Globetrotters Without a Penny

Sammael Bard

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Found this story on my Facebook Page this morning. Hope y'all like this:



Milan Bihlmann, 27, from Germany and Muammer Yilmaz, 39, a man of Turkish origin from France, set off from Paris sharp at 9.09am on September 9 with a mission to travel around the world without spending any money of their own and depending completely on human kindness to eat, sleep and even travel on.

Milan and Muammer first met on Couchsurfing, a social hospitality network, before the German hosted the Frenchman for three days at his home in Munich. They soon discovered their common interest for travel and hit upon a plan.

Hitching rides, braving unexpected delays and at times running away from cops, the duo have clocked 8,000km already and hope to cover the journey around the world in 80 days, much like Phileas Fogg in Jules Verne’s 1873 novel.

“You just have to open up in front of people. I believe in people’s curiosity and urge to connect when approached with an open mind and open heart,” said Milan, who has studied international business.

Milan and Muammer are now Iftekhar’s guests. “Once on the road, you always end up somewhere nice in the end,” winked Milan, as he related the morning’s adventure.

Having started from the foot of the Eiffel Tower, they hitched rides on cars and trucks across Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey before entering Iran. While the European leg of the tour had been smooth, the first hurdle came up while entering Iran as Milan, a German, was not eligible for visa on arrival. They had to wait for seven days, almost 10 per cent of their target of 80, at the Turkey-Iran border while the visa application was processed.

“In Iran, as we neared the Pakistan border, people started warning us that we would be killed if we went into Pakistan. It was scary because everyone was telling us the same thing but, obviously, we went right ahead,” said Muammer. They were not killed in Pakistan but had to spend the next two days in the carriage of pick-up vans in which the army transported them 600km from the Iran border to Lahore.

“The police told us in Lahore that they would escort us to the Wagah border but only after three days as that is the time it would take to get a no-objection certificate for our departure,” said Muammer, who along with Milan and a Turkish companion of theirs slipped out of the hotel and took a train to Wagah.

“Someone called Hasan invited us for lunch on the platform. Another bloke called Saif and his neighbours welcomed us into their sleeping compartment, shared their beds with us for the night, along with tea, cookies,” recounted Muammer.

The travellers have had their share of generous hospitality as well as hiccups. “Just the other day, we waited for four hours on a highway in Bulgaria as no one was willing to give us a lift. The next day, in Turkey, someone invited us to a wedding house and treated us like kings,” Milan said.

The two men are documenting their experiences on the go on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/80dayschallenge) and their website (www.optimistic-traveler.com) through an agency to whom they keep couriering their recordings with help from “kind-hearted strangers”.

Their first stop in India was Amritsar, from where they went to Delhi, Agra and Varanasi before coming to Calcutta. In Varanasi, they performed a few tricks at the railway station before asking someone to buy them two general class tickets to Howrah.

Now they face the challenge of getting two flight tickets to Bangkok or cargo ship tickets to Malaysia to continue their dream run. “As of now we, don’t know where the money will come from but probably it will. If it does, we will be another step closer to being the first people to go around the world in 80 days,” said Muammer.

From South-east Asia, the travellers plan to go to California and then across the US to New York before crossing the Atlantic to return to Paris.



Source: The Telegraph.



Never expected they'd go this far on stranger's Hospitality. Would make a great story, I think.
 
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Whew, what a relief! I was afraid for a second that the Harlem Globetrotters had gone broke. :D
 
Whew, what a relief! I was afraid for a second that the Harlem Globetrotters had gone broke. :D

Ha! :D

Now that'd be another interesting story -

A Manager with a personal vendetta against the Owner(s) wrecks destruction on the unsuspecting bastards...
 
And one would think that there is no kindness left in this world. :)

I think it has a lot to do with the friendly and gregarious nature of the travellers in question. One can't travel that far if you're rude and belittling to others. Of course, they also have to be resourceful among other things, but the previous two qualities trump all the others.

I think a story might have been made on this already, in one form or the other. Too good a plot to miss.



I liked reading it. Thanks for sharing. :rose:
 
And one would think that there is no kindness left in this world. :)

I think it has a lot to do with the friendly and gregarious nature of the travellers in question. One can't travel that far if you're rude and belittling to others. Of course, they also have to be resourceful among other things, but the previous two qualities trump all the others.

I think a story might have been made on this already, in one form or the other. Too good a plot to miss.



I liked reading it. Thanks for sharing. :rose:

Generosity is the word, I think. :)

Yeah, I was also surprised that they got this far. I hope they reach their intended goals.
 
I would imagine the hardest part would be getting across the oceans. Don't forget that Phileas Fogg was hugely rich and bought his way around the world.
 
I would imagine the hardest part would be getting across the oceans. Don't forget that Phileas Fogg was hugely rich and bought his way around the world.

True. Maybe they can get aboard some cargo ship, or if they're very lucky, someone'll get them plane tickets. I hope they get lucky this time. It'll be sad to see their journey end just because of the water barrier.
 
I would imagine the hardest part would be getting across the oceans. Don't forget that Phileas Fogg was hugely rich and bought his way around the world.

Fogg didn't have to deal with Visas and people concerned with terrorists either

Shame is two women could never do this, they'd have been raped to death in the middle east/India.
 
True. Maybe they can get aboard some cargo ship, or if they're very lucky, someone'll get them plane tickets. I hope they get lucky this time. It'll be sad to see their journey end just because of the water barrier.

Maybe they'll get on board a cargo ship and do a little work to pay back some of the freeloading generosity they're taking advantage of.
 
Fogg didn't have to deal with Visas and people concerned with terrorists either

Shame is two women could never do this, they'd have been raped to death in the middle east/India.

Middle East (Not the extremist Syrian War zone. The ones like UAE and Saudi Arabia) have very Strict Laws regarding rapes, which include cutting off the hands of the offender.

India has had a few extreme cases in the past, but the scene isn't THAT bad.

That said, most people would thinks of women tourists as easy targets. And that would be the scene in every country, I think.

Maybe they'll get on board a cargo ship and do a little work to pay back some of the freeloading generosity they're taking advantage of.

Yep, they've been doing just that till now. Maybe some menial work here and there.

It'll be fun to watch someone buy them Plane tickets, though. In a place where fuel prices are rocketing, those aren't cheap things.
 
Middle East (Not the extremist Syrian War zone. The ones like UAE and Saudi Arabia) have very Strict Laws regarding rapes, which include cutting off the hands of the offender.

India has had a few extreme cases in the past, but the scene isn't THAT bad.

That said, most people would thinks of women tourists as easy targets. And that would be the scene in every country, I think.



Yep, they've been doing just that till now. Maybe some menial work here and there.

It'll be fun to watch someone buy them Plane tickets, though. In a place where fuel prices are rocketing, those aren't cheap things.


I've travelled a lot in and around the Eurasian Continent. Most people are the same everywhere, they're indifferent to a tourist, except in Rome, where they'll try to rip you off for every money you have. The Dutch were the friendliest :)rose:).


I don't think harassing of Women Tourist is that wide spread, although that would be me speaking from my personal experience. But Women Travelling alone would be still advised against, due to the obvious security risks in a foreign Country.
 
Call me nutters, but I think I've met Milan Bilmann. Funny guy, full of energy and always had something good to say.

Will check his picture again.


I've travelled a lot in and around the Eurasian Continent. Most people are the same everywhere, they're indifferent to a tourist, except in Rome, where they'll try to rip you off for every money you have. The Dutch were the friendliest :)rose:).


I don't think harassing of Women Tourist is that wide spread, although that would be me speaking from my personal experience. But Women Travelling alone would be still advised against, due to the obvious security risks in a foreign Country.

You're Lucky, very Lucky. Almost all of my Lady friends and acquaintances claim to have been harassed at least once in one form or the other.
 
I've travelled a lot in and around the Eurasian Continent. Most people are the same everywhere, they're indifferent to a tourist, except in Rome, where they'll try to rip you off for every money you have. The Dutch were the friendliest :)rose:).

I just now pulled out a traveler's catalog to buy one of those hidden valuables pouches for a trip to the Med next year--specifically thinking of Rome. Decades ago my father got pickpocketed in the Rome airport both coming and going with only aircraft changes in Rome on a business trip to Turkey.

Everywhere I've been in Europe on vacation in recent decades, the people have been quite friendly. When I lived in France, they weren't, but I have to hope they've changed. And I once made the mistake of speaking German on a trip to the Netherlands. That didn't work out well until I showed that I actually was American, and not German.
 
I just now pulled out a traveler's catalog to buy one of those hidden valuables pouches for a trip to the Med next year--specifically thinking of Rome. Decades ago my father got pickpocketed in the Rome airport both coming and going with only aircraft changes in Rome on a business trip to Turkey.

Everywhere I've been in Europe on vacation in recent decades, the people have been quite friendly. When I lived in France, they weren't, but I have to hope they've changed. And I once made the mistake of speaking German on a trip to the Netherlands. That didn't work out well until I showed that I actually was American, and not German.

Rome, as the locals say, is full of ladris. My friend got billed with 50 euros for ordering two measly sandwiches from a restaurant. The tourist hotspots are the worst, every single person is trying to scam you.

The French can pretty much talk about nothing given it's a fine sunny day. I joined a French discussion in a cafe by just saying oui a few times when I thought it was appropriate. :D They are friendly, but in a weird sort of way. (No offence)

I sprained my leg on my second day in Netherlands. They were on me in a flash, helping me and asking if everything were alright. Thankfully, there was a Brit guy nearby who helped in the translation.
 
Rome, as the locals say, is full of ladris. My friend got billed with 50 euros for ordering two measly sandwiches from a restaurant. The tourist hotspots are the worst, every single person is trying to scam you.

The French can pretty much talk about nothing given it's a fine sunny day. I joined a French discussion in a cafe by just saying oui a few times when I thought it was appropriate. :D They are friendly, but in a weird sort of way. (No offence)

I sprained my leg on my second day in Netherlands. They were on me in a flash, helping me and asking if everything were alright. Thankfully, there was a Brit guy nearby who helped in the translation.

I hate the godawful varieties of French sauce. Blech!
 
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