With two sets of clothes, limited camping-cooking gear strapped onto his bicycle, and a shoe-string budget of just RO70, Hamdoon Sultan, an engineering student of Higher College of Technology, has set out on a 900km round trip of Morocco. The highlight of his 16-day adventure aimed at bringing out the best in him is a trek to the highest peak in the Arab world – Mount Toubkal – situated 1,474m above sea level.
“I love adventure and I am a storyteller. My mission is to go around the world on my bicycle and come back with interesting stories from different countries and cultures which I can narrate to people in Oman,” Hamdoon told TheWeek before taking a flight to Morocco earlier this week.
He is accompanied by friend Riyadh al Hinai, a civil engineering student, who joined him at the last minute.
Hamdoon has set the bar quite high for himself as this trip involves several stretches of steep ascents. Except for the three-day trek to Mount Toubkal, when he plans to park his bicycle at Imlil, a village at the foothills of the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, Hamdoon will be astride his ride during the rest of the journey.
A year ago, Hamdoon had set out to discover Yemen on his bicycle despite warnings from friends and family, but returned with interesting tales about the hospitality of the local populace. He related interesting aspects of his experience in Yemen at least 60 times at various forums and camps wherein he encouraged youngsters to take up daring adventures without being influenced by media reports.
In the past few months, Hamdoon trained hard by taking up biking and hiking expeditions, especially in high-altitude areas, to build up stamina and endurance for the Morocco trip.
Guided by a local hiking team from Wujmah village at Al’Sahtan, he covered uncharted trails in the Hajar mountains.
He also undertook the ‘balcony walk’ at midnight at Jebel Shams and camped at the Grand Canyon, besides trekking with a 20kg load comprising hiking gear. He pedalled up the Bausher-Amerat road with his bicycle loaded with travel gear to get used to arduous inclines. Hamdoon would ride about 70km each day, three to four times a week.
He is carrying simple food like dates and ‘kubs rakhal’, which has a long life, to provide him with energy during his rides. He also will be cooking his own meals with local produce whenever he can.
“The message that I wish to give through this expedition is – Pedal for a healthier lifestyle,” said Hamdoon, adding that he learnt several lessons on previous expeditions but the most important one was to value and conserve water. “When you run out of water, you realise the importance of every drop.”
With no sponsorship support, Hamdoon decided to keep the budget very tight. However, he hopes to take up a trip around all GCC states next and is on the look out for sponsors to support this venture. The ground work for next adventure will begin as soon as he is back from Morocco.
Plan of action
“My mission is to seek adventure by discovering the beautiful countryside and people of different cultures in different countries and to bring back interesting stories which I can share with people in Oman. I have been preparing and planning for Morocco over the past year,” says Hamdoon.
His 900km route in Morocco begins at Casablanca – the largest city in western Morocco and then he proceeds to El Jadid – a port city, Marrakesh – an economic centre and Imlil village from where he will trek up Mount Toubkal before returning.
