Dhanbad, April 13: The whole wide world is his oyster to explore on his trusty steed, er, four-wheeler.

London-based entrepreneur Hirji Solanki (64) is on a global road trip on his motorhome after retiring from his frozen vegetables business.

Solanki has visited 41 countries across Europe and Asia in his tour, which he started in December last year.

This ebullient NRI has roots in Jharkhand, as his in-laws hail from here. But the Dhanbad damaad, who has toured the world and was visiting the state after 43 years, is disappointed by the city.

“There’s no improvement in Dhanbad since my last visit. New buildings are the only change,” said the man who is staying with his in-laws at Shastri Nagar. “The city has gone from bad to worse as it is very dirty and congested,” he adds, mincing no words.

Speaking on the roads of Jharkhand, Solanki, who migrated from Gujarat to Leicester in England 40 years ago, said he was deeply saddened by their poor condition, as roads are the indices of a region’s development. “Common people suffer because of poor roads. I will mention it in my forthcoming book based on my road trip,” he said.

Solanki, who came to India through Nepal, will leave for Kolkata in a day or two and then carry on to Myanmar and later to Singapore, Vietnam and Laos.

Solanki travels to meet indigenous people in small towns and villages and to experience their cultures. “I was greatly moved after seeing people near Ranchi carry coal on their heads in sacks and walking several kilometres,” he said. He was also saddened by instances of corruption that common people had to live with. “I had to wait for 11 days to get a vehicle permit in Maharashtra after arriving in India. I got it only through a middleman,” he said.