Indian solo rider plans to travel across 67 countries, makes UAE her second stop

Indian solo rider plans to travel across 67 countries, makes UAE her second stop

Meenakshi Das parked her motorcycle and held India’s national flag aloft as she smiled at the camera with the Burj Khalifa gleaming in the background.

This was not an ordinary tourist capturing a moment with Dubai’s iconic landmark.

Das is no ordinary woman. This 41-year-old rider from India’s remote northeast region, who is a mother to a 14-year-old, just kick-started the most challenging phase of her mission to ride solo in 67 countries.

Her journey, which started from her hometown, Guwahati, Assam, on December 18, saw her first ride to Kathmandu, Nepal.

After ticking the first foreign country off the list, she rode more than 2,000 kilometres to Mumbai before taking a flight to Dubai.

Now it’s from Dubai that she begins the most gruelling part of her mission that will see her navigate the roads in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Georgia, Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Netherlands, France, Russia, China, and many other European and Asian countries.

Riding a Bajaj Dominar 400, Das is attempting to write her name in the history books as the first Indian rider — male or female — to ride solo in more than 60 countries.

“I am scheduled to return to Guwahati in November. So this is going to