Driven and fueled by a fierce love for his country, Pakistan born Moin Khan decided to ride his motorcycle with the Pakistan flag flapping in the wind, while stopping along the way to share his message with anyone that asked: “I am Pakistani. I am a Muslim. And I am peace loving.” What seems unbelievable is this: Moin was determined to kick off his motorcycle journey at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California and not end, rain or shine, until he reached half way around the world to his beloved Pakistan. When I first heard about Moin’s story, I was completely astonished, wondering over and over how one could be so committed and clear about his purpose. Through our Global Awakin conversation with Moin, as the stories along his journey beautifully unfolded, I realized that the “how” doesn’t even matter when you have the kind of faith that Moin seems to encapsulate from the core of his being.

Paraphrasing a quote by Mark Twain, Moin shared, “You won’t regret the things you’ve done, but you’re going to regret what you haven’t done. So go out and do the things you’ve always wanted to do…don’t panic, it will work out. Just leave. Cut off the sailboat and sail away.”

Cutting off the sails is exactly what he did. Without a map or a GPS to guide him, over the next six months, Moin traveled through 22 countries and made life long friends from across the world, some of who have even visited him in Pakistan to understand what this country was really about. Originally he had only planned on traveling through 17 countries, but without a tool to route his path, he relied on the kindness of strangers for directions and ended up experiencing five additional cultures and their people.

“At every gas station, a small five minute stop would turn into 45 minutes. Everyone was so genuinely interested and I would be able to talk about where I was going and what I was doing. At the time I didn’t think the journey would turn out so amazing but looking back all the dots connect perfectly.”

When you’ve been hit head on by another car, broken a few ribs and fingers, and land in a hospital where you can’t understand the language, it might be challenging to feel grateful and believe this is just part of your personal odyssey. He was well into his “trip”, riding along in Romania, about to enter Bulgaria, when the driver of a car took an illegal left turn and collided with Moin’s bike. Lying on the floor, in the midst of what was probably a lot of pain, his only thoughts were of finding a way to finish, to meet more people and share his message of Pakistan.

An accident like that is something that most people wouldn’t survive. Moin not only survived and got back on his bike, but he befriended and connected with the driver of the car. The man who was driving visited Moin everyday while he was in the hospital, offering him food, and holding his hand while unable to hold back his own tears of remorse. Not a single word of English was shared but they had long conversations.

When the police explained that under Romanian law, the driver would be responsible to pay for all of Moin’s bills, Moin’s initial response was happiness. He wouldn’t have to worry about his bills and he would be able to purchase a new bike to complete his journey. But upon learning that the driver earned the equivalent of $100 a month, the hard fact sunk in.

Moin wrote a written police report, relieving the driver of any financial responsibility. Once done, he felt relief. For him it was only a “small six month vacation”, while for the driver, it could be his life. When Moin left the hospital, the driver came to meet him at his taxi with his life savings. Again, Moin became excited, reasoning that if maybe the total amounted to $10,000, he could give half back and take only what he needed. But all the driver had to offer was so small, his life savings was the equivalent of about 500 euros. Moin returned the money and asked him to pray for him everyday until he reached Pakistan. Leaving him in tears of joy and disbelief, Moin drove away.

“By then I had a steady following on my Facebook page and people started emailing me from all over the world. To help me complete the journey after the accident, a guy from Bulgaria sent me an exhaust system, two huge boxes of parts flew in from someone in California, and new brakes arrived from Poland. The nurses in the hospital in Romania said they would pay my medical bills. All these people were helping a Pakistani to get back on his feet and finish what he started. It was so unbelievable. It felt like there was a higher force playing chess with me and intentionally losing to me. I helped the driver who crashed into me so this higher force wanted to help me out as well.”

Exactly one month and a half later, Moin traveled through Iran and entered Pakistan to a huge welcoming in Lahore. But before arriving, there was one more encounter with something so much bigger than all of us. By the time Moin reached Iran, he had run out of cash. Then he received an email from a stranger in Dubai that wanted to introduce him to another stranger in Iran, both of whom had been following Moin’s journey. The man in Iran met Moin for 15 minutes, chatted with him, and then while saying good-bye, handed him an envelope, a gift from the stranger in Dubai. Feeling uncomfortable taking from someone he hadn’t even met, Moin said he couldn’t accept it. But the messenger insisted and a few minutes later, Moin sat there with the envelope, wondering if he should open it. When he finally did, inside he found $500. It was more than enough to get him from Iran to Pakistan. Even retelling the story to all of us now raised the hair on Moin’s arms.

I guess when you’re fueled with so much faith there is no room for worry. Even now, back in Pakistan, Moin is doing what he loves. He’s teaching Pakistani women how to ride motorcycles! In a country where women are publicly treated as unequal, picture a young woman flying through the streets, her eyes fierce, her spirit liberated.

Moin described the existence of two dueling parts of himself: M1 and M2. M1 is the guy who believes in getting a 9 to 5 job and waiting for that paycheck at the end of every month, do your thing during the day and come home to do what you really love. M2 is the adventurous, crazy guy that wants to leave his comfort zone, and that often tells M1 that he’s lazy and foolish. But when he’s home alone, M1 creeps up and says, “You are crazy M2, all your friends have real jobs and you’re making a fool out of yourself. What you’re doing is not going to work.” Sometimes M1 is stronger but Moin shared that M2 is much braver.

“Maybe when you do something you love to do, you don’t make enough money and you can never pay your bills but I know that at least when I go to bed and close my eyes, I’m smiling every night.”

“Not once did I doubt M2 during my adventures. I always thought telling people that I’m from Pakistan or that I’m a Muslim would raise eyebrows but never once did that happen. I don’t know if I’m really lucky or if this is how life is when you’re away from the media.”

Moin’s next epic journey might begin this coming fall, when he will ride his motorcycle from Pakistan all the way around India, this time his bike waving two flags in the wind, one of Pakistan and one of India.

“It’s been way too long that Pakistanis and Indians have hated each other. It’s pointless and useless.”

Until then, if you want to join Moin on his bike and discover Pakistan through his eyes, sign up for one of his tours. Perhaps this video (of a slightly different yet similar spirit) of a spontaneous jaunt through Vietnam with a stranger/new friend riding at the helm will give you a taste of what you will experience.

“At the end of every journey, I am again reminded of how compassionate and humbling strangers from all corners of the earth can be. I hope that this page inspire it's visitors to be more passionate, more willing to breaking down cultural barriers, become more compassionate, and to strive to never stay in one place for too long.” (From Moin Khan’s Facebook page.)