Promoting a barefoot lifestyle

It was a chilly winter morning back in 2000, just after Christmas: I was waiting for the 10 o’clock train to Frankfurt to catch my flight to India. Some people were staring at my bare feet, decorated with a black anklet made of leather and a shiny little toe ring. I wasn’t aware that I was about to leave Europe for good, returning only occasionally for short visits, mostly during the Indian monsoon. But I was ready for the big adventure: Spending many month on the road, exploring almost every nook and corner of India on my bare soles – from Kanyakumari to Gangtok and from Gujarat to West Bengal… It was SO much fun! I didn’t even carry any shoes in my backpack, and soon, my soles were tough as never before! Finally, the unexpected happened: I met my big love and we managed to settle down together – despite many obstacles!



I’ve been able to live my life completely barefoot ever since. India is a place where you don’t need shoes at all: I was surprised how many people are barefoot all the time, not only in rural areas and villages but also in town! Even if you’re staying in a big city – one of those hot-spots of modernization and westernisation: You’ll be unable to spend ten minutes in the streets without spotting at least one pair of dusty bare feet! And it’s obvious that living barefoot isn’t a privileged of the poor, especially in the South.



Travelling barefoot is a beautiful experience, not only in India! An experience I want to share with as many people as possible… Can you remember the very moment you entered “barefoot”, using one of those countless search engines – FOR THE FIRST TIME? I “did it” almost eight years ago, and it was like opening the door to a new world! Adding a new word to my vocabulary – “barefooter” – I realized: I’m not alone! I’m part of a worldwide community, many people “out there” are sharing my passion for a life on bare soles! Think about it: Isn’t it amazing how different we are and yet how similar? Age, sex, religion, race and colour – these things simply don’t matter if it comes to our tribe. Whether we are straight or gay, rich or poor – we have LOADS in common, not only our tough (and most of the time black) soles and tanned strong feet! We’re sharing all those incredible sensations which make our barefoot lifestyle so special, we’re facing the same reactions… Leaving the house without shoes, re-discovering the world on bare soles – it’s different. Just think HOW much we have in common…



It’s gr8 that there are quite a few e-groups, message boards and forums available where we can meet online to share our experiences. But I feel it’s even more important to promote our barefoot lifestyle elsewhere: Be it to motivate other people to join us, to experience themselves the joys of a life on bare soles, be it to enable them to understand us better.



I’ve joined several travel- and backpacking related communities, and I’ve done my best to explain how much fun it is to travel barefoot. But I think it’s not good if there’s always the same guy posting the same stuff! Especially as there are still some people with deep-rooted prejudices (or should I say: fears?) … It would be cool – and much more convincing! – if a whole bunch of barefooter would join in! So, if you love travelling barefoot – why don’t you log in to some of those travel sites, explaining WHY you’re roaming around without shoes? Here’s a list of places where I’ve already left my footprints:



http://www.travellerspoint.com/forum.cfm?thread=11781



http://roughguides.atinfopop.com/4/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=5864058821&f=1514068921&m=592109317



http://www.bigtravelforum.com/t6975-barefoot-on-the-road%E2%80%A6.html



http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/messagepost.cfm?postaction=reply&catid=16&threadid=804510&messid=6840217&STARTPAGE=1&parentid=0&from=1



Keep ‘em bare and SHARE the fun!!!

 

I love to walk around barefoot too man. Problem is i don't live in the best place for it. I live in Monroe, CT. In in the winter I have to wear shoes because it snows. When its warm enough I'm barefoot whenever I can be. When I go out to school or something like that I must at least wear flip flops. All the stores and such will kick you out if you enter barefoot. And my parents are another problem. I come inside and my mom is yelling at me because my feet are so dirty. I agree with you it's a wonderful way to experience nature.

 

Don't be afraid to start a trend. If others disapprove just turn it around and make it seem strange to YOU that they're wearing shoes especially in hot weather. When I was in high school it was very common to go barefoot. In stores, malls, etc. Sadly barefooting is diminishing in popularity. Monroe is much more urbanized than before as are many other areas. I dated a couple of true barefoot girls. At the end of the day you couldn't tell which of us had the blacker feet. My Gallery has some pix of nice looking dirty feet.

 

Bf Traveller you are a wonderful example of someone who has lived the dream of many of us. Your dedication to the BF lifestyle is an inspiration. I for one always enjoy your posts and look forward to many more. I'll be sure to visit those other sites and chime in to support the tribe. Archie