It’s interesting to take note of which life events motivate travelers to embark on epic journeys. It’s different for everyone, of course, depending on life circumstances, financial situations, health status, career ambitions and goals of the journey. For Stefano Mangini, a native of Genoa, who now lives in Hong Kong, the trip he decided to take was an ambitious pre-MBA adventure and homecoming of sorts. After leaving his job in Shanghai, Mangini spent four months traveling by motorcycle on a “passage to Italy” where he enrolled in an MBA program at Bocconi School of Management in Milan.
It took Mangini 40 days to cross China, followed by travels through Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and Greece, before he arrived at the heel of Italy, where he made his way north to finish his trip at the top. Along the way he dealt with a difficult bike breakdown in the Gobi desert and a split frame in Pakistan, where a kind blacksmith helped him with a crucial welding job.
Five years later, Mangini has now earned his MBA degree and is currently displaying photos like this one (selected from over 2,000 he took on his trip) at an exhibit on display at the Hong Kong Visual Art Center (from April 18 – May 2). He’s also working on a book (in English) about his trip and is developing a website that communicates his philosophy of life as a restless traveler.