Wiebe Wakker Profile picture
Jan 13, 2022 11 tweets 4 min read Read on X
Day 11. In my original plan, I would arrive in Dubai on day 10. I prepared less for plan B, meaning from today I have to wear my underwear inside out. Yes, you're getting all the details.
Now getting ready for the bus Amman - Hail (Saudi Arabia). Step for step I'm getting there.
Waiting for the bus to depart. I’m travelling on the famous German ‘Nichtraucherbus’
Funny, the girl who sold my ticket yesterday just came to me to thank me. Apparently she was on trial and her manager saw her speaking English with me yesterday and that got her the job.
With 40 minutes delay the bus to Saudi departure. The landscape is gradually changing to desert.
At the Saudi border. Probably won’t have internet the coming hours to posts updates.
Still at the Jordan side of the border. Had my passports checked. Waiting for the others in the group to finish.
Passed the Jordan border now. Had my passport checked at Saudi side. Took long as their finger print scanner didn’t want to scan my thumbs. Some lube from a guy on the same bus who was annoyed it took ages, helped.
Finally passed the Saudi border. That was the longest and strictest crossing I ever had. All suitcases on a table, empty bus through XRay, all individual bags checked by hand and dogs. And there were 6 busses before us and only 1 guy checking. 3 hours on Saudi side. 5 hours total
First stop after hours of driving. Eating chicken and rice on the carpet. All these people laughing at me because I can’t eat while sitting cross-legged. I’m half lying down on one side. Need some practice. Or exercise.
I spend the whole day and night on this bus. Finally for the first time there were other people who also spoke English. Also been chatting for an hour with a guy via WhatsApp, using Google translate. Interesting guy.
At 3am bus arrived at Hail. Where I got off. Well, it didn’t leave the highway and it was still 30km to the city. I was the only one who got off, bus continued to Riyadh. Luckily a nice man dropped of his sister at this bus and gave me a lift. Pics taken by other passenger.

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More from @WiebeWkkr

Jan 18
Just jumped off the Mauritanian Iron Ore train and what an epic ride it’s been. It all started two weeks ago with my Interrail adventure from the Netherlands, a journey that now seems worlds away compared to the raw and rugged experience I've just had. Image
In Mauritania, iron ore is a lifeline, accounting for half of the nation's exports. Every day 3 of these colossal trains leave from the mining town Zouerat to the port of Nouadhibou.
The journey of 704km takes 17 hours and the trains are huge. They can be up to 3km in length and each train carries 17,000 tons of ore, enough to build an Eiffel Tower. Making them among the longest and heaviest trains in the world.

Read 10 tweets
Jan 2
HNY!
I'm starting 2024 with a new adventure: taking the train from Netherlands to Mauritania to hop on the Iron Ore train, a long ride straight through the Sahara. With my @Interrail pass in hand I will travel through southern Europe and Morocco. #interrail #GoOneStopFurther Image
This is the route of my trip. It will take me about 14 days to reach Zouerat, the starting point of the "Sahara Express."
Doing 1 overnighter in Barcelona, a few stops in Morocco to enjoy the country and finally exploring Mauritania. Going back in the same way. Image
For more info on the Mauritanian Iron Ore Train I highly recommend this excellent film: vimeo.com/225516052
Read 14 tweets
Feb 19, 2022
Preparing the return home Dubai - Amsterdam. Completely without flying. Majority by train, some parts by bus. Iran has some beautiful train rides, unfortunately they were mostly sold out.
This time will do Istanbul - Bucharest by train instead of the bus.
I was supposed to leave last Thursday, because of bad weather the ferry from Dubai to Iran got postponed until this Monday and today I heard it won't be before Wednesday. Should be home around March 10.
For the people who are just joining in. On the 3rd of Jan I left Amsterdam for Dubai. Wanted to do the route basically as shown above but because Omicron I couldn't enter Iran and had to divert via the Arabian Peninsula. Which was very interesting, adventurous and enjoyable
Read 4 tweets
Jan 18, 2022
Had fun sharing my earlier adventure and lessons today at the WFES. For the ones who recently started following me: here's a thread about what I did before.

A few years ago I challenged myself to drive without money and in an electric car from the Netherlands to Australia.
To make it to Sydney I asked people to "Plug Me In" with energy. On my website plugmeinproject.com people could select their location and offer me a meal, place to sleep or electricity for the car.
Thousands of strangers signed up and so the route of the journey was determined. I travelled from plug to plug. From the Netherlands to Italy, from Italy to the Northcape and down again via Russia and eastern Europe.
People started to call me the "Forrest Gump of Automotive."
Read 14 tweets
Jan 16, 2022
Day 14. My hotel offered a late check out. I took some quality time for myself and prepared my talk. It’s only 2 days until I’m speaking at ADSW. There is no public transport in Riyadh. You really need a car here. I walked around in my area. Can really enjoy Arabian architecture Image
Loving these Arab toilet signs ImageImage
I’m at the bus terminal for my ride to Abu Dhabi. Trying to find the right platform. Image
Read 15 tweets
Jan 12, 2022
Day 10. In Erbil I tried to find a flying carpet but indeed it is a fairytale. So I flew in a plane to Amman, Jordan. It is the only way to get to Abu Dhabi. I get closer and closer to @ADSWagenda now!
Arrived at the airport at 6am. Went to my hostel and after just 3 hours of sleep I was picked by a taxi for an interview with Sky News Arabia. I always thought these city backdrops are fake. Interesting to learn.
I only have a day here and really want to see the city but I need to arrange a lot of stuff. Tomorrow morning I want to go to Saudi Arabia and need to find transport. So that’ll keep me busy.
Read 7 tweets

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