Vladimir - The New Forrest Gump
If you ever see a man walking on a highway in Qatar pushing this three wheeled trolley with a banner ‘I wanna be a new Forrest Gump’, you would probably think him to be another over-enthusiastic tourist. When I saw him at Abu Nakhla this morning, I parked my car a bit ahead of him and waited outside till he reached me. The banner said ‘On foot across the Universe’ which probably meant he wanted to travel round the earth on foot. We greeted each other and chatted for a while I tried to know about him and his ambitious venture.
Vladimir is a teacher and a chess-master from Russia who wants to walk across as many countries as possible in his lifetime. He started his journey in 2003 from Kazakhstan and till now he has visited some 22 countries, naming some like China, Thailand and Laos. Qatar is the first Islamic country he is visiting and he said he was afraid to come to Qatar initially. He is all by himself; no sponsors or attendants. He cooks his own food and sleeps inside a sleeping bag setting up a small tent in the desert.
I took some pictures of Vladimir, wished him success, took his permission to publish his story in Qatar Living forum and moved on….thinking how passionate could people be to experience and understand this world in their own ways.
Ruunn foreessttt!!rruunnnn... :)
One of my colleagues, who was driving towards Um Baab taking a right from Salwa Road, saw Vladimir going towards Um Baab. Possibly he will camp in Dukhan tonight and move around Dukhan and Zikreet areas tomorrow.
A couple who were 18 months into a trip around the world by bicycle have been killed in a road accident in Thailand.
Mary Thompson and Peter Root from the British island of Guernsey had ridden across Europe and central Asia, documenting their travels in film and on a blog.
Thai police said the pair, both in their midthirties,
were travelling along the hard shoulder of a main road in eastern Chachoengsao province when a pick-up truck veered out of its lane and hit them. The 25-year-old Thai driver, who was arrested at the scene, had reached
down to pick up his hat from the floor of the truck causing the vehicle to swerve into the couple. Gulf Times - Today.
Good Luck & Long Life for everone !
He dont have his six packs abs yet.. :(
lol...
He is funded by donations.
As far as the roundabouts are concerned, Rizks was riding ten feet in front if him with a large red flag on his bike to warn the motorists..
Wow!... he must have tons of stories to say... about his travel in each country. Gutsy Guy...
But how does he fund his travel?...
...and how does he cross the multiple Doha Roundabouts with this trolley?
...and where was he headed to?
He said Qatar is the first Islamic country he has ever been to then how did he enter Qatar without having to cross Saudi because that is the only country Qatar borders and if this guy has been travelling on foot everywhere then he must have had to cross Saudi.
Wow...to say he is adventurous and courageous are understatements. What a resolute and unflinching man he must be to forgo much comforts and security to achieve his goals in life. And whilst I doubt I can ever do what he is doing, kudos to him all the same!
His idea is OK but travelling alone & that too on foot is not recommended at all .. and when he sleeps in a tent [ ? ] in the desert [ legal issues ] plus other sanitary aspects are easy to understand.
Respect! Best of luck to him!
Hats off to him. He is happy with his lot and doing something he believes in. Not many of us can say that.
This guy is cool!