It’s a hell of a thing, travelling the world with a dream. And wow, I travelled with a great dream. A dream that felt real and present, like a companion, or a memory but from the future. The Great Dream that the human race will find a way of organizing itself into a more cooperative whole, an enduring structure that will lessen the twin sorrows of war and poverty. From roaming tribes we’ve grown into complex cities and industrious nations. The question is where does this tendency toward complexity lead? What is the next level of human organization? And further out: what does the final design of humanity look like? In the following chapters, I’d like to share with you the answers that I found on my little mission across our planet, intermixed with a variety of entertaining drinking stories.

Prologue

In which we discuss the merits of alcohol as well as delusional motivations for travelling the world.

1: The Bangkok Story

In which we meet a cunning man in a print-shop.

2: Jakarta Eyes

In which we meet a private eye in the rain and discuss the nature of revenge/justice.

3: A Scooter in Kuta

In which we discover that the worst part of travelling is getting from one place to another.

4: The Blood of a Thousand Thais

In which we return to Bangkok in search of a friend.

5: Feverdreams in Yangon

In which we get sick, and little else.

6: The Most Powerful Story in the World

In which we learn about the Churning of the Ocean of Milk.

7: Bathing in the Nectar of the Gods

In which we vanquish our sins with water, proof that it truly is the universal solvent.

8: The Abode of Sacred Knowledge

In which we learn nothing about yoga and/or meditation, but do get sandals repaired.

9: The One with the Blue Throat

In which we discover that there are things you learn from riding a motorcycle in India, that you cannot learn any other way.