The videos document my pilgrimage from Indonesia to the African continent by land (no airplane!). The route: 1.) Indonesia: Traveling through Sumatran Mountains and Prehistoric Sites 2.) Malaysia: Meeting with the Aborigines of the Malay Peninsula 3.) Thailand: Tracing the Southeast Asian Ancient Empires 4.) Laos: Experiencing the Lao-China Railway 5.) China: Backpacking the Tibetan Plateau to the Edge of the Silk Road 6.) Kazakhstan: First Contact with the Central Asians 7.) Uzbekistan: Pilgrimage in the Land of the Timurids 8.) Tajikistan: Lost in the Fenn Mountains 9.) Afghanistan: Visiting Afghanistan after the Taliban Takeover 10.) Iran: Surrounded by the Ancient Civilization of Persia 11.) UAE: Short Transit in Futuristic Cities 12.) Saudi Arabia: Pilgrimage in the Holy Land of the Muslims 13.) Jordan: Catching a Glimpse of Jerusalem 14.) Egypt: Ending in the Land of Pharaohs
Curated by: Bang Jago (174 videos)
On the 181st day, I left Abu Dhabi for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, even though I had not received definite information about whether I could cross via the land border. I just hoped that the incidents on the borders of Afghanistan or Iraq would not be repeated. I departed from Airbnb in Al Reem by Automated Rapid Transit (ART), an environmentally friendly smart tram that was still in the trial phase so it was free. Then I changed buses to Al Shahamah on the edge of Abu Dhabi, where there was an international SAPTCO bus terminal from which a bus would take me to Riyadh. Buses from downtown Abu Dhabi only stopped at Deerfields Mall in Al Shahamah. Here I exchanged foreign money because money changers in the UAE accept all types of currency, from Thai Baht to Nepali Rupees. From the mall I continued by UAE taxi which was relatively expensive. 5 km to the bus terminal costed me 13.5 dirhams ($4). I almost couldn't take the international bus because the SAPTCO officer didn't believe that I, as an Indonesian citizen, could enter Saudi Arabia on the basis of an American visa, even though according to the official website this could be done. They had never before handled a similar case. It seems I was the first Indonesian to make us of this visa regulation via the land border. Long story short, my sister and I were finally allowed to ride the SAPTCO bus. I was also encouraged by the prayer shown on the bus screen that wished the passengers a smooth journey. The Abu Dhabi-Riyadh journey ran for 950 kilometers and would take 12 hours. In fact, we were held for 5 hours at the immigration because of the long queue for baggage check during the Arabian weekend (Friday). Regardless, the immigration process at Al Batha was very smooth. The bus stopped at Haradh for a meal break. The journey continued until the sun rose in the desert and finally I arrived in Riyadh safely. I continued the day with a Sabbath rest. Tomorrow, I planned to walk around Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. ___ Stage 1 Route - Sumatra (DONE!): Jakarta - Bandar Lampung - Baturaja - Lahat - Pagar Alam - Bengkulu - Lebong Tandai - Kerinci - Jambi - Kuala Tungkal - Batam - Johor Bahru Stage 2 Route - ASEAN Mainland (DONE!): Johor Bahru - Kuala Tahan - Kota Bharu - Su-Ngai Kolok - Nakhon Si Thammarat - Chaiya - Nakhon Pathom - Bangkok - Nakhon Ratchasima - Phimai - Nong Khai - Vientiane - Vang Vieng - Luang Prabang - Chiang Rai - Chiang Mai - Pai - Chiang Mai - Chiang Rai - Boten - Kunming, China Stage 3 Route - China (DONE!): Kunming - Dali - Lijiang - Shangri-La - Shambala - Litang - Chengdu - Leshan - Chengdu - Xi'an - Zhangye - Jiayuguan - Dunhuang - Turpan - Urumqi - Almaty, Kazakhstan Stage 4 Route - Central Asia (DONE!): Almaty - Shymkent - Tashkent - Nukus - Muynak - Turtkul - Khiva - Bukhara - Samarkand - Tashkent - Khujand - Fann Mountains - Dushanbe - Kunduz, Afghanistan Stage 5 Route - Afghanistan (DONE!): Kunduz - Samangan - Mazar-i-Sharif - Balkh - Kabul - Bamiyan - Band-e Amir - Yakawlang - Lal - Chagcharan - Herat - Mashhad, Iran Stage 6 Route - Iran (DONE): Mashhad - Tehran - Isfahan - Persepolis - Shiraz - Ahvaz - Shalamcheh Border - Shushtar - Shush - Bandar Abbas - Sharjah, UAE Stage 7 Route - Arabian Peninsula: Sharjah - Dubai - Abu Dhabi - Riyadh - Jeddah - Madinah - AlUla - Hegra - Tabuk - Haql - Aqaba, Jordan *Follow my Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/obeysianipar/) for direct messages **Message me for sponsorship --- Music Credits: And Awaken - Stings by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.