The world is their oyster

Adventure enthusiasts from across the globe shared stories of their distinct experiences, from climbing daunting peaks to crossing multiple borders by foot and bicycle at the just concluded Travellers Festival 2012

A first-of-its-kind event in the Arab world and Middle East region, the three-day affair was the brainchild of Travellers Emirates, a group of enthusiastic UAE nationals whose passion has driven them, quite literally, across all continents by road since 1996.

“The festival aims to honour travellers who have achieved success and contributed significantly in setting records in various kinds of traditional sports, especially those who were not honoured in a way befitting their achievements,” said Awad Mohammad Bin Mejren, founder of the group and chairman of the organising committee for the event. According to Mejren, the most challenging part of organising the event was getting the travellers together. “Mostly travellers don’t stay in one place, you have to try and catch them.”

Meet the Nomads

As the first Arab woman to scale Mount Everest, Suzanne Al Houby believes commitment and passion are essential for adventure seekers. “Whenever I am climbing it’s about maximising my courage and minimising my fear. If I am crossing a ladder for example, and I know there is a bottomless crevasse, I am not really thinking about the crevasse. I am thinking about placing my feet on the ladder to be able to cross. I just don’t see beyond that,” says the mother of two teenaged girls.

It was after seeing pictures of the majestic Mount Everest during a trip to Nepal that Saeed Al Memari decided to climb the world’s highest mountain. Despite not having any formal training, Memari’s convictions enabled him to scale the Everest not once but twice. “The most challenging part was when you start for the summit, you just keep crossing dead bodies, almost every minute you see them.” He overcame obstacles by remembering he had to get to his target at any cost. And that’s the advice he has for adventure enthusiasts. “There’s nothing impossible in this world, if someone has done it, so can you.”

After a failed attempt at cycling from Malaysia to Beijing for the 2008 Olympics, Mohammad Adnan Osman reached London for the 2012 games, traversing 17,000km for 7 long months. Despite the arduous journey the septuagenarian says giving up never even crossed his mind. The overwhelming desire to travel gripped Osman after he gave up smoking at age 46 and started exercising vigorously to lose the subsequent bulk he had put on. Equipped with spare tyres and special cycle tubes, Osman never opts to check routes or use the navigational assistance of a GPS prior to setting off. “You know the general direction you are going in. When I would reach a city I would just ask the locals for directions. Everybody somehow speaks English and if they don’t, they will guide you to someone who does.” On his next trip, Osman plans to give the bike a break and trek instead from South to North Malaysia.

Swiss nationals Emil and Liliana Schmid have no concrete home. They live in their Land Cruiser and have been doing so for the past 28 years. Having no kids made it easier to get up and leave at age 42 and today the two have visited 172 countries. Their advice for budding adventure travellers: “Don’t think too much about it, don’t prepare every step. Just go. When you are on the road things happen by themselves, everything gets solved somehow.”

EMIRATI TO SCALE BURJ KHALIFA ON NEW YEAR’S DAY

Memari is all set to strike a new record when he BASE jumps (an activity where participants jump from fixed objects and use a parachute to break their fall) from the Burj Khalifa on 1 January 2013. The Emirati admits scaling the world’s tallest tower is tougher than climbing the Everest. “The mountain was easier, you can take breaks. You have a few days to reach the top. With this, you have to start and finish in one stretch.”

OTHER INTREPID TRAVELLERS

Among a host of other adventurers attending the first Travellers Festival 2012 was Mohsin Al Busaidi from Oman who sailed across the world in 2009 non-stop, for 76 days, 1 hour, 12 minutes and 24 seconds from Muscat back to Muscat with a team of five members. Busaidi admits what he enjoyed most about the gruelling journey was arriving back home.

A similar passion persuaded Yemeni Ahmad Al Qassimi to mount his camel and set off to visit different countries. Till date Qassimi has travelled for a year and a half through all the Arab Countries and East Asia covering a distance of 30,500km. He says the journey is never too long, as his friend the camel, is always by his side.

It was after his parents died that Senad Hadzic decided to perform Haj. With less than 50 euros in his pocket the Bosnian had no choice but to backpack his way to Makkah on foot and walked for 11 months over 5,500km to reach the Holy City. En route he went through 13 pairs of shoes and used up a thousand socks.

- Shahana Raza is a UAE-based freelance writer