By Janet D’Souza

Canada, Feb 6: Sinan Mohammad, a 30 year old charismatic, soft spoken and insightful resident of Mangaluru, South Karnataka, India sailed from his safe harbour, dreamed, explored, and discovered. He had a vision and a personal mission to travel 5 continents and 75 countries by road. His goal was to promote the fascinating and unique culture of his home state, Karnataka and country, India while learning and exploring the richness of cultures and history of other countries.

His dream began to take shape in 2018 with extensive research and planning on processes and requirements for each country he planned to visit. Covid 19 put a halt to his planning but not dissuaded, his travel finally began in March 2023. His 48th country was Canada and the Mangalorean Association of Canada (MAC), an organization deeply engaged in community outreach and engagement, had a unique opportunity to meet with Sinan and have an honest and exploratory chat with him. His excitement, intense words and genuine passion resonated with a sense of optimism and hope, his vision for his future and what he aspires to accomplish was truly inspirational.

Here is a summarized version of the interview between Sinan and Janet D’Souza, abbreviated for print but the thoughts, expressions and ideology are entirely Sinan’s.

Janet: On your Instagram, one of your posts has a tagline ‘Conquering the world by road’. Why did you choose to travel by road vs flights?

Sinan insightfully responded, “What experience can I share if I am flying? What is to be gained by onboarding a plane, staying in a hotel and going back? It is a waste of money. By driving I am building memories and stories that will never be forgotten and can be shared with others through social media. My experiences are forever etched in my mind and heart and will become part of my legacy. I saw people with jackets, trucks clearing roads, wild animals, frozen lakes, waterfalls, and beautiful scenes of nature. Each scenery, each encounter has a story to tell and I want people to relate to and see the world through my eyes”.

Janet: Why is your Instagram handle called united.wander?

Sinan said, “My goal is to unite people irrespective of age, color, culture, or history. Or it does not matter where they live or where they were born. We are all humans with similar needs, dreams and passions. If I can change a person’s perspective, if I can broaden their knowledge about other cultures, enlighten them on customs and social behavior outside of their own realm, then I have succeeded in my goal.

Janet: Your choice of transport, a Mahindra Jeep, is very fascinating. Why a Mahindra Jeep and what compelled you to choose Mahindra Scorpio?

Sinan: I could have chosen a foreign car but that would conflict with my overarching message. My mission, my purpose by intent was to advocate and popularize the culture, beauty and strength of Karnataka and my country, India. And I can only do that by leveraging and driving an Indian made vehicle of my choice, the Mahindra Scorpio.

Janet: What are one or two key things that you learned from your experience of traveling to 48 different countries?

Sinan: Don’t always trust what is written in on any social media platforms or traditional news channels. Each country has its own ethnicity, beauty, and customs. People are ordinary just like you and me. I, a complete stranger, was welcomed, treated amazingly well, invited into their homes, fed and taken care of. There was no agenda, political or otherwise. My advice to people reading this article or listening on YouTube or Instagram is to get out of their comfort zone, travel and experience firsthand about different countries, their customs and culture. The one disadvantage, though, of traveling on your own can be that people take advantage of someone who is sincere and new to a country.

Janet: What is your message to anyone who would like to undertake a world tour by road?

Sinan: Have courage and make a big plan not a small plan. If you have a big plan, you can achieve at least 25% of the plan. Focus on your goal but don’t be too anchored to your goal. When you get comfortable and reach a destination, amplify your aspirations and do more. Stay focused, be persistent, be determined and you will find a way.

Janet: What was your toughest moment during your travel and what was the craziest thing you did?

Sinan: I had to adjust to different cuisines, food preparations and ethnic dishes. At times, border control and security could be time consuming. My craziest experience was cooking by a stream and then actually, bathing in streams in different countries. This was an unconventional unique experience.

Janet: How does your family feel about your dream? What are your future plans?

Sinan: My family supports me as best as they can. I miss my family every day. I call my wife daily, educate her on the different processes, share my stories as she is under a lot of pressure, stress and anxiety. I hope to be a role model for my children so they can pursue their own dreams. My future endeavors will be a travel blog, a website of my own where I can write about every country I visited, how to get there, what travel documents are needed, some helpful strategies to navigate difficult procedures and perhaps, a travel agency where I can help people achieve their dreams. I want people to know that it is possible to do what I did and continue to do with some planning and perseverance.

As we ended the interview, I realized that Sinan had bequeathed an immeasurable gift to all of us - one of fearlessness, of courage, determination and hope. We left the interview feeling on top of the world that we too can dream, create our own legacy and nothing is difficult or impossible.

Here is Sinan’s Instagram handle: https://www.instagram.com/united.wander?igsh=bjBpNHZyZ2RqNXJt