Co-author Steve Reifman recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of the ultimate hippy trail journey. His adventure, the inspiration for the book Wanderer, co-written with F.T. Burke, took him across four continents through 26 countries in 1970-1971. On the Golden Anniversary of his adventure, Steve Reifman – or “Stevie Wander,” as he likes to be called – tells the true tales behind the story.

It’s week 40 of Stevie Wander’s year-long journey on the Hippie Trail from 50-years ago. Our intrepid hippie wanderer has arrived at the ultimate hippie haven destination on the globe—Kathmandu, Nepal!  He is terribly exhausted after the grueling journey on a rickety bus along the mountain roads.  But soon he settles in for several weeks of enjoyment.  A Swami tells Stevie his fortune.  There are temples everywhere, even a monkey temple.  The dope scene is incredible with offerings of anything one could imagine, cheap and legal. Stevie receives letters from family back home half a world away in Michigan, USA.

This is his second week in Nepal in July 1971. He settles in and continues to explore the area with a short bus trip to a neighboring town, Dhulikhel. He reads a letter he wrote to his family at the time.  Hippies from around the world gather in Nepal because of the loose “laws” on prescription drugs and the all-pervading mind-expanding drug culture.

Now in his third week in Nepal, Stevie Wander gets his visa extended by five days twice for a total of 25 days in Nepal. Stevie is reading Alan Watts and listening to Ravi Shankar as he finds himself receptive to learning and absorbing the culture. He enjoys the plentiful drugs as well as another acid trip.  Groovy times, dig it!  Stevie Wander is pondering the wayward trip back to Western Civilization. 

The wanderer dreams of staying in Nepal forever. But the reality is that he will soon be leaving Kathmandu. These are his final days in Nepal. He can’t get his visa extended anymore.  His 25 days in Nepal went by so fast.  Now the Wanderer is back on the move.  He leaves Nepal on a plane to the Indian town of Patna, across the border.  Come hear the exciting stories of this once-in-a-lifetime adventure!

Join Stevie on a weekly adventure, kicked off on September 30th, 2020. Click on this Playlist link to get introduced and catch up with all the adventurous clips in this Weekly Wanderer series.