Meet Adrian Sameli, the digital nomad from the blog Asabbatical

Wanna know more about the adventures of this traveller who has been on the road for more then 2 years?

It all started as a sabbatical gap year... meanwhile, Adrian already travelled to more than 60 countries and was a volunteer consultant for social enterprises in America, Africa and India. He keeps a blog where he writes about his adventures, which is called Asabbatical. In interview with Hostelsclub, Adrian tell us the highlights of his life as a digital nomad and traveller!

1 - Hi Adrian! You wrote in your blog you like to promote unknown places, can you tell about the experience of traveling to one of these places?

Picture of Barb Canale from the website Unsplash

In Bangladesh, I have not seen a single tourist or foreigner. From the very first day in Dhaka, the crowded capital, it felt like being in a different world. The colours and scent of Moslem traditions tugged away between India and South-East Asia is quite unique. What was most striking, was the uttermost hospitality and openness people showed towards me as a foreigner. Many people in the streets started to talk to me, wanting to take selfies and showing me around. Places like this feel so much more authentic and peaceful than any touristic site, packed with street vendors and tourist guides. In all of Bangladesh, people wanted to show me their way of life and gave me their food to try instead of trying to make a profit of me.

This amazing country has so much to offer, that the world is never talking about. In the South-West, I visited Sundarbans, a large swamp area with mangrove forest. Unfortunately, I did not spot any tigers! Scattered around the Western part, there are multiple UNESCO protected ancient temples and cities. There are countless old mosques from the Mogul empire and even palaces, hidden in small villages. A dream for every traveller and explorer. If I had more time, I would have visited the mountainous area in the East, where the best tea is growing. Getting around in Bangladesh can be difficult, as there is no touristic infrastructure. Luckily, a good friend I knew through the internet, helped me to hire an affordable car and driver.

2 - Tell us about the postcard project, who do you send the postcards to?

• 3 - Tell us about the projects you already helped as a pro bono consultant.

In 2016, I was helping Angaza (www.angaza.com) to improve their digital products and internal workflows. Angaza is providing a platform to enable pay-as-you-go or rent-to-own models for any electronic products. This means, that even the poorest people around the world, can lease a solar lantern instead of paying for kerosene. We are talking about people who don’t have access to a banking system and cannot save a single dollar. Through the Angaza technology, they can pay products starting at $20 on instalments, a huge game changer!

I started my journey at their head office in San Francisco to understand their business model and strategy. Together with the CTO, we hired a product manager and improved their product’s roadmap. Next, I visited their service team in Nairobi, Kenya. Through field visits in rural Kenya, I truly started to understand the need and impact we are having. For Angaza’s new product, I conducted a usability study to understand how people who never used a smartphone before are reacting to our mobile application. The absolute highlights of this trip were in depth conversations with entrepreneurial women selling solar lanterns far away from the next city or even power plug.

• 4- Can you tell us more about your trip to Eastern and Southern Africa?

I can tell you, that was the best trip of my life – and I travelled a lot already! All started during my pro bono consulting work for Angaza in Kenya. I got more and more interested in exploring the African continent. So, I went through the cumbersome process of buying a second-hand car in Nairobi. Because of African bureaucracy and mechanical issues, the journey was a huge adventure and I learned a lot about police corruption and cars. But besides those hurdles, the trip was just magical!

Together with a Dutch hitchhiker, I drove all the way from Kenya in the East through 10 countries to South Africa in the Southwest. The feeling of driving your own car for hours through the endless African landscape is just priceless. From green lush jungles over mountainous terrain to endless brown grassland and red desserts, I’ve seen it all. Easy-going lifestyle, stunning lakes and national parks packed with animals, make western Uganda my favourite in the Eastern African community. Southern African countries with its many European settlers, feels completely different, more westernised. Its most impressive region is the Namibian coastline and desert. The rough landscapes are sheer endless!