In December 2004, Dhakeswor Chhetri packed a small bag and hopped on his brand new bicycle with the equivalent of 2,000 yen in his pocket. Leaving his family and home in Nepal, Chhetri and three other friends began a 10-year mission -- bicycling for world peace and universal friendship.</PARAGRAPH> <PHOTO> <TABLE WIDTH='250' ALIGN='RIGHT' BORDER='0'> <TR> <TD><IMG ALT='Dhakeswor Chhetri is on a 10-year bicycling tour for peace' BORDER='0' SRC='../images/photos2007/nn20070220f2a.jpg' WIDTH='250' HEIGHT='395'/></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><FONT SIZE='1'><B>Dhakeswor Chhetri, who is on a 10-year bicycling tour for peace, poses with his mountain bike in Tokyo's Takadanobaba district on Feb. 14. </B> SATOKO KAWASAKI PHOTO</FONT></TD> </TR> <TABLE> </PHOTO> <PARAGRAPH>Although the others retired from the trip one by one, Chhetri, 51, traveled through India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, China and South Korea.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>For more than two years, he has biked 70 to 100 km a day, rain or shine.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>'I wanted to do something to contribute to –

country and to the public," Chhetri said. "I have no academic skills, but I was confident in my physical strength. . . . So I did what I could do -- ride my bicycle to tell the world about Nepal, and to learn about the world from other countries."

Why a bicycle? Chhetri said he couldn't afford a car and it is easy to fix. Most importantly, a bike lets him interact with people directly, without a physical barrier.

"I get to view the same world that people around me are seeing," Chhetri said.

Last Christmas Day found Chhetri and his bike in Fukuoka Prefecture, from where he set off east for Tokyo. Through Kyoto, Nagoya, Toyota in Aichi Prefecture, and Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, he rode.