Travelling the world on two wheels

By Jo Steele From the snow-capped mountains of the Himalayas to the turquoise seas of the Maldives, Pushkar Shah has seen it all from the seat of his bicycle. During his eight-year bicycle trek through 87 countries, Shah, from Nepal, has seen both the best in people and the worst. But despite thieves stealing his bike and being attacked, it is the people he has met along the way and the sights he has seen that he will remember. He has been in Cape Town to take part in the Cape Argus Pick ’n Pay Cycle Tour and is heading back north via Angola, Gabon and Cameroon. He plans to continue his epic journey until 2009 and wants to end it by climbing Mount Everest with the flags from all the countries he has visited. “We have one sun, one moon, we have one sky and one world. So the world is one house. We are the family of that house so we have to live in peace,” he said. He gets over the language barriers by using sign language although he picks up phrases to help him get by. Shah, a peace activist in college and witness to violence throughout his life in Nepal, left home in 1998 with the goal of cycling 390 000km and visiting every country in the world to promote peace. He cycles 10 hours a day on average, drinks five to six litres of water and covers about 100km. He says he has not been ill once during his journey – “not even a headache or a cold”. He grew up in a small Nepalese village called Dolakha near Mount Everest without electricity, running water, telephones or even roads. Nepal is between China and India and is home to the Himalayan mountains. “When I began my journey eight years ago, many people did not believe that such a trip was possible and said that I would get no further than India. “They said I would get lost and never be able to find my way home. I can’t wait until I do return so they can say ‘Look, Pushkar has found his way home’.” His dream to tour the world grew out of tragedy. His father, a peacekeeping soldier, was killed in 1986 in a terrorist attack and Shah, a graduate from the University of Kathmandu, himself was beaten and tortured by police while he was a peace activist. He said he has been arrested “many times” for his peace activism. At the start of his journey his mother gave him 100 Nepalese rupees (R10). He has kept the money and plans to give it back to her when he returns home. Instead he has been relying on the generosity of people he meets. “I’m like a survivor day by day. Everyday I ask ‘Please send me today one more person who is kind’,” said Pushkar, who does small jobs to raise money to buy airline and other tickets to cross the oceans. While he was travelling in Mexico in 2003 three men pulled a knife and knocked him unconscious. He managed to escape from them into the desert having only suffered cuts and bruises. In 2001, it was Sir Edmund Hilary, who came to Shah’s rescue when his bike was stolen while he was cycling across New Zealand. Hilary, the first man to conquer Mount Everest, paid for him to get a new bike. “I met him on my birthday so it is a birthday I will never forget. He said he was sorry for what his countrymen did.” Shah counts himself as one of the luckiest people alive – “I have been around the world and not many people do that, especially on a bike. I’m a very lucky person.” To follow Shah’s progress log on to www.pushkarshah.com jos@incape.co.za This article was originally published on page 10 of Cape Argus on March 17, 2006

Pedal power: Pushkar Shah, says he survives day by day, with the help of kind people along the way. Photo: Lulama Zenzile, Cape Argus

Warning!

Don't wear watches or clean new jeans here

Johannesburg is also called the Golden City of South Africa but its reputation is a bit tarnished. I had heard enough scary stories about Joburg before arriving here to make me want to leave in a hurry.

I did, however, venture into the city a couple of times with no watch, no sunglasses, no camera, no nice T-shirt, no nice jeans, etc. Stories of people getting killed for 5 Rand float around. With a bullet costing only 2 Rand, the robber could still make a 3 Rand profit. If he steals the bullet, his net profit is 5 Rand.

There was this big story in a newspaper about people being killed for a piece of chicken. Every day, you hear police sirens rushing around the city a dozen times. This is 'normal life' in Joburg. The residential houses look like prisons with high gates, electric fences and a couple of menacing dogs baring their teeth from within. If you venture too close, the owner might come out pointing a gun at you.

There are some Nepalis living here. Some run small businesses, others are students, some are looking for refuge in a safer country and are using Joburg as a transit point. I didn't meet a single Nepali who hadn't been robbed. The 'least' robbed number was three times, some had been robbed as many as 12 times. They told me that they sent all their new jeans home. They haven't seen a watch in a long time, they keep it in boxes, maybe the batteries are dead by now.

Students here tell me of robberies that happen in broad daylight in the middle of town. If you see somebody wearing a watch in the city, it means the person is new to Joburg or is a robber. Normal people here don't wear watches.

The police say they are trying to control robbery. The jails are full of robbers. They might send robbers to jail but I'm told it has really become a training ground for new robbery ideas and techniques. There's a famous saying here which goes: If you want to be a medical doctor or surgeon, come to Joburg. I think its true because Joburg hospitals fill up daily with people who have bullet or knife wounds. A novice can quickly become an expert surgeon in a Joburg hospital with all the practice. People don't ride the local trains as that's where most of the robberies take place. Victims are usually from other poor African countries. The World Cup Football 2010 will be held in South Africa. How safe will it be? The big question mark hangs in the middle of Joburg.

Peace,
Pushkar Shah, Johannesburg

source-wavemagezine