• Home
• /
• UAE

Why this Indian expat walked over 100km from Dubai

Dubai - Ismail started his walk at Zaabeel Park in Dubai at 6pm on a Thursday and reached Ajman at 1.30am.

Read more...

Sporting a T-shirt that said 'Thank You UAE', Sabeel Ismail, a 40-year-old Indian resident, walked from Dubai to Ras Al Khaimah to express his gratitude to the UAE leadership in providing aid to the flood-hit Kerala.
The floods, which took place in India's southern state in August this year, had claimed the lives of 483 people. Though his home and family were not directly affected by the floods, he was devastated by the damage left behind by the calamity. "My home is in Kakkanad, Ernakulam. It was not directly affected, but the areas nearby were badly damaged," he told Khaleej Times.
Ismail, a walking enthusiast, has ambitions to cover all seven emirates eventually. However, the first leg of his journey was from Dubai to RAK.
Ismail started his walk at Zaabeel Park in Dubai at 6pm on a Thursday and reached Ajman at 1.30am. He covered an impressive 104km in a matter of 27 hours. "I took my first break after I completed 40km. I began my journey with a backpack which carried a pair of clothes and shoes, and I had stored plenty of water. There are no shops in the industrial areas, so water was a must," he said.

The route map

As Ismail could not handle the weight of the backpack, he asked his cousin to drive ahead of him and drop a location pin on Google Maps he could get to. "I took a nap for 15-20 minutes at the back seat of my cousin's car and left Ajman at 2.30am. I reached Umm Al Quwain at 8.30am," he added.
From UAQ to RAK, the journey was treacherous as there are no proper footpaths on these roads. "There were some snakes on the highway, and I had to be doubly careful," he added. 
"At 1.30pm, I reached Barracuda Resort in UAQ, and at this point, I had completed 78km," said Ismail. He had lunch at the resort and took a short nap on a sofa for 30 minutes, which he calls the best part of his journey.  He left from Barracuda at 2.30pm and reached Al Hamra in RAK at 6pm.
"At this point, I completed 90km, and walked a few more kilometres to complete 104. I intended to walk all the way to RAK Mall. But I felt my body was shutting down and so I stopped at 9pm." 
Throughout the journey, Ismail did not listen to music or use his phone, except to measure distances and take photos. Walking is a cathartic experience for Ismail, and he does it to switch off from an otherwise bustling lifestyle.
"I also feel people are too dependent on their phones. Activities such as these help people detox digitally. I think people spend too much time on their phones," he added.
On the first week of November, Ismail would like to walk another 155km to Fujairah from Dubai. On the National Day, he plans on walking to Abu Dhabi. "I can walk only during the weekends. I have decided to walk step-by-step to complete all seven Emirates. The most I have walked in life is 48km. I began walking in 2016, and at one point, I would walk from Karama to Burj Al Arab, and back every Saturday. That stretch is 40km long."
Ismail, a resident of the UAE since 2001, works for an IT distribution company.

'It's only a token of appreciation'

Sabeel Ismail, a 40-year-old, hailing from Kerala, said that he walked from Dubai to Ras Al Khaimah only to show that he is very thankful for what UAE and its people have done for Kerala.
"Like any natural calamity, people stop talking about it after a while. However, I think all expatriates, especially Malayalees in the UAE, must feel the way I do. It is only a small token of my appreciation," he said.
He added: "I know of so many Emirati families and individuals who have sent money to the Kerala Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund. I think as expats, we should be thankful to them for allowing us to flourish here, and for all the facilities we are enjoying."
dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com