Malaysian Couple Arrive In Jeddah On Bicycle

KUALA LUMPUR, June 19 (Bernama) -- After embarking on a cycling expedition from the National Mosque here more than a year ago, married couple Ahmad Mohd Isa and Noradilah Mohd Sapie have now arrived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. They are now on their way to Makkah to celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri (Eid-ul Fitr) at the Grand Mosque and perform their Umrah (paying a visit to Ka'bah), thus ending their Kembara Memburu Hikmah (KMH) expedition which began on April 8 last year. Ahmad said performing Umrah together with their respective parents, Mohd Isa Maarof, 52, Nuridah Mohd Isa, 50, Mohd Shafie Abdul Hanan, 70, and Saadiah Shamsudin, 63, as well as KMH crew, will be the highlight of the whole expedition. “Our parents are scheduled to arrive in Makkah on June 22. God willing they would be accompanied by the KMH family who had stood by us from the beginning to the end,” he told Bernama when contacted via WhatsApp. Ahmad, 29, said he and his wife had covered a total distance of 12,000 kilometres, covering routes in Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, India, Nepal, Pakistan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. “Due to the different geographical features of each country, at times we had to cycle through narrow passages, rocky, muddy, hilly, rough and winding terrain while staying cautious on the road, especially in crowded cities. “At certain areas when we were not allowed to ride our bicycles for safety reasons, we had to travel either by bus, truck or car,” he said. Meanwhile, Noradilah, 30, reiterated the tormenting moments during their ride towards Deosai plateau in Pakistan in which they lost communication with the outside world for a week as there was no internet signal. “It was at one of the mountains here that I experienced vomiting, dizziness and diarrhoea for several days. The nights were much longer stretching for 14 hours while the temperature was then 17 degrees Celsius. “With the help of villagers, I was rushed to a nearby hospital and admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) for three days as I was severely dehydrated,” she said. Apart from carrying out a humanitarian mission in every country which they explored, the couple also took note of the countries’ history, culture and Muslim communities. During the KMH expedition, the couple was accompanied by Mohd Nur Aiman Mohd Zaid, 28, and Amirul Ariff Abd Wahab, 29, who acted as the documentary crew. To keep track of the couple's adventures, visit KMH Facebook page at https://www.fb.com/kembaramemburuhikmah. -- BERNAMA