KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 4 — After 10 years of navigating countless twists and challenges on roads all over the globe, Malaysian solo traveller Anita Yusof has finally realised her dream of travelling around the world on a motorcycle.
Beginning the first and second legs of what she calls her Global Dream Ride in 2015 and 2019, respectively, the 58-year-old former lecturer has since ridden across over 120 countries spanning seven continents, her trusty companion being her Yamaha FZ150i motorbike.
Summing up her global adventure, the intrepid traveller, who is from Ipoh, Perak, said the experience was immensely rewarding, particularly the opportunity to gain deeper insight into the cultures and traditions of diverse nations.
More than just a question of distance or destinations, the adventure became a true test of physical endurance, mental strength and self-belief.
The second part of Anita’s Global Dream Ride, which she completed last month, cost her nearly RM400,000, with her journey taking her to 81 countries, including South Africa, Ethiopia and Mexico, as well as destinations like Alaska and even Antarctica. The last country she travelled to before returning home was Indonesia.
Not all moments were pleasant. Anita admitted that one of the most difficult episodes occurred when she was stranded in Ethiopia for nearly three weeks due to documentation issues preventing her from taking her motorcycle out of the country, at a point where she almost gave up and contemplated leaving behind her beloved machine.
“Getting the motorcycle out of Ethiopia was extremely difficult because it had overstayed due to the pandemic, and the authorities wanted to confiscate it. It was like a nightmare, but with prayers and perseverance, I managed to convince the officers there to allow me to take my motorcycle out,” she said, adding that her journey then continued to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
True to the saying that a rainbow appears after the rain, Anita later had the opportunity to perform the umrah, despite her initial apprehension over Saudi Arabia’s strict regulations, including restrictions on women riding motorcycles. Fortune smiled upon her as she managed to pass through all checkpoints without incident.
Reflecting on how her global journey began, Anita said initially, the idea of travelling the world on a motorcycle had never crossed her mind as she neither possessed a motorcycle licence nor knew how to ride one.
However, a personal life crisis she experienced in 2012 changed everything, prompting her to do something she described as “crazy”.
She said that during that difficult period, she came across a blog written by cyclist Zahariz Khuzaimah about his travels in Kyrgyzstan. His striking images and stories stirred her curiosity and ignited a strong desire to find out how to get there.
“Before riding a motorcycle, I was a backpacker. So, as a backpacker, I contacted him to ask how to get to the places he visited. He told me those places were very remote and that to reach them, I would need my own transport because there was no public transportation,” she said.
She said hiring a car or driver would have been too costly, and attempts to persuade friends to join her in her trip to Kyrgyzstan proved unsuccessful. Zahariz initially suggested cycling, but she felt it was unsuitable, before he finally proposed travelling by motorcycle.
“That was when the ‘naughty idea’ of getting involved in motorcycling suddenly came to me, even though I was already 44 years old then,” she said.
Anita recalled learning to ride a motorcycle in 2012, and started riding within Malaysia before gradually venturing to neighbouring countries such as Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. After a year of riding experience, she finally made her way to Kyrgyzstan, and also Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
“That was the beginning of my transformation from a backpacker into an adventure rider. In 2015, I went on my first world tour, taking a year of unpaid leave to travel across four continents and 40 countries - North America, South America, Europe and Asia,” she said, adding that the total distance covered exceeded 65,000 kilometres.
Unsatisfied with pursuing her newfound passion within limited timeframes, the Johor-born adventurer later chose early retirement (she was a lecturer at the Ipoh campus of Institut Pendidikan Guru), allowing her to continue exploring the world without being constrained by her job.
On her accommodation abroad, Anita said she did not always rely on hotels, but adapted to local conditions by staying in budget lodgings, campsites or with acquaintances she met along the way.
To ensure her safety while crossing remote regions, she equipped herself with essential gear, including extra fuel supplies to avoid running out of petrol in isolated areas. — Bernama
.
