throughout British Columbia and Alaska. The work was often physically strenuous and risky (angry bears, freezing weather) but I had the opportunity to visit spectacular areas of the countryside, way off the beaten track. After finishing university in Victoria I became increasingly curious to see more of the world and turned down a fisheries position to travel to Korea to work as a rookie English instructor. Thoroughly enjoying the experience, I stayed for about 2 years including side trips scuba diving in the Philippines and walking the Great Wall of China. Returing to Canada I landed a job at an ESL college in Vancouver. Most of my students being from Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China, they inspired me to return to Asia. Upon my arrival in Japan, I was introduced to a small English school in Kyoto where I ended up becoming the new owner. Having the freedom and flexibility in running my own business has given me the chance to visit many areas of Japan. These trips have often been on a motorcycle including a few hitch-hiking excursions to prevent me from falling out of practice. I can now attest that Japan is one of the easiest and safest countries to hitch-hike. I`ve toured the northern areas of Hokkaido and Tohuku, through central and western Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu and scuba dived the laid back southern islands of Okiniwa. Japan`s close proximity to other countries in Asia has opened up other opportunities - scuba diving in Thailand, trekking in Taiwan (during a typhoon), and a rather long train journey from Beijing with stop overs in Mongolia and Siberia to Moscow and onward to the Scandinavian countries. The thing about the more I travel is..... the more it makes me realize how little I know.......