Two Nepalese cyclists Rajendra Sepakota and Rupak Khadka on a mission to pedal around 99 countries in five years are now in Sri Lanka, to add 700kms of experience to their world record.
Rupak, 21, and Rajendra, 22, from Kathmandu have pedaled over 5,500km in 80 days to reach Colombo. Already they have completed nearly 1,200kms in Nepal, 2,800kms in India and nearly 1,500kms in Bangladesh. The motto of their tour is ‘peace’. The duo aim to spread the message of peace among those they encounter as well as to world leaders and renowned personalities.
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| Rajendra Sepakota and Rupak Khadka |
‘We plan to travel round the world and spread our message. This mission is not about material gain or international fame. It is simply about spreading the message that it would not be possible to save the world’s environment without gaining internal peace within one’s individual self,” said Rupak Khadka.
They reached Sri Lanka a few weeks back and are now cycling towards the North of the country, while covering Anuradhapura, Jaffna, they will travel back to Colombo via Trincomalee and Habarana.
The duo say that soon after the festive Sinhala and Tamil New Year celebrations they hope to continue their cycling saga to the South and this time via Hambantota to hilly Bandarawela, Nuwara Eliya and Kandy.
Both Rajendra and Rupak have gained a high level of spiritual insight along their journey, and are advanced practitioners of Hindu spiritualism. The duo are optimistic that by the time they return to their country in 2014, they would have met the world’s leaders including the President of the United States.
"We plan to meet the US President and show him the documents and mementoes of our travels,” said Rajendra Sepakota. During their short stay in Colombo, the two cyclists plan to meet Environment Minister, Patali Champika to discuss the main environmental issues of South Asia.
They are also looking to visit the environmental science departments of a few universities as well as Nepalese organizations and educational institutes to spread their message.
“We are also looking forward to meet with the Prime Minister and the President. We want to spread the message that they should look at the world with love in their eyes, and then they would be able to make a difference around them,” said Rupak Khadka.
They cycle 8 hours a day on average, drink five to six litres of water and cover about 100km.
They say that they have never been ill during their travels and have not even had a headache.
They began their journey with 3,000 Nepalese rupees ($40) given to them by their family members. But as their story spread, cash donations came from various sources, from individuals to organizations, from city mayors to charity groups. "Initially it seemed just like a dream," they said."We trekked 8,500 kilometers in Nepal to spread our message and then we decided to go for a world tour."
After one and a half years of planning, the trip became a reality and they set off in November 2009 on their bicycles worth US$68. They have been through some testing times in their journey, But the two ever optimistic cyclists say that their bad times have been offset by people who have been kind and generous with their hospitality.
The duo will head to India again and then to Pakistan and from there to the Middle East.Their world tour will continue from the Middle East and then to Africa and to Europe.
“From Europe we will be going to South America and then to North America and from their to Australia and New Zealand in 2014,” said Rajendra. |
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