A year ago on this date, I finished my 33,100 km Argentina to Alaska bicycle trip that took me three years and nine months, almost 10% of my life. Unlike my first tour from Germany to Pakistan that took 13 years from inception to realization, this one was a rather an impulsive decision. From the … Read more
Happy World Photography Day! I had an established career when my life took a strange twist. One day, I was a programmer, the next day, a bicycle traveller. I had nothing but a bicycle, a camera and a burning desire to see the world. Little did I know where my travels would take me. Little … Read more
A Letter to Pakistan on Independence Day 14 August Dear Pakistan, My story begins with you even before I was born. Mum always used to tell me that when she was pregnant, there was one Pakistani patriotic song “Har Ghari Tayyar Kamran Hain Hum” that would often play on PTV. While listening to it, she … Read more
Part 1 of Pakistan Independence Day on 14 August! Awakened by a dream, I realize that I have been sleeping for too long. I am in Tashkurghan, China for the past couple of days and have been doing nothing but resting. I’ve cycled 9226 km from Germany, and there is only 120 km left to … Read more
Travels teach us that there is a world beyond our own, not only because of different landscapes, but also in terms of cultures, religions, and belief systems. As I travelled the world on a bicycle, I felt a need to document my encounters. After more than 5 years, my catalogues contain over 250K photos/videos, several … Read more
It is Eid al-Adha today. Muslims around the world would be sacrificing animals today. In Pakistan alone, 10 million animals are slaughtered on the occasion of Eid. It’s my first big Eid in Pakistan after 5 years. But this time it’s different because I no longer consume meat. I turned vegetarian over three and a … Read more
It was late morning. Somewhere in the Highlands of Peru, the sun had just emerged from the fog. I was huffing and puffing on a steep uphill when a voice hit my ears, “Hola, amigo! (Hello, friend!)” I turned around and saw a woman, carrying a white chicken in her hands and baby wrapped in … Read more
Six years ago, if somebody told me I would be travelling by bicycle for several years, I wouldn’t have believed them. Oscar Wilde said, “if you want to be a grocer, or a general, or a politician, or a judge, you will invariably become it; that is your punishment.” Once I too considered my career … Read more
During the last five years of my bicycle travels, I have spent numerous nights in the wilderness and camped in all sorts of abandoned buildings, ghost towns, churches, mosques, bus stops, deserted vehicles, and offices. In Alaska, I even spent a night inside a pit toilet. Far away from home, these unusual places became my … Read more
Somewhere in Ecuador, a swing hung over a steep rock face at 2600-m above sea level. They called it the “Swing at the End of the World” because a fall from the swing into the abyss could bring the end of the world to the rider. The swing was attached to a wooden house nestled … Read more
Today is July 21. I turn 43! Sitting by the Minor Canal in Layyah as I dip my feet in the water, the arrow of time suddenly stops and then starts flying in the reverse direction. I am only six years old and spinning a tricycle along this canal as if trying to break the … Read more
There is a world out there with pristine mountains, mighty rivers, oceans, never ending roads, and vast deserts waiting for you. Once you go and see them, they will change your heart.
In Layyah, the doorbell rings at our house. Outside, a child clings to his mother’s finger and stares at me with big eyes. His mom Shamim Akhtar is here with her daughter and a little son. My sister had given free ration and money to this family a while ago and also told me about … Read more
“Sh“ince I was a child, I loved driving a donkey cart. I got the feeling of flying from it. My elders were also in this profession. I have been working in this street in Sadar, Karachi for the past 25 years. I carry cement, machinery, furniture, heavy equipment, anything you name it,” Yousuf said whom … Read more
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