Keiichi Iwasaki in Nepal. He climbed Mt Everest during his stay in the Himalayan kingdom

His passion is travelling, his preferred mode of transport is a bicycle, by profession he is a magician, by education he is an engineer ? there is nothing ordinary about Keiichi Iwasaki. The 33-year-old is on a mission to cycle around the world. Nearly five years after he began from Tokyo, about 100 km from his hometown Guma, the Japanese gentleman is happy that he?s got five more years to go. His main means of funding his travels is by showing magic tricks on the streets of the cities, towns and villages that he passes through, and hope the passers-by contribute towards his expenses.

That is exactly what he?s doing in Calcutta for another week, moving from Park Street to Chowringhee and beyond. His cycle was stolen in Hong Kong and replaced by the Japanese Embassy, he was bitten by a dog in Tibet with no medical help for miles around, but Keiichi continues undeterred. His ultimate aim is to write a book about his travels, encompassing everything he can gather about the ?nature, people and cultures? of the countries and communities he traverses.

Keiichi has so far cycled through South Korea, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, Tibet, Nepal, India and Bangladesh. His point of pride has been crossing the length of the subcontinent, from Kanyakumari to Nepal, in a year, ending with a trek to the peak of Mt Everest on May 31, 2005. ?That was very expensive, including the training. I emailed my friends and each one contributed whatever he could.?

This is his second trip to Calcutta. Once, he bought a boat in Varanasi and sailed down the Ganga to Behrampore, where he sold the vessel to a fisherman and then cycled into the city.

?Calcutta is a very good place, much better than Chennai and Mumbai,? he smiles. ?The people are very nice, and also the food.?

A skill he has learned is to pick up local languages, ?because in the villages, no one speaks English?. So he can speak Hindi, Nepalese and Chinese, but ?aami Bangla bolte pari na (I can?t speak Bengali)?, Keiichi grins sheepishly. His travelling companions, besides the bicycle that can be taken apart and reassembled as per requirements, are his things, totalling 30 kg, including a tent, sleeping bag, warm clothes and a first-aid kit. When he began his journey in April 2001, the former air-conditioning engineer had all of $1.50 in his pocket.

Doing 70 to 100 km a day, depending on conditions, Keiichi is off to Delhi next, and then Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Europe, Africa, South America, North America and back to Japan. He misses home, but his parents visited him in Nepal last August. For now, he?s happy to be able to pedal his dream.