During a recent visit to Melbourne, Kazi Azmery engaged in a conversation with SBS Bangla, shedding light on various aspects of her worldwide journey.
The extensive travels of Kazi Asma Azmery, a Bangladeshi tourist, have sparked considerable interest. How did her globetrotting adventure begin? In her conversation with SBS Bangla, Ms. Ajmeri revealed that traveling is her passion, but it has a backstory.
"The initiation of my global travels was not particularly pleasant. You see, there is this perception in our country that Bangladeshi girls cannot travel. However, my question is, if boys can, why can't girls?"
She stated, "My journey across the world commenced with a trip to Nepal in 2009."
Initially, she only aspired to visit 50 countries, but as of last January, the number of countries she had explored across six continents surpassed 140, according to Ms. Azmery.
Considering Bangladesh's strong traditional Muslim ideology, how does her extensive travel record resonate with her family and society?
In response, Ms. Azmery shared, "Initially, my family didn't respond positively. My father was reluctant to finance my travels, but my mother supported me by selling her jewelry."
However, that wasn't the sole obstacle.
"Individuals close to my family viewed my solo travels negatively and expressed their concerns to my father, prompting him to advise me against divulging my solo travel plans to anyone."
"Yet, when I completed my 100th country tour in 2018, my family embraced it with a positive outlook, especially those who are progressive."
Nonetheless, her travels were not always free of challenges. Reflecting on her unfortunate encounters while traveling with a Bangladeshi passport, Ms. Azmery shared, "Initially, I faced deportation for not having a hotel reservation during my visit to Vietnam. Similarly, even though I had everything in order in Cyprus, I was still deported."
"Following those incidents, I made a personal commitment to travel the world exclusively with my Bangladeshi passport," Ms. Azmery declared.
To listen to the complete interview of Kazi Asma Azmery, click on the audio player above.
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