Sixty-four-year-old Thai citizen Isa Abdullah Salam has left Bangladesh for Saudi Arabia on his bicycle aiming to perform the Islamic pilgrimage of Umrah in the holy city of Makkah.
He crossed Benapole port in Jessore and entered India on Wednesday morning.
Before that, he came to Bangladesh by plane along with his bicycle from Thailand earlier this month.
Salam, a retired school teacher, wants to reach Makkah in Saudi Arabia via India, Pakistan, Iran, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain.
After performing Umrah, Salam wants to return to Thailand by bicycle through Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and China.
Abul Kalam Azad, officer-in-charge of Benapole Checkpost Immigration, said Salam arrived at the Benapole immigration office in the morning and will go to Saudi Arabia from Bangladesh via India, Pakistan, Iran, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain.
Dhaka TribuneAfter completing the formalities, he crossed the border and entered India.
Isa Abdullah Salam flew to Dhaka from Thailand on January 17. He reached Magura on January 21 evening via Manikganj, Rajbari and Faridpur by cycling. He offered Maghrib prayers at Parnanduali Beparipara mosque in Magura town.
Salam left Magura on the morning of January 22 on his bicycle. Then he reached the Benapole checkpost on Wednesday.
Isa Abdullah Salam alias Boonnom Punyoyai resides in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand.
Salam said he left Buddhism at the age of 25 and converted to Islam.
He had already performed Umrah twice, and for his third Umrah he decided to go to Saudi Arabia riding on a bicycle.
After that he started the process of collecting visas for different countries. He came to Bangladesh after getting all the visas he needed.
His bicycle journey started in Bangladesh. It will take him six months to reach Saudi Arabia by crossing six countries by bicycle and one year to return to his country, Thailand, after Umrah.
He said he has a wife at home and they have no children.
Salam said although his home is in the border area of Myanmar, he came directly to Bangladesh by plane due to the instability there.
Mentioning that he likes to travel, Isa Abdus Salam said this time he came up with the plan of performing Umrah by bicycle visiting a dozen countries in Asia.