About the Salon Series

We invite you to MEI Salon, a series of special events conducted in a casual relaxed setting aimed at making Middle Eastern culture more accessible to everyone. We strip away the academic jargon, and keep things light-hearted and interactive with topics that range from the sublime to the ridiculous.

Please join us for our first MEI Salon Series: Travel Blog by Ms Juvena Huang. She will regale us with her stories of her motorcycle trip through the Middle Eastern region as a solo female traveller. Through her sharing session, we can vicariously journey through Iran and Turkey, and catch a glimpse of life on the streets.

Join us for this public talk on 29 May, 3.00pm to 4.30pm, which will be conducted online via Zoom. All are welcome to participate. An e-invite will be sent to you closer to the event date.

This event is free, however, registration is compulsory.

Photo by Taner Güngör on Trover.

Listen to the full event here:

Watch the full event here:

Read Event Summary “Chart Your Path When You Travel”:

At MEI’s first Salon event for the year, Ms Juvena Huang shared tips and stories of her solo trip across the Middle East and beyond

By Sukriti Kalra
Intern, Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore

When she reached the checkout at a grocery store in Iran, Ms Juvena Huang was discussing the details of an upcoming wild camping trip with another fellow shopper. Upon hearing her plans, he immediately opened up his home to her with the simple statement: “My home is your home.” That random act of kindness was not an isolated incident, but a constant feature that defined her 27-month-long, 44,000-kilometre trip across 25 countries.

In 2015, after the sudden passing of a friend, Ms Huang decided to fulfil her teenage dream of travelling around the world. So with her trusty Vespa, she set off on a solo journey to experience cultures, languages and the world.

Riding a scooter gave her freedom: there was no schedule, no set itinerary and no limits on where she could go. She recalled how some of the most beautiful destinations were off the beaten track, where the roads were unpaved and she would fall and have to pick herself back up, but it was worth it every time. At night, she would stay at the famed “million-star” hotel, an unforgettable experience.

Everything she needed, from camping gear to food to clothes, had to fit on her Vespa. That made all the sweets and snacks that strangers offered her during her trip a logistical challenge given the lack of space, but their kindness was more than appreciated.

This was how Ms Huang loaded her Vespa for her trip around the world. Photo: Juvena Huang.

Travelling by road was a completely different experience from flying or any faster method. Travelling from Singapore through Thailand and India and moving into Iran, she was able to see how cultures and languages evolve over each mile and trace their evolutions.

One discovery she made was how tea, a symbol of hospitality everywhere she went, took its local name according to whether it arrived in the country via the sea or land route from China, its country of origin. If tea came over land, the local name seemed to be derived by the Mandarin word for tea, cha, whereas tea that arrived by maritime routes seemed to derive its name from the Hokkien word for tea, te.

Chart shown by Ms Huang on how the word tea differed according to whether from China, they entered the destination country through land or sea route. Source: Juvena Huang.

Also, contrary to popular perceptions that Iran is a dangerous country, Ms Huang said the only danger she experienced during her trip through the Islamic Republic was to her waistline because of how much the locals loved to feed their guests. She cited how one night during the Persian new year, while she was camping alongside many other families who were there to celebrate the occasion, her neighbours welcomed her into their family and plied her with food to ensure she knew she was welcome.

Exploring Iran by riding along Iran’s border with Pakistan and Afghanistan up the Persian Gulf and further north into the Caspian Sea region, she was blown away by Iran’s myriad landscapes which are diverse but equally gorgeous landscapes. Complementing the varied landscapes was the intricately designed architecture, all from different periods and with different cultural accents. Viewing all that, she said it felt as though she was travelling back in time.

The Shah Mosque located in Isfahan is an example of the beautiful architecture Ms Huang saw in Iran which blew her away. Photo: Juvena Huang.

While the popular portrayal of Iran is one of a regime of repressed people, the reality is quite different. For example, even though she did not see any public night clubs or pubs in Iran, there was no shortage of nightlife. While in Isfahan, she noticed that locals would gather at the famous Khaju Bridge to recite poetry, sing and dance despite the strict laws. As a result, one of the big takeaways of her journey was there is often a disconnect between perception and reality.

Heading further north, she reached Turkey, where she spent three months. There, the local bike clubs took her under their wing, so she had someone hosting her on almost all the different legs of her journey in Turkey. She was treated with the same hospitality and kindness that underscored her stay in Iran and even celebrated her birthday with a fellow biker who was hosting her for a few days.

Ms Huang seen here celebrating her birthday with one of her newfound biker friends in Turkey. Photo: Juvena Huang.  

Unlike Iran, however, Turkey is a popular tourist destination, so her experience was quite different. There were hordes of tourists at many of the tourist sites — the House of Mary, Pamukkale, Hierapolis and Cappadocia — compared to Iran where she frequently was one of the rare foreign faces.

To conclude, her advice to fellow travellers whether seasoned or aspiring was: “There is no single track or ‘best path’. You have to make the journey your own and chart your path. You will discover more of yourself that way.”

Also, she said: “Don’t let other people impose their fears on you. Being a solo traveller may seem daunting and scary but being alone does not mean lonely.” Throughout her two years and three months of travel, she never felt lonely. In fact, she said it might be easier to make friends and connections when travelling solo.

Finally, her one piece of advice to participants was: “Everyone should get out there and travel. It can expand your view and promote a more tolerant and understanding world, the importance of which cannot be stressed enough.”