Halfway through his four-year trip around the world on a motorcycle, Jay Kannaiyan has already experienced more than most do in a lifetime.

Jay Kannaiyan considers himself a citizen of the world. A native of India, he grew up in Zambia, Africa, before attending college in the United States. Now, he is nearly halfway through a motorcycle world tour. He has ridden his Galfer-equipped Suzuki DR650 more than 43,000 miles already, riding through the U.S., Central America, South America, and Africa.

Kannaiyan began his trip in March of 2010, and by the time he reaches his home country of India at the end of 2013, he will have traveled down through Africa, then back up the continent’s coast to tour the Middle East.

“I spent most of my education in a boarding school, so I’ve grown fond of the idea that home is wherever I currently am,” Kannaiyan says. Sometimes, in remote locations, that means camping in a tent. Often, though, Kannaiyan gets to experience true hospitality by staying with local families that he finds on CouchSurfing.org.

“I have used this for nearly half my lodging, and it has helped me stay under budget. It’s also a great way to get to know local people and their cultures,” Kannaiyan says. “All other times, I find the cheapest hotel that has safe parking for the bike, which can range from $3 a night in Bolivia to $20 in Brazil.”

Of all the places he has visited so far, Kannaiyan says Bolivia is his favorite, “mainly because of how dramatically the landscape changes there, from the flat, hot savannahs in the east to 16,000-foot mountain passes in the Andes in the west. Also, there’s an appeal in that it’s probably the least developed country in South America, so it feels quite far removed from modern life. The people are welcoming and warm and I also enjoyed the hearty food that peasants readily shared with me.”

Kannaiyan admits that picking a favorite country or memory isn’t easy. The highlights of his trip so far have included wonders such as Mayan Ruins in Guatemala, Machu Picchu in Peru, the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil, and the pyramids of Giza in Egypt.

Even with so many highlights in the first half of his tour, Kannaiyan promises that there is plenty more to be excited about during the final two years.

“I’m especially looking forward to Angola since it’s only recently become peaceful enough for travelers and it hasn’t been explored much yet,” he says. “Then, I’m looking forward to crossing from Cameroon, through Chad and Niger into Mali. This route goes through some very remote areas of jungle and Sahel. And then I’m quite excited about crossing the whole of Iran from Turkey to Pakistan and, of course, entering India by motorcycle.”

But, Kannaiyan assures, sometimes the adventure goes a little awry. He rebuilt the motor of his Suzuki prior to the trip, but forgot to tighten one screw. That set off a chain reaction, and he had to install a new motor just three weeks into the trip.

“Then in Bolivia,” Kannaiyan continues, “I got stuck on a sandy berm that required lots of clutch-slipping to get me free, and that resulted in a ruined clutch disc in the middle of nowhere. I hobbled to a mission where I could place a call to my mechanic friend in Chicago, and he advised me to cut a coffee can into a ring and put that into the clutch, which I managed to do, and get myself back to the capital city and find a proper clutch disc.”

A little effort is worth the reward for Kannaiyan. He says the timing was right for him to tour the world on his motorcycle, and he didn’t want to have any regrets. Keep up with his adventures on his website, www.jamminglobal.com. All of us at Galfer wish Kannaiyan safe travels!