Kadir Mert, a Turkish traveler, plans to journey 15,000 kilometers (9,320 miles) in a school bus that he turned into a caravan.
"I'll set a course for my life," Mert said. The adventurer is a software developer and paragliding instructor from the northern province of Samsun, who is planning the long journey on the route extending to Iran, Pakistan and Nepal with his caravan.
"I bought this school bus from Izmir two years ago for TL 260,000 ($13,955) as scrap and worked hard to turn it into a caravan by spending TL 440,000," he explained.
Stating that he had the opportunity to travel to countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia, Nepal and India, he said this time he will undertake the journey in his caravan and has obtained the necessary travel documents for each country.
After resolving a heating problem with LPG by integrating a smaller heater in the vehicle, he was also able to meet his electricity needs from the solar panels on the roof of the caravan.
"We will first pass from Van to Iran and will travel approximately 2,500 kilometers in Iran. From there we will pass to Pakistan, crossing India, and eventually to Nepal. The route I am talking about is approximately 7,500 miles, which makes a total of 15,000 kilometers of travel," he said.
Stating that they plan to complete the journey in two to three months, he explained: "Afghanistan was also on my route, but owing to the war events and security concerns, I chose the south of Iran connecting to Pakistan. Although Pakistan and India also had tensed relations when I made contact with the concerned authorities of these countries, they welcomed me and assured my safe passage without any problems."
"To be honest, the war does not scare me because the journey excites me more," he expressed.
He continued saying that they will stop in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, and conduct paragliding training, Mert said.
"On my return to Samsun, I will arrange my finances and plan trips to Africa and the Americas," he explained.
