ON NOTHING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 147, 23 June 1934, Page 1 (Supplement)

ON NOTHING.

TOURING THE WORLD. PAYING BY WRITING. (By WALTER BUCHLER.) Paradoxical as it may seem, it is nevertheless a fact that the more money one tours the world on the less one sees and learns. For the avenues of travel havo become so many and so perfected that liners on the ocean have become luxurious hotels, little differing from those on land in convenience or expense; hotels in near and distant lands arc no longer typical of those countries and are, more or less, replicas of those in the world's leading capitals, London, New York and Paris. The result is that tho wealthy tourist, on reaching port, is whisked away by waiting automobiles to one of these magnificent hotels, hurriedly "does the sights" in <;he same or. another car, returns to the steamer and after repeating the same procedure as carefully mapped out for him all along the route, he or she returns home well satisfied with having "seen the world." That is the ideal way of seeing the world in the maximum of comfort and just skimming the sights but learning little or nothing of the countries visited.

Touriag Brains. To see the world really thoroughly, to extract the maximum that time and distance permit in the way of knowledge of tho people, their manner of-living, their customs and their problems, it is necessary to spend more time in each country than the average globe-trotter does. And, believe it or not, the less money the traveller has the more he (or she) will see and learn. That is my conviction after having spent three and a half years touring the world on nothing. By "nothing" I mean that I had no capital to start with, in fact, borrowed £10 to see me over the first few weeks or so in a strange land, and all the money I spent—about £3000 in all—in the coursc of my three and a half years' travel was earned, not by selling postcards, lecturing, begging or other "stunt," but by the simple process of "exploring" other people's brains, sticking them down on paper, and then selling them direct through tho post —not through an agent —to different newspapers and periodicals.

What, then, are the qualifications necessary to enable one to make a tour o) tho world? The first and foremost, to my mind, is the ability to ask questions, and should you not possess that ability, practice will enable you to acquire it. For in my own case I had never interviewed a soul prior to my going on this trip. I knew no shorthand (and still do not), nor had 1 ever

worked on a newspaper. It is not difficult to formulate questions, even on subjects of which you nave little or no knowledge; and should you. find yourself in a quandary, the best and quickest course is to refer to a periodical dealing with profession or trade, and form your own questions from its pages. But no matter how you get your questions, the essential point is that you do so in advance of your caning on anybody and "exploring" his brains, Type out the questions on to sheets' of paper, at the same time making three or four carbon copies, as you are bound to lose or not have returned some of these questionnaires. As you interview more people in different countries on the same subject, further and other points will suggest themselves to you and should be added to your questionnaires. It is not necessary to.draw up a fresh questionnaire for every new country visited, the first serving just as well, though the questions may have to be adapted whilst the interview is taking place to the peculiarities of that country. Five Pounds a Week. Five pounds a week is, from my own experience, sufficient for ordinary expenses and is the minimum on which the world can be toured and at the same time full jus.tice given to every country. It should be quite possible to obtain material for three or four different subjects every day (working five days in the week). Of these two can be written up daily, one early morning, the other in the evening; and much of the other work that accumulates cau be polished off whilst travelling by steamer. Two good articles will bring in the £5 necessary for the week's expenses, and as the traveller gains more experience in interviewing he (or she) will find that tho income may reach the high figure of £25. Actually, there is no limit to one's earnings, and it all depends on how much time is given to writing. Originality is the main factor and it hardly pays' to spend time in libraries or over bdoks of reference. There is no time for this, nor is it advisable; much better and much simpler is it to utilise the fountain of knowledge of others and depend on its originality.

introductions are quite unnecessary, and you will find that, man to man, people all over the world are very decent, invariably ready to impart information. They show still greater willingness and helpfulness when they see you are prepared with your questions, that you know what you want and that there will be no waste of their oi your own time. The greatest compliment they can pay you is to regard you as one of their trade or profession, and when this happens you can settle down to seeing the rest of the world without any fear or doubt as to "Can I do it ?" Camera Indispensable. A considerable item of expense, one indispensable on this trip, is that of photography. It is absolutely essential co the success of a tour round the world, which has to pay for itself, that a camera be taken. The public all over tho globe is demanding more pictures to illustrate the letterpress; and it would appear that often they would be quite ready to forego the latter and have more illustrations instead. Everything you write should, therefore, have j^toto-

graphs to illustrate it, for without them an article stands less chance of being accepted than with. Every penny that can be spared should be given to photography, as it is possible to earn a considerable proportion of one's total income by photographs alone. In fact, I think it is quite a practicable proposition to photograph oneself round the world.

Luggage is both an encumbrance and expense, and should be kept down to the very minimum. No more should be taken, or is even necessary, than just what 0110 is oneself able to carry without having to use the services of porters, coolies, rickshaws, or automobiles. It is surprising liow much can be saved just by carrying one's own few pieces of baggage. Two changes of underwear, a spare suit, brush, comb, toothbrush, razor, with the usual soap- and flannel, are all that are necessary. Shoes take up a lot of room in one's luggage and an extra pair is not essential, as in most parts of the world shoe repair shops will attend to any repairs while you wait. Besides, clothes in most countries can be purchased just as cheaply or expensively (this depending on quality and style) as they can in your own home town.

To tour the world and pay one's way is delightful and worth any effort required. It entails no hardship,' and while it does not mean one is going to travel lirst class which, after all, is not essential to ensure comfort, second and even third class being quite passable and as quick, there is more material to be gleaned when travelling third class than when going first. My itinerary included France, Switzerland, Italy, India, Burma, Malaya, Siam, Indo and" Cochin China, China, Philippines, Java, Sumatra, Ceylon, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii, the whole of Canada, States in America and Newfoundland. Tlio articles written and published in the course of the trip numbered closc 011 a thousand, and the number of photographs taken, approximately 15,000. In conclusion, I would emphasise that there must be no great expectations on anybody's part of "getting-rich-quick" on an enterprise of this kind. But lie (or she) may reasonably expect to pay his way and accumulate sufficient material to last a lifetime, and at the same time have a "jolly good time" for a year or more, according to the length of time given to the tour.