Aakash Ranison, (born Aakash Mishra), has cycled over 18,000 km and hitchhiked 48,000 km, visiting over 80 cities across India and Bhutan since he first began his romance with traveling in 2013. He’s also the Founder and CEO of The Golden Bird Foundation, an NGO that strives to provide education to underprivileged children in India. His signature reads ‘Travelpreneur’, and true to that, every time you reach him, he’s in a new state or sometimes even a new country.
Author:-When did you start traveling?
Aakash:-From my childhood but with parents: – Since the onset of my childhood right up till 12th class, I’ve lived in 4 different Cities/states: MP, UP, UK, Delhi. Then back in 2011, I started traveling alone. I went to Delhi for getting my NGO (The Golden Bird Foundation) registered. Then I went to few other cities with friends for some work purpose. And then in November 2014 I started traveling alone, when for the 1st time I went to Mumbai on my cycle.
Author:-How Do You Manage Your Finance?
Aakash:-Most of the times I do run out of funds, but the lust for wandering keeps me motivated and moving. To manage my life, I concentrate on “Cost Cuttings” and “Savings” and this also brings me to a lot of unexpected adventure. And at last, as I travel a lot, I seem to draw millions of people who look at my travel and contact me. Hence many companies are coming up to sponsor me like Scott Sports,Wildcraft, WittyFeed, YourStory, Adidas, Suunto, Salomon, LifeStraw, etc. ,which gives me a chance to earn while I travel and also make me worthy enough to be called a Travelpreneur. We never have enough money in our bank accounts because we tend to concentrate more on our wishes than on our dream and needs.
Author:-In the bigger scheme of things, what do you want to achieve with traveling? What Are your Future Plans in next 5 and 10 Years?
Aakash:-Crossing the limits, Keep on traveling till the day I live, travel to the world’s most extreme places, discover something new, spread the message of love for all, equality to all, humanity in all, and to be known as a wandering soul.
Author:-Give us the details of your travels. How many kilometers hitchhiking, cycling, etc.?Where You Have Been Till Now? How Many Places You Have Covered Till Now?
Aakash:-20,000KM’s of cycling: In the last 2 and a half years I have been traveling regularly and have gone to different parts of India and Bhutan. Namely, I have been to Mumbai(Maharashtra), Delhi,Bangalore(Karnataka), Jaipur(Rajasthan), Hyderabad(Karnataka), Chennai(Tamil Nadu),Bhopal(Madhya Pradesh), Pondicherry(Tamil Nadu), Gangtok(Sikkim), (Kolkata)West Bengal in India and Thimphu, Paro, Haa, Bumthang, Phuentsholing in Bhutan.
50,000KM’s of Hitchhiking: Naming the places I have been to hitchhiking is nearly impossible because I don’t even remember half the names of places hitchhiking has taken me to in India & Nepal.
5000+KM’s Walk: While hitchhiking, I generally have to wait for my next lift and in the process I’ve managed to walk for hours and hours. While being stuck in wrong places and with no lifts, I have walked a lot. At the right places at the wrong time I’ve walked. While on the road at early morning and during late night hours I have walked.
Author:-What does your mother say or think about your traveling? How You Convinced Your Mom For This?
Aakash:-Earlier she was against it as any other concerned parent would be, of course, it is very risky and so she was not allowing me. But slowly with my performance and the reaction that I received from the whole community and media, she realized what I was doing was not just travel but way more than that. And most importantly her decision to let me go was based on the fact that now she knows how much I love traveling. She is awesome the way she is and the best I can have. She is always there with me in my toughest times, to support me, to protect me, and to inspire me to keep on going. All she wants is for me to be happy and healthy.
Author:-What is your inspiration? What Inspires You To Keep Traveling? Who Is Your Role Model?
Aakash:-Swami Vivekananda (Narendranath Datta) whatever good I have in me belong to him and whatever doesn’t belong to him I am trying to remove that from my mind. I want to live my life under the guidance of Swami Vivekananda and I believe if I could do that I can surely bring a change in me, my family and everybody around me.
Author:-Any message for people/followers out there? What Do You Want To Tell To The Youth?
– In order to live your dream, you must first have a dream.
– The only trouble is that we think we have time.
Author:-Any dream location? Dream project?
Aakash:-The Pakistan Project: I dream about going to Pakistan and the whole belt of countries which includes Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq.
Author:-Which Was The Longest, Adventures, Memorable, Trip Till Now?
Aakash:-All of my projects were quite long say 2-4 months each but the south India trip was the longest of them all, it went on for 4 months. For the amount of adventure I encounter, every trip in some or the other way becomes memorable to me.
– Longest: South India.
– Adventurous: The Bhutan Project
– Memorable: The Bhutan Project
Author:-What Is The Golden Bird Foundation?
Aakash:-At the age of 15, I founded ‘The Golden Bird Foundation’ a ‘Non-Governmental Organization’. Along with the other volunteers from IIM, IIT, Symbiosis, Nirma University and 8 different countries, I have been working earnestly in the following verticals:
- Education (Project)
- Women Empowerment (Project)
- Hunger (Project)
- Health Care (Campaigns & Events)
- Environment (Campaigns & Events)
The Golden Bird Foundation has reached and affected over 8,000 people in Indore District through its Projects, Campaigns & Events are now working in companies like Dabur, Case Constructions, Cummins, etc.
Author:-Share Some Good Experiences?
Aakash:-Once during my Bhutan Trip, I befell a situation where I was in urgent need of a temporary financial help. I contacted people I knew there, and one of them was Mr.Gaurav. He told me to come to his office. While I was going to his office I stopped to take a lift, the person who stopped for me not only dropped me to my destination but waited there for me, so that he could drop me back to my place. And when I reached Mr.Gaurav’s office, he handed me a substantial sum of money without thinking twice. I think in this complete incident, both of them redefined the way I looked at humanity. Strangers doing so much for me in a world where we hear about brothers defying their blood relations, it made me feel special and happy.
Aakash’s story by Indian Express
Aakash’s article by Witty Feed
Aakash’s story by Your story
Aakash’s Travel Blog
