Man Traveling from Egypt to Japan Without an Airplane Has Relied on Foot, Train and Even Camel (Exclusive)

Omar Nok started his journey from his native Egypt to Japan on February 8, 2024.

Either way, a trip of more than 10,000 miles would be tiring. But for Nok, who decided to go on the trip without traveling by plane and without his own car, it was even more difficult.

“I came up with the idea of ​​doing this trip without flying so I could visit and see as many places and people as possible along the way,” Nok, 30, tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview.

He continues: “Flying is like a shortcut from one place to another and I wanted to explore as much as I could along the way, esp [since] I’ve never traveled to Asia before.”

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Omar Nok.

Omar Nok

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Prior to his trip, Nok worked in financial reporting for a European technology company. But his wanderlust eventually took over, forcing him to take a two-and-a-half-year sabbatical from his job to “fulfill his dream of exploring and adventuring around the world.”

Although he didn’t have a set itinerary, he knew his starting point — Cairo, Egypt — and his final destination: Japan, which he says he chose because it was so far from home.

“It’s the farthest, which allows me to explore more of the continent since I’m not flying,” Nok tells PEOPLE.

Omar Nok on a camel.

Omar Nok

Without the simplicity of an airplane, Nok instead relied on a number of more unique modes of travel. To cross the Red Sea from Egypt to Saudi Arabia, he took a cargo ship. To cross the mountains of Kyrgyzstan, he went on horseback.

“Also, I hitchhike a lot,” says Nok, adding that one of his more interesting trips was “in a mini-cattle truck.”

“So I was standing there in the middle of hay and some other stuff…” he adds.

Omar Nok.

Omar Nok

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Nok shares the most interesting moments from his more than 185-day journey with his 90,000 followers on TikTok.

Along the way, he visited holy places in Saudi Arabia, camped in the desert in Iran, socialized with the local population in Afghanistan and on a train in Uzbekistan.

In one video, he shares what it’s like to wake up in a yurt in Kyrgyzstan before hiking in the mountains. In the second, it shows picturesque views of Central Asia.

Some parts of the trip were long – like a 46-hour train journey in Kazakhstan – and others, more scenic, like when he rode a Mongolian camel in Turkistan.

There are also more traditional modes of transportation — like a three-hour taxi that cost only $8 in Iran.

Omar Nok.

Omar Nok

Nok tells PEOPLE that he now estimates he will arrive in Japan “sometime in October, traveling for about eight months, more or less.”

By August, he had already covered about 27,500 miles.

“By the time I’m done, I expect the total distance traveled to be somewhere around 24,000-27,000 miles,” he says.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education