Experiences – Page 3 – Quest for More :: Radek Okienczuk

Surfing in Ecuador

Montańita I see vast desolated areas and complete desert. This is a coast of Ecuador. I get to know a few fishermen and observe how an everyday life looks like in a fishing town Manta. I spend the afternoon in a bar trying to understand a bunch of drunk Ecuadorians and it is not easy.…

Popayan, a white city in Colombia

A girl dancing on a street, Popayan Popayan is a small town perfectly capturing the atmosphere of Colombian province. The mild climate has attracted merchants and sugar cane plantation owners, who settled here looking for a quiet place away from overpopulated and sweltering Cali. The city started to develop in sixteenth century and has maintained…

Pablo Escobar and his empire

Escobar had the biggest private zoo in the world The head of the world’s biggest cocaine cartel in Medellin, a local patriot and philanthropist, but also a ruthless criminal. This is Pablo Escobar, a drug baron, who publicly sentenced to death politicians having intentions to curb his power. He always kept his word and often…

Snapshots from Colombia

A colorful group of street musicians There are some questions at the Venezuelan-Colombian border. “You speak Polish in your country, right?" – I nodded – “So where did you learn Spanish?” – “By traveling and reading books". Questions become less formal, “How do you say “Buenos Dias" in Polish?” – I answer that “Dzien Dobry”,…

Venzuela and the Northern Andes

A resident of the Apartaderos area I arrive to Merida, an Andean city of southwestern Venezuela. Currently there is temporada baja, which means low season. In fact, there are nearly no tourists at all. This encourages exploring the area on your own, but still it is very difficult to try a more demanding hiking trail.…

Venezuelan cuisine

Arepa and perrico I take a look at Venezuelan cuisine and do my best to experience it. Luckily most of the time I stay with people who are natural-born enthusiasts and experts in this field. Altogether including some extra street culinary experiences, I would like to present a sample menu. It is a list of…

A glimpse of Venezuela

U.S. made school bus A small Caribbean Airlines plane quickly gains altitude. Shortly after the takeoff it performs a rapid turnaround in a surprisingly limited space. Twenty minutes after leaving Trinidad I notice scattered islands, green hills and large, two or three thousand meters high peaks on mainland South America. These are the remote territories…

Tobago, the spirit of the Caribbean

Grocery store in Plymouth, Tobago Arrival to Tobago proved to be fairly simple. At first, I did not believe that my luggage would so easily find its way along an intricate route. I grab my backpack shortly after leaving the plane. The immigration officer asks, “Do you have a return ticket?”, my straightforward answer –…

Back from the far north

Kavringtinden (1289m), Lyngsalpene This is another adventure with the yellow bus. The bus has already reached the tip of Portugal, it survived the Norwegian winter at -40°C and this time it reached a few hundred kilometers north of the Arctic Circle. I spend a few days with friends in Tromsø and enjoying the charms of…

Into the Wild

Mountains reflected in Store Skålbrekkvatnet Preparing for the next trip, in rush, again. I have just a couple of days left to take care of some remaining stuff before heading north. This time I am going nearly straight from Israeli desert to far north of Norway. It takes about 3000 km get to northern coast…

Oasis 101 on Israeli desert

A perfect full moon night on 101 desert It is a real scorcher at the southern tip of Israel. A bath in the Red Sea is the last chance for refreshment. We set off north towards the Sea Dead. The visibility in a full moon night allows us to ride after dusk. We continue until…

Sinai on a bike

Secretive bay, Sinai Tamar, a girl we met in a desert oasis in Israel has influenced our plans. “Jordan is just like Israel twenty years ago, go to Sinai and see something entirely magical". I remember the gleam in her eyes and lips telling of the truth. A few days have passed until we managed…

Israel on two wheels

Some places you get an idea that half of Israel is one huge firing area Instead of the promised sun and heat, it is heavy rain to greet us upon arrival. An immigration officer asks a few detailed questions, he stamps our passports and lets us in Israel. Our friend Ohn Debby picks us up…

Winter season in covered with snow Austria

Waiting in clouds to see the next thing life brings The idea to spend a whole winter season in Austria has always been on my mind. One day I found a way to make it happen. I got a job in Bad Hofgastein, an alpine village located nearby Saltzburg. Snowboarding, skiing, high mountains, an idyllic…

A break on Ko Samet island

A new day comes to Ko Samet Tired of Bangkok I decide to take a short break on the island of Ko Samet. It is the last chance to grasp a bit of summer before returning to Europe. Soon I realize that I am at a certain front line. This is the island on which…

Hunting unexploded ordnance in Laos

UXO Lao team in field work Empty streets of Phonsavan resemble an abandoned arid town somewhere in the Middle East. Burning sun penetrates mysterious alleys. The vivid blue sky with occasional little clouds sets an interesting contrast with sandstone architecture. The silence is disturbed by 4×4 off-road cars, rickshaws and motorcyclists. I rent a motorbike…

Two Laotian tribes

Hot springs to bathe and do the laundry, Muang Vieng Thong I still cherish a hope that an already delayed bus would take me to the east. Luckily it arrives. The journey starts in the early afternoon and lasts until darkness. I carefully observe changing scenery. Mountains, plateaus and valleys of this vast land are…

A village in the north of Laos

A sticky rice basket is made of dried bamboo, or katip Two days in Luang Prabang is exactly two days more than enough. The main problem is the city is often perceived as the only point on a tourist map of Laos and honestly it is simply overrated. I appreciate the unique night market and…

Absolute freedom in Vang Vieng

In the Tubing, Vang Vieng, Laos The New Zealand Herald wrote, "If teenagers ruled the world, it might resemble Vang Vieng". I cannot think of a more accurate phrase to put it short. Vang Vieng used to be a calm, picturesque Lao village situated on the Nam Song river. Some distant limestone peaks fade away…

Lao motorcycle diaries

While the four guys came up to the fence, the fifth one hid behind a tree Bolaven Plateau is an area located at an altitude of 1000-1350 meters in southern Laos. The region is famous for its picturesque waterfalls. Making your way to the waterfalls you will pass little scattered villages inhabited by ethnic minority…

Four thousand islands on Mekong

Islanders set off for fishing early in the morning, Si Phan Don The wild south of Laos is mainly empty gravel roads, sparsely populated villages and fields of rice filling the floodplains of mighty river Mekong up to the horizon. Si Phan Don means in Lao 4000 islands. This is one of the main attractions…

Landmines in Cambodia

In the morning we head towards O’smach, a rarely frequented Thai-Cambodian. Going by foot for an hour and a half we reach the main road. We flag down a tourist bus. There are no seats available, but the driver finds us a sitting area on the floor for a couple of bucks. After an hour…

Guesthouse #10

Hectic Cambodian streets calm down before the sunset I arrange a BMX and anticipating the following morning visit to the Halo Trust headquarters I decide to check up on another place of interest. Nearby a friend of mine runs a hostel called ‘Guesthouse no. 10’. Upon arrival I find myself in the middle of Cambodian…

People of the Mekong

Cambodian temple complex in Kampong Cham Blacksmith works alone, his wife takes care of their child and a family’s friend sits comfortably in an unchanged position with a thoughtless, unconcerned expression as he rolls another strong cigarette and smokes it, occasionally sipping his tea. Leaving the city behind we get to know Mr. Peck, who…

Southern Cambodia

A curious but still timid girl, southern Cambodia Cambodian four hours equals roughly seven regular hours and it is the amount of time to reach Kampot by bus. We discover another pleasant city, whose once slow life bustles on when you visit a marketplace. The local market is divided into sections making some sort of…

The last fisherman in Phnom Penh

A break at work Phnom Penh is probably the only capital in the world with no official public transport. It has some further consequences. Nearly every second guy chooses to be a tuk-tuk rickshaw driver. Indeed walking down the street, it is hard to ignore enthusiastic shouts coming from all over “tuk-tuk cheap cheap for…

Tarantula for dinner

Cambodian women selling fried tarantulas Someone enters through the window and the three of us in the backseat are now five people. Along the way, another ten new passengers join the ride and the driver constantly encourages more passersby, even when there is definitely no room available. I do not exactly know what it is…

Ankor Wat and the Khmer Empire

Prah Khan temple, Angkor Wat The history of Cambodia dates back to 2000 years ago. The former Kingdom of Funan grew in power over the years to become the Khmer Empire in the ninth century. Many problems plagued the empire, but still it had been consistently gaining the importance in the region. It is also…

Bangkok and the escape from Bangkok

Busy avenue in central Bangkok It has been a hide-and-seek game, but eventually I won, a giant cockroach in my hotel room is killed. Now I can go out on the street. It is sultry, stuffy and hot. The humid air sticks to my lungs. In the course of my travels this is the most…

Thai notes

Colorful Thai fashion Khanom is a medium sized town. This is our first destination, also a place to visit Thai family of a Swedish friend. We wait for a bit and two young guys arrive on their scooters to give us a ride. After a few minutes we find ourselves in a modern hut on…