Great Travellers Series-1: Ibn Battuta

Here’s a post that I wrote on Tapprs’ site. Reproducing it here.

In the year 1325, a 21 year old Morroccan young man named Ibn Battuta left his home in the city of Tangier to go on a trip to Mecca, a journey that would take ~5000 Kms, one side.

However, he loved travelling so much that he decided to extend his trip.. by a cool 115,000 Kms. A trip that would keep him away from home for 24 years!!!

And this was more than a century before Columbus and his ilk popularised globe trotting!

When locomotives didn’t exist, when travel was dangerous and dacoits were rampant, when Black Plague was a menacing epidemic.. Battuta almost covered half of the world!

A trip covering Egypt, Turkey, Syria, Somalia, Swahili and other parts of East Africa, Iraq, Persia and almost every corner of the Arab peninsula, Spain, Russia, Byzantium, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mauritius and China!!!

A trip that took him to the Pharos of Alexandria, the City of Damascus, the city of Jerusalem, the Great Pyramids of Giza, the Taj Mahal, the Great Baths of Baghdad, Anatolia, Constantinople, Black Sea and Shanghai just to give you a short list.

Phew! 24 years! And we think so much before we can even take a 2 day trip!

He recorded details of his trip in the book Rihla, or “My Travels”. You could get a translated copy from Flipkart.

Read more about him on Wikipedia, or here.

This Monday, let Battuta inspire you to take that long pending trip.

Now, what should you do?

Hmm.. get out of that damned cubicle!

If you are a regular backpacker, you already know what to do next… go ask your manager for leave!!!

If you aren’t into travelling much and don’t know where to start, here’s a bit of help.

1. Join a good group (for eg, this or this) in your area and go on a trip / ride / trek.
2. Rent (or buy) a travel guide and see if you can travel to places that interest you on your own.
3. Join good forums (like this or this) and read through existing travelogues and ask questions you may have.
4. Or talk to a good travel company and go on an organized trip (or trek) or two, if you don’t prefer DIY stuff.
5. Understand the do’s and dont’s of ethical travel.
6. Search for awsome travel bloggers from your area and follow their trips to inspire your own.
7. Once you have an idea of travel, we suggest DIY styled backpacking trips, treks and bicycling tours.. whichever may suit you. Not that we are against packaged trips, but most don’t give you the true experience a DIY backpacking trip can give.
8. Here’s a list of things to carry on a trek. Or on a bicycle tour. Or on a photography trip. However, we advise you to buy only stuff you know you will need. Most people get carried away by lists and buy everything listed.. only to later regret its non-usage. The stuff goes waste too.
9. Rent stuff wherever possible. Later, buy those that you think you really need for your travel.
10. Save money for more travel!!!
11. Share your travel stories with the couch potatoes and fill them with envy!

Travel Rental | Nikon Rental | Canon | Photography Book Rental

Bicycle touring

I was googling for bicycle rentals in Sikkim and Uttarkhand (to ride for just a day or two) and landed up at these pages.

1. Prof Amit’s 11 day 900km bicycle tour of Uttarkhand
2. Professors Amit’s and Saumyen’s tour of Kumaon region

I know both the professors through TFN where all of us were participants. So, it was even more interesting to read the trip report of someone  you know already.

And then, there are Shree’s tours of N. E. India and across the country.

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Inspiration

Inspiration shapes us all.

Here is a list of people, movies, books, things and events that have inspired me in the past (and continue to). It’s a growing list, I will come back and add more to it.

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What do you want to do in life?

What are the various things you would love to do in life?

You only have one life! Why not create a bucket list and start working on accomplishing it right away?

Here’s my list.

Leave a comment with a link to yours.

TFN day 4: Its not about cycling!

“Saar, no standing. Traffic police problem!”, warned the mini truck driver.

Poof went our plans of standing in an open truck and experiencing the wind in Titanic style!

Disappointed with not being able to stand, 10 of us managed to squeeze and squat into one of the two worn out mini trucks we had hired. In spite of the lack of space, everyone seemed amused!

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