Taking a long walk

A remarkable Iranian woman has arrived in Bangkok, roughly a third of the way through an epic trek across Asia.

Roya Loghmanian - a mother of three grown-up children - has undertaken an extraordinary adventure. She has hiked over 1,500 kilometres from Pakistan to New Delhi, across the north of India to Calcutta and on to Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.

Ahead lies another 3,000-4,000km - she's not exactly sure how far (and her maps looked rather basic) - but the route is simple: through the Northeast to Vientiane, up and over the mountains of northern Laos to Hanoi, then head north to Beijing - provided the Chinese give her a visa.

Roya started in the Pakistani city of Lahore 10 weeks ago and hopes to get all the way to Beijing by the time of the Olympics, in early August.

A keen amateur sportswoman who does mountain climbing and runs regularly, the 45-year-old is doing a Lonely Planet-style expedition: Asia on a shoestring.

Little support

Travelling on her own, she appears to have little outside support and wears the most basic of shoes.

Roya spoke about her ambitious feat - and sore toes - in an interview at the Iranian embassy on Friday.

Third Secretary Akbar Khodaei, who helped translate for the friendly athlete, said she walks 40-50km a day. "She starts early in the morning and walks until noon, when she tries to rest for an hour if she can find somewhere to have a break. Then she will walk until 5-6pm: about eight to nine hours a day."

No war

She wore a black cap with the words "no war" and said she saw herself as an "ambassador for peace and sport".

Her home is in Tehran, where her two daughters and son, aged from 27 to 20, follow her progress via the Internet (e-mail and Skype).

Now in Bangkok, she is awaiting a visa from the Vietnamese embassy, having already got one for Laos.

"She doesn't feel scared or that it's dangerous," Akbar said. She stays near police stations, in hotels, houses or government buildings.

From Lahore she walked to Amritsar on the Indian border before trekking to New Delhi and south to Agra, to see the amazing Taj Mahal.

The longest and most difficult stretch was from Agra across the top of India to Calcutta, but hiking through Bangladesh was easy, she said, even with a 15kg backpack.

Burma says No

At Dhaka, the Burmese embassy refused to give her a visa, so she had to fly to Bangkok to continue her marathon from here.

Roya has spent US$2,500 (Bt80,000) of her own savings and estimates the trip could cost between $12,000-$15,000.  It looks like her precious savings are going on accommodation and food. Branded shoes don't appear to figure in her thinking. Her latest pair - bright-red sneakers - cost about Bt200.

Local delight

What has delighted her is the reception from people along the way. "I have received shelter and food and have had to trust local people, but they have been very encouraging," she said.

In her bag is an Iranian flag, which she dreams of unveiling at the Olympic stadium in Beijing, if she gets there.

Her other big concern is orphans and street children. "We have to help them," she said.

Roya is due to head off through Isaan in the next day or two.

By Jim Pollard

Daily Xpress