Mohammed Al Kaabi travels from UAE to Europe by old van

A UAE resident Mohammed Al Kaabi, known on social media as Skills (UAE Skills), has ventured on an exciting journey from the Emirates to Europe.

Over the past nine months, he has visited 21 countries, travelling the entire distance in an old 2002 Dodge van.

The traveller’s van is equipped with a kitchen, dining and computer desks, bed, toilet and other amenities. The blogger talks about all his adventures on his YouTube channel.

Mohammed’s journey began three years ago with a bold decision to live in a caravan during one of his desert trips with friends, when he realised his love for mobility and the freedom it brings.

He bought a van and named it ‘Rudy’ and later modified and fully equipped the vehicle as his mobile home. The cost of modifying the van was US$ 10-15 thousand. This included improvements such as installing a solar energy system, insulation, mobile bed, batteries, painting and more.

First, he travelled from UAE to Oman with his wife to test the driving performance of the vehicle. After that, he travelled around the UAE which lasted for about 10 days. Later, he travelled by van to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah. He then decided to travel to Europe.

On the road, Mohammed faced a number of difficulties more than once, such as limited water and electricity, and water pipes freezing in winter when the temperature dropped to -10ºC.

He recounted one instance when he was in a remote area of Turkey, on a winding mountain. There were warnings posted on the road, but Mohammed did not pay attention to them. Due to difficulties on the mountain road, he had to abandon his car and return to town on his bicycle to ask for help.

According to Mohammed, this experience helped him learn many skills: ‘Money does not bring happiness, money only solves problems. This free lifestyle has taught me survival skills and helped me to easily adapt to different environments.”

Source: Khaleej Times

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