Maliha Fairooz stated her first reminiscence of touring was from Bangladesh to London when she was 4 years outdated.
“Most children, once they’re on an airplane, they’re crying and throwing tantrums,” she stated. “However not me — I used to be so excited. I keep in mind flying by the clouds, wanting down on the sky and considering ‘I am principally a chicken.'”
She’s simply as excited to journey now, she stated.
Fairooz has traveled to 102 nations and is greater than midway towards her objective of visiting each nation on the earth.
However the motive she received a NomadMania Award in October is that she’s made it this far with a Bangladeshi passport, ranked the eighth worst passport globally within the Henley Passport Index.
The Bangladeshi passport solely permits visa-free entry to 40 nations. As compared, Singaporeans, who maintain the highest passport within the rating, can enter 193 nations with no visa.
Fairooz has traveled to 102 nations and goals to go to nearly as many extra.
Maliha Fairooz
That makes touring a lot tougher, with extra purple tape to handle, she stated.
For instance, earlier than Fairooz may apply for a visa to go to Kyrgyzstan, she wanted an official a call for participation from a journey company within the nation. To get the letter, she had to purchase a journey bundle with a Bangladeshi journey agent first.
Then she waited 5 to 6 weeks for her visa to be authorised, she stated.
At 16, Fairooz left Bangladesh together with her mom and lived in numerous elements of the world, together with East Africa and the UK. She now resides in Berlin and works for a human rights and democracy non-governmental group.
Touring as a girl of colour
For her, a significant problem she faces whereas touring is the stereotype that Bangladeshis are unlawful immigrants, she stated, mentioning that nations with stronger passports are typically wealthier, which provides to the mindset that these vacationers are explorers and adventurers.
There are additionally many challenges that solo feminine vacationers endure, Fairooz stated, nevertheless it will get even worse when one’s nationality is added to it.
Fairooz received a NomadMania Award in October for being so properly traveled regardless of having a passport that opens few doorways.
Maliha Fairooz
“I am extraordinarily privileged — by way of class, schooling and financially,” she stated. “Regardless of all these items, folks nonetheless see me as a quantity or a statistic.”
Fairooz stated certainly one of her most traumatic experiences whereas touring was being detained in an airport within the African nation of Cape Verde.
Though she had the required visas and paperwork to enter, she stated officers did not let her enter after they noticed her passport. In accordance with her account of the incident, the authorities threatened to deport her to Senegal, the place she had come from, regardless that she not had a visa to return.
CNBC reached out to Cape Verde’s tourism authorities however didn’t obtain a response.
“The explanation they gave me was that no one would journey there for simply three or 4 days, regardless that they’re only a small island,” she stated.
Maliha Fairooz in Ghana.
Maliha Fairooz
Fairooz stated she was detained for 17 hours. Officers lastly let her go after her mom, who works for the United Nations, contacted the U.N. workplace there, she stated.
“They gave me a extremely tough time,” she added. “I used to be extraordinarily traumatized.”
The anxiousness and feeling of being trapped in a cell was a horrifying expertise, Fairooz stated, including that she’s now afraid each time she goes to an airport.
Nonetheless value it?
Nevertheless, dangerous experiences have not stopped her from touring.
Fairooz stated she believes her constructive experiences outweigh the damaging.
“There’s simply a lot magnificence and kindness and generosity on this world, and I really feel so privileged to have been capable of join with so many individuals from so many locations,” she stated.
Maliha Fairooz in Slovenia.
Maliha Fairooz
“I journey when nothing’s taking place in life to make one thing occur in life, and I journey to disconnect from the world,” Fairooz added.
Some folks get monetary savings to purchase a home or a automobile, however not her.
“I receives a commission higher working as an expat than I’d be if I lived in Bangladesh,” she stated. “So no matter cash I make, I spend nearly all of it on journey. And it is the very best.”
Her recommendation for individuals who wish to journey the world? Begin someplace.
“The daunting factor we do to ourselves is to set this objective, and from the start this objective is such a terrifying factor,” Fairooz stated. “However begin someplace small — journey inside your nation alone, journey to close by nations, after which you’ll slowly construct up the braveness to do extra.”
“Encompass your self with individuals who care about you and who additionally imagine in your objective,” she added. “That might be what retains you going as properly.”
