The woman, who was born in 1985 in Magelang, Central Java, embodied her dream of traveling around the world, especially from Indonesia to Africa. She traveled 23,181 kilometers, passing 18 countries and 44 cities for 4.5 months, but avoided flying on a plane.
Through a road trip, she claimed to be able to feel and see various places in detail, navigating kilometers by kilometer of the earth, and witnessing the changes in the landscape and the climate - from heat to cold and heat again.
Traveling by land has brought her closer to the local population and enabled her to interact with people from diverse cultures and backgrounds.
"I want to see how people live, their customs, and their culture, along the way. I want to see and celebrate the differences," remarked Fame, as she is usually called.
She began her journey from Riau, Indonesia, and continued to Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, China, Mongolia, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Switzerland, France, and Spain, before finally reaching her destination in Morocco, the gateway to Africa.
According to Fame, land travel is one way to reduce carbon footprint, at least no more than taking a trip by plane.
"Buses and trains produce lesser carbon footprints, and with `hitchhiking,` I only cut down vehicles that would indeed go to the same place," she stated.
Fame shared her experiences of the Indonesian-African land trip in a book called Kelana.
The importance of planning
For Fame, planning is crucial while carrying out her journey, especially a research on travel routes and preparation of necessary documents.
"A research should be done on the destination to be visited and the clothing that is suitable for use at the destination," she explained.
While doing a solo journey, she suggested," Don`t be naive if traveling alone. Don`t come to the destination at night or if it is dark. If you don`t understand, just pretend to know," Fame revealed.
She also suggested carrying only items that are essential, because carrying too many luggage could make traveling difficult.
"If I use a 32-kilogram backpack, my clothes, camera, laptop, and make-up can go into the backpack. At the destination, I also have to diligently wash it," she noted.
In the course of the Indonesia-Africa trip, she learned a lesson, which is to remain united in humanity.
"So this trip is a journey to celebrate differences. We are all different, but united in humanity," she pointed out.
Reporting by Zubi Mahrofi, Eliswan Azli
Reporter: Antara
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
