Maliha Fairooz, the Bangladeshi solo traveller who explored 100 countries

Maliha Fairooz is a 31-year-old Bangladeshi solo traveller, activist, and aid worker making her way around the world and lately, she visited her 100th country. 

On 25 November, 2022, she landed in the Republic of Ghana with her Bangladeshi passport, which is frequently listed among the lowest 10 in the passport index in the world. 

While talking to The Business Standard, Maliha said, "To be honest, right now I am somewhere between happily surprised and also a little tired. But when I crossed the border, I was crying out of joy. I am still very grateful to have been able to make it."

Maliha was inspired by her parents to travel when she was just four years old, and she has never forgotten the thrill of taking her first journey overseas. 

"I think a very defining characteristic of my travels and the reason why I am the way I am is because of my parents. My family and friends have been my huge supporters. They have taught me that experiences matter more than anything else in the world," she said. 

Although Maliha finances her trips independently, her background as a development and humanitarian aid worker has also helped her in visiting many countries in the world.

It was not always a pleasant experience for her. Since her first journey as a solo traveler in 2011, as a Bangladeshi passport holder, Maliha had to face discrimination, visa issues, and even harassment at immigrations. 

She said, "My experience has been that even if you have every single document that you need, every single piece of paper, every visa, every arrival card or ticket, reservations, sometimes people are still going to treat you badly. Unfortunately, modern-day travel is extremely neo-colonial and we just have to somehow work around those structures."  

For new travellers, she suggested having all the documents printed and arranged accordingly. Having soft copies may only cause trouble.  

But on a more positive note, Maliha realises wherever she went, people were very kind and it made her trips all the more rewarding.

In Ghana, she visited Cape Coast, Accra, and Boti.  "Ghana has become one of my top five favourite countries. It is a beautiful country with a rich history and some of the kindest people I have ever met."

Other than Ghana, Mexico, and Bosnia and Herzegovina are two countries whose traditions and cultures have amazed Maliha. 

As a female solo traveller, she always trusts her gut about feeling safe wherever she goes. However, there are some tips that she encourages others to follow.

"I do not usually carry my passport everywhere with me when I am out on tours, I leave it at the hotel. Also, do not carry a lot of cash with you when you are moving around a lot, carry in small amounts." 

She also suggested travellers, especially solo women like her, to start slowly, and begin by visiting countries like Nepal and Bhutan which are close to Bangladesh. It may not always be possible to start directly with countries like the US or the UK. 

"My journey as a traveller humbled me and taught me that I can do and be whoever I want to be. The independence that you feel as a woman when you are solo travelling is absolutely unparalleled to anything else in this world," she said. 

Through her blog titled 'Maliha around the world', she tries to promote a travel culture among Bangladeshi youths by sharing her travel experiences as a brown, Muslim, Bangladeshi woman.

She wants to decolonise the way travel stories work because usually in the media, we mostly see white people telling travel stories through their perspective.  

"I want to talk about places and people from the point of view of a woman of colour because the narrative is completely different from the reality when it is narrated by a white person. Overall, I want to speak about what we need for ourselves and make travel information more accessible for people like us," she explained.