By Salwa Samir A motorcycle equipped with spare parts and tools is the only companion and friend of the Indonesian traveller, Mario Iroth, on his journey of exploration a round the world. "My journey is called "Wheel Story", a trip by motorcycle, exploring natural beauty and culture, documenting the adventure and bringing the unique story of each rotation of the wheel, so as to provide inspiration and motivation for other people," Iroth told the Egyptian Mail in Cairo. "I want to deliver a message that we are living in a beautiful world. The continent of Africa is really worth exploring," the 32-year-old traveller added. The Wheel Story journey of exploration started in 2013. So far, Iroth has visited 39 countries. His stay in each country varies from long to short. The first stage of the Wheel Story started and ended in Bali, Indonesia and covered seven countries in Southeast Asia. The 20,000km-long journey lasted 105 days. A year later, Mario explored Indonesia and East Timor, setting out from Jakarta and going back to it. This 15,000km journey took six months to complete. In 2016, the explorer toured New Zealand, Australia and East Timor. He covered a distance of 23,000km in seven months. In 2017-2018, Mario journeyed through Africa. He started in October 2017 going from South Africa to Swaziland and Mozambique, back to South Africa, then on to Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt. "In each country, I explored the natural surroundings and the culture. Sometimes I stayed with the local people and of course I tried the local food," he said. Iroth faced some challenges on every stage of his journey, including dealing with different languages and weather changes, but his love of adventure motivated him to overcome all these challenges. "Egypt is a wonderful country; when I saw its flag while crossing the border from Sudan, my heart skipped a beat," he said. "This is my first visit to Egypt," he added, "I was able to see the amazing pyramids, the tombs, and of course the mummies. I have already explored Abu Simbel, Aswan, Luxor, Hurghada and Cairo," the traveller said excitedly. When Mario reached Cairo, he saw the same crowded streets he had left at home in Jakarta. "I took many photos of the most magnificent places in Egypt and posted them on my blog, my YouTube channel and Instagram page to encourage people to explore the wonderful touristic places in Egypt," he said. From Cairo, Iroth will continue his journey to the UK, then on to Europe, crossing Siberia to South Korea and Japan then going back to Indonesia by the end of 2018. "Then, I hope to start my trip from Alaska to Argentina in 2019," he said.
