A first-time van traveler spent 7 days driving across the US bird-watching. He's now hooked on the lifestyle.

20.09.2023 - 16:41 / insider.com

Before this summer, Harshit Bajpai was a self-proclaimed van virgin.

Late one day, the 30-year-old data scientist was scrolling on Instagram when he spotted a post promoting an opportunity to live and travel in a van for free. The only catch was that the driver of the van would record birdsongs, which would then be used for a nonprofit's conservation efforts. 

Bajpai told Insider that he was intrigued. He liked nature, preserving it, and exploring new places. Plus, he was even more thrilled he wouldn't need to use up vacation days, as he could work remotely from the van.

Bajpai looked into the details and discovered the application closed at midnight the same day. In a last-minute, hopeful effort, Bajpai said he submitted his application 20 minutes before the window closed. 

After a round of interviews, Bajpai was selected out of 1,800 to travel and bird-watch across the East Coast. Bajpai brought along a friend, and together, the two lived in a Ram ProMaster for a week for the very first time.

By the end of it, Bajpai said he was hooked on both bird-watching and van life. 

The Instagram ad Bajpai spotted was posted by the technology company Lenovo.

The company partnered with the nonprofit BirdLife International. Together, the organizations outfitted a Ram ProMaster with AI technology that could record birdcalls and birdsongs. That data would then be used for conservation efforts to protect bird species and their habitats. 

With a van equipped with technology, the organizations needed drivers. So they launched a program offering a weeklong trip in the van for four different drivers. 

Altogether, they received 1,800 applicants, Virginia Ford, the public relations manager for Lenovo's North America office, told Insider. 

"We were looking for that kind of citizen scientist, curious person who wanted to get out there and get outside of their comfort zone a little bit," Ford said. 

Bajpai fit that role. He said that he thinks his background in technology along with a passion for nature and traveling helped him solidify his spot.

On June 25, Bajpai flew from his home airport in Florida and started the journey in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. From there, he and his friend drove along the coast of South Carolina, up to North Carolina. The pair then drove into Virginia, through DC, and ended their trip in Baltimore, Maryland. 

Together, the trip was seven days and six nights. Each night, the pair slept at a different campground. During the day, they worked from the van.

Bajpai said that before going to bed each night, he would turn on a recorder that was attached to the van. This recorder could pick up birdcalls. Using birdsong audio detection software from Cornell University's Lab of Ornithology, the calls