Fajer Abu Zayed seems to have done it all. Born in Dubai to Jordanian parents and raised in Canada, the 31-year-old has helped to raise an orphaned puma in the Bolivian Amazon, motorcycled from Kashmir to Kerala, lived in a tent by the Arctic Circle, and sailed around active volcanoes north of Sicily. Abu Zayed has used his extensive travel knowledge to create Escape Travels, a company that offers itineraries that cover everything from weekend getaways to longer journeys where visitors can experience different cultures through total immersion. Tracing its roots back to a road trip to Hatta in 2010, the company was formed as a result of Abu Zayed’s two-fold quest for new friends and affordable escapades in Dubai – all while earning his master’s degree in logistics. Today, Escape Travels has evolved into a tight-knit community that brings together like-minded explorers from all walks of life, and plays host to an approximate 800 people each year, many of them repeat customers. In his pursuit of a low-key lifestyle by the beach, Abu Zayed is currently residing in the Cambodian coastal city of Sihanoukville, simultaneously benefiting from the ease with which the country grants permanent residency and business permits. He continues to lead groups of residents from the region to unfrequented destinations such as Socotra, Myanmar and Kyrgyzstan, with the help of his wife, Alison, and a small staff of three.
Where is home?
That’s a tough one. Home is where the heart is so, ultimately, home is Dubai. This is where I was born, and this is where my parents live. It’s ideal because it’s organised, centrally located and convenient from a banking point of view, making it a great place for a time out.
How often do you find yourself on a plane?
I average a flight a week, though probably more. I took 44 trips in 2014, some of which were repeats. I went to Thailand six times, for example.
Does all this travelling diminish your passion for exploring the world?
Call me crazy, but I just like airports. Admittedly, the immigration and security checkpoint lines aren’t fun, but an airplane is a portal to a new world. Whenever I catch a flight to Nairobi and hear: “Jambo! Habari gani?” [Roughly translated from Swahili as “Hello! How are you?”] after that airplane door opens, I feel excitement all over again.
What is your travel philosophy?
Keep travelling and eat like the locals. It’s not about luxury or which hotel you sleep in; it’s about the local experiences.
How do your holidays differ from your work trips?
I travel to a country where I can stay for a little longer than a few days and just establish some sort of routine. I recently visited the Philippines with my wife, and we checked into a yoga retreat. We meditated, ate raw food, and practised yoga and tai chi each day. It was very regimented, but that was my idea of a holiday because exercising and eating healthily is a challenge when you’re perpetually hosting people on holiday who are looking to indulge.
If you could travel to only one destination for the rest of your life, where would it be?
That would have to be India, the other love of my life. Everything about it appeals to me – the humanity, the masses, the struggles, the love, the smells and the food.
What have your world travels taught you?
We are all so much alike. As far as human ambition goes, the differences are only skin-deep. Everybody wants to live peacefully. The cultural differences are the icing on the cake.
Has any one travel experience forced you to re-evaluate your lifestyle?
I was in Socotra, an island located about 350 kilometres from mainland Yemen, last November to lead a trip. The airline cancelled the flight the night before the group was supposed to arrive, and the trip had to be called off. Suddenly, I found myself stuck on the world’s most isolated island, and had to meet its governor so he could sign an order that would allow me to fly out on a military plane. When the airplane had to make an emergency landing into Yemen, I admit I questioned what had driven me to be there.
What are your thoughts on tourism in the Middle East, particularly given the increase in political unrest?
It’s such a shame. I was in Syria in 2011, a week before the protests started, because there was a group scheduled to arrive. Unfortunately, we had to cancel the trip. I’m so saddened that Escape Travels is unable to share so many of the countries in the region that are brimming with culture and history. The potential in Damascus, for example, is unbelievable. The old town is so alive.
What is one must-do road trip you would recommend to someone based in the UAE?
If you’re going to take only one, go up to Musandam. You owe it to this region. It is one of the four governorates of Oman, and guarantees the most beautiful scenery within a day’s drive from the UAE.
Where have you experienced hospitality at its finest?
I was once taking a motorcycle trip across southern Ethiopia to visit the last pocket of real tribal communities in Africa. I was in a village that was hosting the bull-jumping ceremony, which marks the passage into manhood for the boys of the area’s tribes, after which I got hopelessly lost in the middle of a jungle. Fortunately, I ran into one of the tribespeople and, upon seeing my misery, he invited me to his hut and shared whatever little food he had. He then made room for me to lie down alongside him and his family on the dried cow skin that they use as bedding, and showed me the way out of the jungle in the morning. None of it for money.
Besides a mobile phone, what is the most versatile item to travel with?
My favourite item that I travel with is a hattah, which is a type of Arabian headscarf. It’s also a blanket when a blanket is necessary and a towel when one is needed. I can turn it into a bag and carry it over my shoulder, or use it to cover my head and shoulders when I need to go into a temple.
What’s on your bucket list for 2016?
The big one on the list is exploring West Africa, from Senegal down to Cameroon, especially Nigeria. It’s yet another country that suffers from an undeserved bad reputation, which is exactly why I want to go.
Look out for this and more stories in the Ultratravel magazine, out with The National on Thursday, November 26.