Exploring the world on foot: Alexander Campbell arrives in Bangladesh

Most people envision flying across the world by plane, but never by foot. But Sydney-born 27-year-old Australian Alexander Campbell has decided to set out on a four-year walking journey that will take him across more than 30 nations and four continents! And guess what? His present location is in Bangladesh!

When asked about the main motivation behind this adventure of his, Campbell eagerly expressed, "Well, I wanted to see the world and go on a big adventure. Because I love walking so much, I decided why not walk across the world?" In February 2023, Campbell set out on his legendary trip from Sydney's Opera House and walked over six months across Australia. After that, he took a boat to Indonesia and stayed there for a few days. He then kept walking through Singapore, Malaysia, and various other countries.

"All the people I met along the way would remain my favourite memories. There were some language barriers, but each day I tried to pick up new phrases of the nations' languages," reminisced Campbell fondly.

However, he also encountered some scary obstacles on his voyage. Recalling one of them, Campbell shared, "Back in Australia, I went to get some drinking water from a nearby lake on my hike. I thought it would be the usual but when I went far into the lake, I realized there were big crocodiles right in my proximity. That encounter scared me for a while!"

However, Campbell is not just going on this journey to satisfy his own desires; he has a far more noble goal in mind. A portion of the proceeds from his journey will go to the Fred Hollows Foundation, an organisation that seeks to mitigate global blindness and other visual impairments. They perform life-changing eye procedures, train medical professionals, create new technologies, and build and modify facilities.

"I wish to give back the warmth and hospitality I will receive from the individuals and communities I meet on my journey by supporting the Foundation," said Campbell. The Foundation has helped return the vision of almost 3 million people till now.

About a week ago, Campbell began his journey into Bangladesh through Chattogram, then went to Cumilla and currently, is in Dhaka as the Fred Hollows Foundation Bangladesh will take him to a hospital visit. "I love the warmth and hospitality of the folks here. Everyone has been friendly, I get to drink morning tea with them, and it has been pretty good so far," he remarked. According to Campbell, shingara is his favourite Bangladeshi snack right now!

There will be a long road ahead of Campbell after Bangladesh. He will be continuing his trip by travelling to India through the state of Meghalaya. As he conveyed his thoughts, Campbell offered some parting advice to would-be hikers and impactful people — "If you want to do something like what I am doing, you can just start out small. Do some day hikes and gradually overnight hikes. Take it one day at a time. You will soon be able to reach higher."