Thousands of waterfalls tumble at the Agua Azul in the Chiapas rainforest in southern Mexico. The cascading water glistens in the soft light, and a gentle breeze sprays tiny drops of water on my face. Despite all the action and noise of the waterfalls, it all seems still and silent. I could have been anywhere … Read more
What drives you? Day after day, long hours on never-ending roads, on those freezing mornings and blistering hot afternoons, in the pouring rain and sand storms, through jungles and deserts, and mountains and endless plains. What makes you get up? With the broken body and a heart shattered a few times, with no future in … Read more
Dear Mexico, When the immigration officer at the border gave me a six-month entry, I cycled like a mad man screaming with joy. The Mayan pyramids of Yucatan peeped out of forest canopy just to see who had arrived. I can write about your landscape, from rugged mountains to canyons, from lush jungles to deserts, … Read more
A Letter to Pakistan on Independence Day 14 August Dear Pakistan, My story begins with you even before I was born. Mum always used to tell me that when she was pregnant, there was one Pakistani patriotic song “Har Ghari Tayyar Kamran Hain Hum” that would often play on PTV. While listening to it, she … Read more
There is a world out there with pristine mountains, mighty rivers, oceans, never ending roads, and vast deserts waiting for you. Once you go and see them, they will change your heart.
A cactus tree stands beside my tent like a sentinel. I sit on a rock looking at the stars wondering who has set the wheel of the sky in motion? Is the universe dancing in unison with a whirling dervish? What are these lights? Is the sun shining on the night ocean or the roof … Read more
If you draw a horizontal line on the world map at the 30.963280° latitude, somewhere this line is going to cross my hometown Layyah in Pakistan. During my bicycle trip from Argentina to Alaska bicycle tour, I crossed this latitude near San Felipe in Baja California, Mexico in January 2018 and thus, was in perfect … Read more
After cycling for 4500 km in Mexico over the course of five months, I hit a massive wall in Tijuana which halted my journey to the north. I have always been fascinated by international borders so I spent a few days in Tijuana to observe the US/Mexico wall. Read my full essay on Facebook.
When Hernando Cortes and his six hundred Spaniards arrived in Mexico City in 1521, the indigenous Aztec people believed that the white men must be the promised gods returning at last from across the Gulf of Mexico. Thus the Spanish conquistadors entered the city, not only as welcomed guests, but also as gods coming home. … Read more
I stopped at a turn off the Highway 1 where a dirt road went to the mountains in the distance. Looking behind there was nothing except one long black line in the desert. Maria had disappeared behind the horizon. Before leaving she had told me about a man with the name Coco who lived in … Read more
My time in Mexico is over, but the journey continues. Over the past five months and a distance of some 4500 km from the south-east to the northwest of the country, I received a lot of help from the locals. Countless people invited me into their homes and opened their hearts to me. On the … Read more
It is my last day in Mexico. I spend another day along the Mexico-US border wall in Tijuana and cycle west to the coast. My journey takes me to the beach where the border fence meets the Pacific ocean. There, a historical monument marks the initial point of the boundary between the United States and … Read more
It is another night in Baja California and the desert is my home. A cactus tree stands beside my tent like a guard. I sit on a rock looking at the stars wondering who has set the wheel of the sky in motion? Is the universe dancing in unison with a whirling dervish? What are … Read more
As darkness fell upon the Baja California desert in Mexico, cacti silhouettes appeared like giant hands of a skeleton rising out of the sand. I set up my tent near a cactus and sat in the door. The sky was full of stars. It reminisced me of my childhood when I used to count stars … Read more
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