Idealist, Pilgrim, or just a another 'freeloading backpacker'

Ok, so my mother in law read a brief account of a guy named Saoirse who just finished his attempt of walking from Bristol England to India, without any money and relying totally on the kindness of strangers as he goes. Turns out he made it just across the border into Calais, France before calling it quits and turning around. One of his compainions described their situation like this, '[We] were pretty much out of food, hadn't slept in days and were really cold. We had to reassess the whole situation.'
Read the rest...
They (Saorise and two compatriots acquired en route) managed to get a lift across the channel (thanks to the Mom of one of his cohorts) and onto French soil when the suddenly realized 'we don't speak French' and turns out the French didn't want to speak English to them (OR didn't speak English, gasp!) So after spending a night in a restroom, with little food (or prospects of it) they called it quits, the grand experiment failed and they go back to warm homes and reliable food.

I should begin by saying that I am an advocate/believer in the kindness of strangers, in the small ways where goodness comes in unexpected ways. Personally, I have been happily surprised at the ways in which I have been taken care of in the past and think that part of humanity often is overshadowed by other things (say like murder, rape, genocide). However, I laughed out loud when I first heard this. I'm glad for him that he made it out of his first country and find it funny he didn't make it past the border town of the next.

However, something about the whole event rubs me the wrong way. It feels to me like idealism gone mad and an incredibly egotistic move on his behalf. I don't like that Saoirse was trying to get this trip done without his own means and bumming off of strangers, that seems less to me like an idealized trip and more... well freeloading. Saoirse planned on working for food and shelter, earning his keep, sharing his skills, etc... But this idealized notion still hinges primarily on random generosity from others, not his own work.

Additionally, it seems poorly thought out. If the way you will get food is through conversation, wouldn't it be worth your while to learn some of the languages you'll encounter? French is spoken by a decent chunk of the world and he was going through a country that only speaks French but apparently learning it wasn't worth his time. Or at least the idea of learning the appropriate phrases, or writing up a letter in the appropriate languages wasn't thought about. Oh, we should also remember that a number of countries require you to buy a visa to enter and I haven't met a lot of border agents that willing forgo that rule.

What I find most odd about the situation is my reaction to it. I think what happened is just simply funny (he barely crossed the border for Pete's sake!) but on the broader whole, I find it disillusioned. He maintains a website, which is full of idealistic phrases and goals, showing little comprehension of life (at least how I understand it). And I just find the whole thing... silly and self-centred. Additionally, he seems to miss out on many of the problems facing the world (something he realizes when he meets refugees from the middle-east). Walking from Bristol to India without money to demonstrate the kindness of strangers pales in comparison to the fallout of war and murder and this was also something he didn't expect. After his encounter with the refugees he writes, ' The rest of the afternoon was a write off. It really shook me. I felt I was bringing a message to the east which it didn't need.'

P.S. If you'd like to hear his blog about coming back, it is linked here. He writes his thoughts in full and while interesting they are a little odd. One of the most odd thing he wrote about was his apology to his supporters for touching money. He write, 'I have touched money to get back here and I want you all to know that. But that has happened and I can't change that now. All I can do is make a resolution to not be so weak in the future.' Weird.