Investment banker turned philanthropist and adventure seeker Morgan Parker roared out of Hong Kong on his trusty, “unstoppable” BMW F800GS motorcycle on 1 March 2011.
His first stop was in Guangdong Province, where he met members of GECKO, who are developing China’s youth into ambassadors for the environment. Following that, he rode into Vietnam to meet Animals Asia Foundation to witness the plight of moon bears and the heinous conditions in which their bile is extracted.
The next stop on Morgan’s epic journey was Laos, where he met with Child’s Dream, which endeavors to improve access to education for local children.
It was in Laos, however, that he met his greatest physical challenge so far: a brutal day of battling steep muddy roads, rendered impassable by unseasonal rain storms, in the mountains of Northern Laos – which conspired to put Morgan and the film crew in serious danger. They suffered from hypothermia and were unable to make it to a planned school opening.
A brilliant recovery followed, and after some hard riding it was on to Siem Reap, Cambodia, for a field visit with New Hope, whose mission is to restore hope and dignity through education, health, and community building.
Pictured: Morgan Parker Photo Credit: Wheel2Wheel
It was in Laos, however, that Morgan met his biggest actual task so far, a intense day of dealing with large dirty roadways, made impassable by unseasonal water thunder storms, in the mountain range of South Laos.