Kuwaiti prolific globetrotter Maryam Sultan with 197 countries under her belt

Globetrotter Maryam Sultan had achieved an outstanding feat by traveling around the world visiting 197 countries, a daunting task which sure had many challenges, wonders, and delights.

In an interview with KUNA on Monday, Sultan provided her more insight into her wondrous journeys that saw her conclude her quest in Uruguay last June.

She spoke about her experiences and the difficulties faced on those trips, one of them during a group-climbing trip in Nepal, where a member was fatigued and unable to continue, so a helicopter with the help of the Saudi embassy extracted the person.

She faced other risks including being in countries where diseases and epidemics were widespread, going to places that lacked security in some areas, as well as experiencing the ground shaking while climbing a volcano in Ethiopia. She stressed the need for sufficient fitness to endure most conditions.

Sultan revealed that her passion for traveling began in 2006 with a group of friends, noting that in 2012 she turned to solo traveling, and her passion amplified the want to visit dangerous and remote places even if they were countries suffering from wars and epidemics.

She added that traveling alone helped her discover different cultures, as she was curious to know more countries and taste local foods.

She said that she preferred countries such as North Korea, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Madagascar and Mauritania that did not have foreign involvement in their culture.

She explained that during her travels, she learned tolerance and acceptance to things that were culturally, intellectually, and ideologically different, noting those differences must be built on mutual respect.

Perhaps Sultan’s journey is one of many shared around the globe, but surely her achievement adds to the interconnectivity of humanity and people all over the world.

Source: KUNA