A girl from a conservative Muslim family from Khulna in Bangladesh, heard stories of travels of Ibn Batuta in her childhood. As she grew up, and wanted to travel with friends as is the case with youngsters, one of her friend’s mother said something about how ‘girls should stay girls’. This girl posed an angry question, “Is a woman’s ticket more expensive than that of a man’s?” Then on started globe-trotting of Kazi Asma Azmery. Now, 34 years of age, Kazi has already visited 115 countries and is still counting. Kazi Asma Azmery, who was in Nagpur on Tuesday, visited ‘The Hitavada’ and spoke about her journey. She completed her education in North-South University, Bangladesh, earned BBA degree in Marketing. She also did her MBA (HR) from East-West University. In 2007, she took her first solo trip to Thailand. One of her friends had travelled to 26 countries. Kazi also wanted to visit various countries. After the above-mentioned conversation with her friend’s mother, she decided to travel to 30 countries.

 

“As a Muslim girl, journey outside was not easy. I face hard time raising money. So, I worked and raised it through savings. Also, I raised money from my ornaments. People buy sarees and the likes. But, I find buying ticket for travel to a new destination more attractive,” Kazi told ‘The Hitavada’. From 2009, she started her real globe-trotting. She has visited 115 countries so far, and counting. During her visits, Kazi revealed, she found that the world was so big and there were so many options to choose from. All her trips are self-funded. She works for one-and-a-half years and packs bags for her mission to explore the world in next six months. She has travelled to Trans-Siberia, Belarus, Mongolia and what not. Brazil was her 50th destination and she visited it in 2014 during FIFA World Cup. Turkmenistan was the 100th country she visited. She plans to visit all the countries of the world, but her bucket list includes Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and South Africa. During her visits, Kazi also faced some problems.

 

“Twice, I was detained. First time it was in Vietnam. Second time I was detained in Cyprus because of documentation issues,” she recalled. Bangladeshi passport is under greater scrutiny, she said. Having gained this experience, she felt that other countries need to be more considerate towards developing countries. In Milan, she lost everything except money in her pockets. With whatever money she had after paying hotel charges, she did not have enough to buy something to eat. So, she had to sleep hungry. “But, I never gave up. For, everywhere, I found that people were kind enough. People may be dangerous politically, but at human level, they are nice. People may not speak a language, but they have assuring smile and emotions.

 

They share their food, chat, and add to our understanding of cultures,” said Kazi, with a smile. She had some good experiences too. For instance, she recalled, in Chechnya she wanted to go to bus stand. One person called a taxi. When she said that she could not afford it, he said that he too was going to bus stand. The man also bought her a bus ticket. When she asked, he replied that she was the guest in his country. As far as India is concerned, which she is exploring these days, she said that if one saw India one could get the experience of seeing 40 per cent of the world. “There is so much diversity of cultures, cuisine, terrain, language etc. There is golden desert, beaches in Goa, high-altitude regions like Spiti Valley, snow in Manali, fine architecture of Rajasthan, biryani and kebabs of Lucknow, tea gardens of Darjeeling, scenic beauty of Dooars, planned city of Chandigarh, Meenakshi Temple in Madurai, Wagah border in Amritsar... Truly, it is Incredible India!” she added with enthusiasm. During her stay in Nagpur, Kazi visited Deekshabhoomi and Zero Mile marker, before proceeding to Aurangabad to see Ajanta Ellora. Before leaving India, she wanted to visit Rann of Kutch. According to her, travelling is fun way to learn a lot. She described herself as a ‘traveller’ and not a ‘tourist’. Explaining the difference, she said that tourists stayed in nice hotels and were on picnic while travellers had no plan and wanted to just explore.

 

She did volunteering work with Rotary International units too, at places, and also planted a sapling in every country she visited. Before signing off, Kazi revealed her plan when asked as to what would her globe-trotting end with, “I want to set up a library and museum in Bangladesh, where I can keep all the souvenirs I have collected from across the world. For, I want women to visit it and feel empowered to take up travel. For, world has so many nice things to offer to explorers.”