Featured – Quest for More :: Radek Okienczuk

We take a direct flight from Banda Aceh in Sumatra to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. The timing is right. We have a few days to explore the city before Semenyih 100 Ultratrail Marathon series. The local trail running competition has two races of 25km and 50km to choose from. Kuala Lumpur, actually just like most…

Here we are, after a few weeks of exploring rough corners of Sumatra, staying in dirty places or sleeping in a tent, finally comes final part to indulge ourselves in little paradise, island called Palau Weh – just off the northern tip of Sumatra. Well… It actually has not started that easy. Firstly, we arrived…

Our driver makes a stop to look at the rear wheel axle of the minibus. He moves it lightly and kicks a couple of times. It helps, but only for a few hundred meters. Something is making strange noise during the ride, yet the sound fades during acceleration. The vibrations are getting more intense. It…

We are about to take a sixteen hour ride on a “new bus“. It is worth adding a several extra thousands of rupees (equivalent of a few dollars) because the “old bus” is said to be breaking down more often. The route is bumpy, wild and unforgettable, most of which we cover at nighttime with…

We are landing in Padang in western Sumatra. The kamikaze driver provides a quick transfer from the airport to Bukittinggi. Three hundred thousand rupees and less than two hours later we’re (safely!) in place. We stop in the slightly forgotten Rajawali Homestay. There is no bedding or running water, but there is ‘still water’ in…

It is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates (Dubai is the first). Our plane has landed in Abu Dhabi early in the morning, just at the crack of dawn. Intuition tells me that, being located somewhere in the desert on the Arabian peninsula, this must be an unusual city.…

The term “Triathlon” takes on a slightly different meaning when accompanied by a catchy keyword “Ironman”. It certainly sounds interesting and mysterious. First time I came across the term was just a few years ago. Then I instantly got into it. I thought that since there are no impossible things, it might be quite an…

208km, 8954m of vertical gain and 4 days of excellent race adventure KUM is a four-stage mountain race leading from Szczawnica to Wisła in southern Poland. It is easy to guess that new trail running events are often underrated and don’t get all the attention they deserve. It is especially true for the first edition of…

This time it’s a family trip. More precisely a surprise trip for my mother’s 60th birthday. She’s always been a fan of Portuguese culture and heritage, hence the idea to go to Madeira. What do you associate Madeira with? For my mother and sister Luisa, this is the “island of everlasting spring” and the cradle…

We arrived to the Caucasus in quest for fresh powder. Is not just another snowboarding trip, above all it is the opportunity to get to know a new country and an interesting way to spend two weeks with good friends. I’ve already had the pleasure to experience snowboarding on the northern slopes of Caucasus (the…

Slovenia is located between the Alps and the Balkans. The visitors can enjoy rock climbing, bungee jumping, rafting, canyoning, ice cold rivers, green forest, mountain scenery and plenty of space. It is more than that. I call it the paradise for activity enthusiasts and the hidden pearl that should be permanently placed on European adventure…

Summer is the best time to pack your own hand-made recreational vehicle with all sorts of sports equipment and set off on an adventure journey through Europe. On one side I do love traveling with no specific plans nor itineraries, however, it is quite useful to have some sort of culmination point, an objective that…

I came to Belgium in the middle of completely hot summer, out of curiosity. I rarely travel in that part of Europe so it is even more interesting to visit a country commonly associated with beers and chocolates. We drive my yellow bus from the Luxembourg side and arrive to Rochefort, a random town on…

We are in Cunco, a small village in the region of Araucanía in Chile. As the name rightly suggests, this terrain is populated with araucaria trees. We stock up and head towards Lake Colico. The first car we encounter pulls over to offer us a ride. It’s a giant, heavily overloaded Dodge RAM 2500. Its hood is…

Northern region of Chile is famous for surreal landscapes created by nature. It takes a few long days of driving to reach northern part of the world’s longest country. Finally, together with Dorota and Światek we all arrive to San Pedro de Atacama, a desert town located next to the Bolivian border. It is perfect base…

It’s time for some adventures from Chile. The car ride from Santiago towards Atacama offers intense experience with semi-arid landscape. The road north meanders between the ocean on the left and the Andes on the right. The predominant view of bushes and cactus is rarely replaced with some vineyards, olive plantations, or abundant wild plants…

I have accidentally arrived to Mandalay at 3 am. What can you do at this hour? Probably just try to get away. I grab my backpack and hop on a motorcycle taxi. We rush through the big city’s darkness towards railway station. To my surprise, even at this early hour there is a lot of…

We are going to take a double-decker pickup towards Kalaw. In fact, it is an ordinary pickup, with the difference being that people sit on a roof. Interestingly, local women are not allowed to sit on vehicle’s roof, because it is “not appropriate”. The car keeps overheating, but the situation is under control as long…

The overland travel to Myanmar, former Burma, had crossed my mind long time ago when visited Southeast Asia for the first time. Even though some of the Burmese land borders began to open already few years ago, the south of the country remained largely isolated from the world until August 2013. Today one can “easily”…

Life ain’t easy in Taita Hills. It’s getting hotter. We have lost another 1000 meters of altitude. At the end of the day we are at about 750 meters above sea level. We make a stop ahead of Tsavo West National Park, colloquially known as The Man-eater National Park. As suggested by Richard Trillo, an…

Kenyan side of Mt. Kilimanjaro We are heading towards Kilimanjaro along the road C102. Police officers at the roadside station ensure us that we are unlikely to come across dangerous animals at this time of a year. On the way we pass scattered tiny villages with inhabitants taking care of their cattle. It’s nearly the…

Headmaster and his desktop The newly built paved road stretches up and down and up and down and all over again for another 40 kilometers from town of Narok. At some point we turn into a narrow unpaved track. We stock up with roasted corn, mangoes and bananas at one of local markets. Up and…

The Africa I always wanted to see A pink glow appears on the horizon at 6:30 in the morning. Some people living in recently visited villages assured us that if we keep cycling south at some point we would meet a lot of wild animals. We listen in disbelief, but they keep saying, yes, yes,…

Lone tree between tea Among Sugar Cane Our dirty and dusty road crosses through giant sugar cane plantations. Car traffic is minimal until late in the afternoon when tractors loaded with sugar cane pop up. Workers are bringing the hard day’s work harvest to one of a few sugar cane factories in the area. We…

Biking at the source of the Nile in Uganda Cycling in Mabira Forest Reserve The outbound road from Kampala seems to be fairly enjoyable. The initial 65 km stretch takes to Mabira Forest Reserve. Sometime on the way I remember to buy antimalarial pills. In no particular village a pharmacist offers me 20 small green…

We arrive to Santiago de Cuba. The surroundings look as if destroyed by a hurricane. Actually (and sadly) this is the case. Uprooted trees and broken rooftops form the suburb landscape of this second largest city on the island. To prevent cholera outbreak, there is triple chlorine disinfection carried out in front of each premises.…

Classic old-timer One of the most popular dishes in Cuba is pan con hamburguesa, which in other words, is kind of a hamburger. The preparation process involves making it ready first and then heating the entire thing in the toaster, in a way that the meat always stays cold, almost as if it was taken…

We arrive to town of Hershey on our bikes. Here we get to know Ula, a Polish woman who has lived over 30 years in Cuba. What brings her here? Back in the seventies there were many Cuban students in Poland. Usually those students, on contrary to the regulations of their studies, happened to socialize…

I exchange two hundred euros for peso cubano and I get two hefty handful of money, probably weighing about one kilo. In my mind there is a thought: Am I able to spend it during the next month? The two different currencies in circulation in Cuba is just one of countless, sometimes absurd, surprises waiting for…

Colorful Buenos Aires Every time I recall Argentina in my mind, I remember all warm and genuine people I met here. It brings back a lot of colorful and intense memories. It is a country where every single day begins with a few servings of yerba mate and in the morning it is impossible to…