Traveling to every nation on among the worst passports worldwide

Maliha Fairooz stated her very first memory of taking a trip was from Bangladesh to London when she was 4 years of ages.

“Most kids, when they’re on an airplane, they’re crying and throwing tantrums,” she stated. “But not me — I was so excited. I remember flying through the clouds, looking down at the sky and thinking ‘I’m basically a bird.'”

She’s simply as delighted to take a trip now, she stated.

Fairooz has actually taken a trip to 102 nations and is more than midway towards her objective of going to every nation worldwide.

But the factor she won a NomadMania Award in October is that she’s made it this far with a Bangladeshi passport, ranked the 8th worst passport worldwide in the Henley PassportIndex

The Bangladeshi passport just permits visa-free entry to 40 nations. In contrast, Singaporeans, who hold the leading passport in the ranking, can go into 193 nations without a visa.

That makes taking a trip much harder, with more bureaucracy to handle, she stated.

For example, before Fairooz might obtain a visa to go to Kyrgyzstan, she required a main letter of invite from a travel bureau in the nation. To get the letter, she needed to purchase a travel bundle with a Bangladeshi travel representative initially.

Then she waited 5 to 6 weeks for her visa to be authorized, she stated.

At 16, Fairooz left Bangladesh with her mom and resided in different parts of the world, consisting of East Africa and the United Kingdom. She now lives in Berlin and works for a human rights and democracy non-governmental company.

For her, a significant obstacle she deals with while taking a trip is the stereotype that Bangladeshis are unlawful immigrants, she stated, explaining that nations with more powerful passports tend to be wealthier, which contributes to the frame of mind that those tourists are explorers and travelers.

There are likewise numerous obstacles that solo female tourists sustain, Fairooz stated, however it gets back at worse when one’s citizenship is contributed to it.

“I’m extremely privileged — in terms of class, education and financially,” she stated. “In spite of all these things, people still see me as a number or a statistic.”

Fairooz stated among her most distressing experiences while taking a trip was being apprehended in an airport in the African nation of CapeVerde

Even though she had actually the needed visas and documentation to go into, she stated authorities didn’t let her go into after they saw her passport. According to her account of the occurrence, the authorities threatened to deport her to Senegal, where she had actually originated from, although she no longer had a visa to return.

CNBC connected to Cape Verde’s tourist authorities however did not get a reaction.

“The reason they gave me was that nobody would travel there for just three or four days, even though they are just a small island,” she stated.

Fairooz stated she was apprehended for 17 hours. Officials lastly let her pursue her mom, who works for the United Nations, got in touch with the U.N. workplace there, she stated.

“They gave me a really difficult time,” she included. “I was extremely traumatized.”

The stress and anxiety and sensation of being caught in a cell was a terrible experience, Fairooz stated, including that she’s now scared whenever she goes to an airport.

However, disappointments have not stopped her from taking a trip.

Fairooz stated she thinks her favorable experiences exceed the unfavorable.

“There’s just so much beauty and kindness and generosity in this world, and I feel so privileged to have been able to connect with so many people from so many places,” she stated.

“I travel when nothing’s happening in life to make something happen in life, and I travel to disconnect from the world,” Fairooz included.

Some individuals conserve cash to purchase a home or an automobile, however not her.

“I get paid better working as an expat than I would be if I lived in Bangladesh,” she stated. “So whatever money I make, I spend almost all of it on travel. And it’s the best.”

Her suggestions for those who wish to take a trip the world? Start someplace.

“The daunting thing we do to ourselves is to set this goal, and from the beginning this goal is such a terrifying thing,” Fairooz stated. “But start somewhere small — travel within your country alone, travel to nearby countries, and then you will slowly build up the courage to do more.”

“Surround yourself with people who care about you and who also believe in your goal,” she included. “That will be what keeps you going as well.”