Lifestyle – Quest for More :: Radek Okienczuk

Gran Canaria, a continent in a miniature

Gran Canaria is the third largest of the Canary Islands. Looking at its shape it is the most round one. As a tourist desitnation it is often thought of as a popular place to get away from winter. Especially among people living in the north of Europe. How can you visit such place without becoming…

How to fix a clutch in Freiburg?

Even though the clutch in my bus has broken right outside the city limits of Colmar, I still think it is a charming Alsatian town. Something simply went a bit wrong. I have no idea where to find a car mechanic not to mention the challenging task of describing the problem in French. It is…

Some things to see in Copenhagen

I happened to be in Copenhagen several times, either passing by or coming for shorter or longer visit. Once I even lived there for some time. I got up in the morning and just like other Danes I cycled into town. This was the most convenient way to meet local people and get to know…

Santiago de Chile & around

Santiago is huge city. How can you start with it? Incidentally I discover that Maja, a friend from collage has lived here for several months already. This is an ideal opportunity to meet her and hear some stories about realities of living in Chile. I think in every capital it is tricky to enjoy the…

Morning train to Hsipaw

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…

Where the garlic grows (Kalaw to Inle Lake)

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…

Goat in the Masai village

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…

Cycling through land of the Masai

Short break in a village Every day we learn more about African animals, their behavior and nature. We cycle through land of the Masai, yet most of the time it is a no man’s land. Observing the landscape I see only fleeing antelopes, warthogs lurking from the distance, zebras resting in the shade of a…

Western Kenya and Teso tribe

House in Chamasiri village The border crossing between Lwakhakha, even though it doesn’t exist on many maps, as for African conditions is very easy one to cross. Leaving the border turmoil it quickly turns out that Western Province is a land of friendly and smiling people of Teso tribe. We cycle several extra kilometers and…

Breakfast in the City on the Seven Hills

I see millions of anonymous lights glittering far beyond the horizon. The urban landscape extends endlessly and floods both sides of the Bosporus Strait, a narrow passage of water connecting the Balkans and Asia Minor. This is how Istanbul has gained the status of the only city in the world located on two continents. Maşallah!…

Red wine, the best beef and yerba mate

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…

Tierra Caliente in Bolivia

Chatting by the table In the beginning I must admit that the last few weeks spent at over three thousand meters made me feel a bit tired. This feeling is accompanied by longing. I miss early morning sun which warms up my tent and wakes me up. I also miss these pleasant evenings, sitting outside…

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”,…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Cycling through the Congo

Curious children looking through a window in a bar A red gravel road ahead heralds hundreds of kilometers pedaling into the Democratic Republic of Congo. For the next few days I expect to become absolutely detached from the outside world, with no mobile phones, no electricity, no running water and at most a few poorly…

One thousand hills on a bike

Mzungu among Rwandan kids Tired of a long journey we are looking for a bottle of cold beer. Searching through the mysterious alleys of Kigali all we find is a warm and tart banana wine. We still have to take a five-hour bus ride to Gisenyi, a town on the western end of Rwanda. It…

Surviving the Norwegian winter

Snowshoe walking I settle down the place where the sun sets at three in the afternoon, merely an hour later it gets completely dark. And so it is until nine in the morning. It’s hard to get used to the long shadows cast already early in the afternoon. The early December’s temperature of minus 20ºC…

Algarve tripping

Surfing time Early in the morning I say goodbye to southern Spain and cross the Portuguese border. My first stop is at the tourist information office. Courteous black girl, probably in the seventh month of pregnancy greets me with Portuguese “Bom dia!” and a smile on her face. I collect detailed information on the Algarve…

Laid-back Andalusia

Sometimes a road turns into the river Andalusia is considered the poorest and the least developed part of Spain. Take a look from another point of view. It is by far the most sunny part of Spain and time is running much slower compared to the other parts of Iberian peninsula. Our adventure begins as…

Longboard BCN

Barcelona is a longboarder’s paradise Last time I visited Barcelona I made a mistake and didn’t bring my longboard along. This time I finally got a chance to fix it. Now, my only concern is to park the yellow car in the center. This is not trivial issue, because by definition, you can’t move by…

A family in el Escorial

A family in el Escorial A dinner with Patricia’s family in el Escorial Patricia invites me for a couple of days to visit her family in el Escorial near Madrid. That is an interesting possibility to get to know her hometown and see how a typical Spanish family lives. Our walk from a bus stop…

San Fermin Festival in Pamplona

San Fermin Festival in Pamplona Bull chasing people in the streets of Pamplona San Fermín is an annual week-long festival taking place 6-14 July in Pamplona. The history of bull chasing goes back to the fourteenth century and since 1592 has been in the same form every year. I travel half of Spain for a…

Barcelona, the European theme park

Barcelona, the European theme park A view of Barcelona from Park Guell “A European theme park“, a guy from bike rental shop told me in Madrid. I asked him to describe Barcelona in one sentence. Some say that the capital of Catalonia has nothing to do with the real Spain. One thing is certain. Barcelona…

The taste of adventure

Caye Caulker, Belize Traveling to Central America resulted in new inspirations. Fabulous Caye Caulker island in Belize is a place where time is irrelevant and the only problem is to open a coconut. A hitch-hike ride on a truck full of pineapples and limes is by far better than riding limo. Every experience has its…

Feel California Summer

Surfers in Huntington Beach Sometimes all you need is a good place to rest and spend some time with not much of wandering around. California sounds perfect. Now that I found a cheap flights the opportunity at fingertips. There remains only the task to find a good company for such a trip. In fact it…