Worldly wise: Norhayati delivering her firebrand message of inspiration.

Bandar Seri Begawan - Brunei's very own female adventurer Norhayati Abu Bakar yesterday returned to the Sultanate, and encouraged women to start contributing to the country's development as they were just as capable as her in their own ways.

In an exclusive interview with The Brunei Times, Norhayati challenged women to "break the barriers" and to "achieve the unachievable".

"In my expedition, being a Muslim woman did not deprive me of my rights. I was given a chance and I proved it," she said.

Norhayati arrived in Bandar around 2pm with husband Harun Kurt Eichbauer after a four-month expedition spanning 27,000 kilometres across Europe, from Vladivostok in Russia to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, taking in Finland, Sweden and Denmark, northern Italy and the UK along the way.

"This is my way of contributing back to Brunei. I promoted Brunei every way I could and it was pleasing to tell people about Brunei and where it was." she said.

Although she encountered many challenges along the way, she said it only inspired her further. "I went to so many countries and gained knowledge that I would never forger. Doing this was away to help me enhance my understanding of other cultures and ways of life," she said.

During Norhayati's stop in Russia, she was unexpectedly interviewed by a Russian journalist from one of their local magazines.

"They interviewed me and said they were running a feature about Brunei because they never heard about it before," she said.

She also urged relevant authorities to start making Brunei "marketable". "In areas such as eco-tourism, we can design it to become a niche market where we can showcase our nature and culture to tourists," she said.

She added citizens needed to be less complacent in terms of Brunei's economy and development.

"We should start building a foundation for our younger generations to come so they will have perspectives on life. Brunei has been independent for 25 years now and we cannot rely on oil and gas anymore," she said, adding that Bruneians should broaden their vision to encompass other areas such as agriculture, tourism and environment.

"Bruneians should just keep on firing away' (at other opportunities). We should be prepared in that sense where we are ready for the future?'

Norhayati added that she will soon be going to schools to conduct motivational talks to encourage and inspire students to be courageous, and to challenge themselves to achieve skills that Brunei needs for growth.

"Students should start learning how to create their own income, just like other countries," she said, adding they should stop relying on their parents for money.

Norhayati and her husband said they were "very thankful" to their sponsors who helped make the expedition possible. She already has plans under way to start her next expedition to other parts of the world next February, including South Africa, South America, Canada and Alaska.

'I guess I have to start knocking on doors for sponsorship again," she said, adding she hoped sponsors would not see it as only for the benefit of her obtaining experience.

"My goal is to travel the whole world as I am not going to be young forever. I want to go around and contribute to Brunei by promoting us as much as I can," she said.-- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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