Through the years I've done a bit of unconventional travel, always planning for even the unknown as best as I could.
Drive 8000 km through all of Europe in a old, 4-5 ton Mercedes that leaks oil and has trouble with steering and brakes? No problem! Sail 3 coasts and cross a minor ocean solo? No problem, especially since I added those ropes to pull the sails down that's not standard practice at all...
Travel through India and Nepal in 94/95? Yeah it was a good idea to make my own rucksack out of old postal bags, carrying 12 kg in total. Especially when you get attacked by bus robbers and so on haha!
Bitcoin travel planning
I don't even want to think too much about how it would have been staying here in Asia these years without Bitcoin... That I have Bitcoin as a tool has always been the underlying safety, especially since I can't drag too much gold around.
Not so obvious Bitcoin factors
The past week or more I've been playing around with ideas of visiting the following countries: El Salvador, Peru, maybe Mexico, USA, Nepal, India and Sri Lanka.
Now what I'm aiming for is freedom, especially around medical issues and the freedom to travel. Making it to El Salvador would of course change everything, especially since I'd have a shot at building something on Bitcoin in the open. But, that ocean between the Americas and the gang that thinks it owns me is a bit much for someone who is used to coastal sailing, and maybe too old as well...
India, Nepal and Sri Lanka are closer, and since there is soon a ferry going from India to Dubai it has some tempting options in terms of Rebel Nomad travel!
How can I use Bitcoin in settings like these? When I asked one of the money changers in Kathmandu a few months ago he genuinely didn't know, if he had known I bet he'd trusted me after the conversation we had.
Yes, Bitcoin is banned 100% in Nepal, so there would be some footwork to get cash. India? I haven't even checked, that is how sure I am that there will be some way of doing it, especially within meetups and the tech scene.
Sri Lanka has had its collapse, so it will be the same as Egypt: people will be literally hungry, and therefore up for any trade that can help them get buy. Getting a shitty rate somewhere like that is a donation, really, so no problem!
Long term Bitcoin considerations
I'll be checking on Bulgaria whenever I have the chance. I think its a resilient, no nonsense country, which will eventually break out of the EU to get on the right team, while also keeping their independence and daily freedoms on a practical level I bet there will be easy ways to convert even if there is a ban, especially if you stay and get to know people!
There are also lots of unruly countries not too far from it, worst case doing a border hop when its time is a very good option, especially since the transaction will then happen outside of a country that I might see as a long term candidate.
I really need to get better at asking around a lot, even when I do not need to transact in person for cash. Will Lightning be a thing soon, for small transactions where locals can get Bitcoin outside of exchanges? I sure hope so!
The promotion problem
Where I'm at now there is a ban on promotion. That is of course a problem, since I can't even build up a Rebel Nomad presence online, and especially in meatspace!
Right now I'm toying with the idea of promoting it in Nepal, while not doing a single transaction. If I bring enough cash for a few months and also use ATMs I should be OK, at least if I always add that I'm really just a tourist coming through who will not do, or recommend transactions within the country.
Its all just a matter of somehow going along with the narrative and politics, if you're a nice person talking well about the culture and never go against it then the letter of the law doesn't matter.
So quite the opposite in the woke hellscape of Europistan then, where its all about following every single, shitty rule to the letter!
This won't last of course, its part of what will take the West down for good... No sane culture, nothing to buidl on, the only option is to get out in time, to build on Bitcoin if possible :-)
Or to stay and build in defiance!