Adventure, Exploring, Extraordinary
Petr Suchý
a personal traveller’s presentation
In the course of ten years, I took about 25 largely individual journeys nearly all over the world and visited about 70 countries. I spent about 42 months on the journeys. I travel modestly in harmony with local natural and social conditions using all available means of transport. All these facts enable me to understand the local life. Without any previous preparation, I am able to move separately in the foreign, often unfamiliar environment and to cope with unexpected, precarious and frequently even dangerous situations. The scope of my travelling activities appears to be the evidence of my considerable practice and the guarantee of intense and remarkable experiences. I am able to communicate with people of all cultural, religious and racial origin. I undergo willingly and voluntarily various health, safety and other risks resulting from the journeys. So far the only vaccination I have undergone is that against yellow jack. I have a travel insurance only since the last year. As for my health, physical and psychic condition I am quite all right. Height 192 cm, weight 86 kg. I make myself understood in Russian, English, German and Spain. I have a university education in the field of plant cultivation, design and establishing ornamental gardens. All expeditions were covered from my own financial sources obtained largely by manual work and partly also by stock-exchange gambling. I never used services of any travel agencies. Overall financial costs range about CZK 350,000 (i.e. about USD 9,000) of which USD 4,500 amount to expenditures for plane and ship tickets. For the first time, I visited other continents only seven years ago. It was after all rather late in my life. From twelve journeys only one was not individual.
Among my best journeys belong: a two-month travel by hitchhiking across the USA from north to south and west (I obtained respect of American police) costing less than USD 100 including an illegal journey across Mexico and back (after catching I succeeded to persuade Mexican police to set me free), individual rises (without permission) on African and South-American high mountain regions, a five-month travel around Asia within which I succeeded in preventing a robbing assault in Georgia, the crossing of several climatic zones and the majority of post-Soviet republics without visas, illegal penetration from China to Tibet using the shortest but also the most difficult way where I travelled about seven weeks in forbidden regions. I tried to climb over the Himalayas to India, however, it was not possible and, therefore, in the final stage, I outwitted a redoubtable Chinese police to get legally to Nepal and come back by terrestrial way to Europe. Another interesting event was gold mining in El Dorado where we were pursued by men-at-arms through a jungle along the Guyana borderline, search of treasures in the Caucasus (even though unsuccessful), voyage along the Amazon River, twofold return from India (in the end quite without financial means), two journeys to Kashmir where there is a martial law due to a partisan war, an expedition into jungles in Aceh (Sumatra), South America and Africa, travelling across equatorial Africa using a diplomatic passport which resulted in a half-year pursuing by Czech police, a stay in a British farm in Kenya where I tended camels when my financial means were spent. The greatest asset of these journeys for me was cognition of people, informal meetings and get-togethers and interrelations with people throughout the world. All this enriched me immensely.
The individual and adventurous travelling style was determined by the shortage of financial means and absence of a suitable partner. On the other hand, the fact enabled me to travel much more interestingly, variedly and in a close contact with the surrounding environment. I was always interested in the world, I hungered to know it in its many-sided variability, to reveal the substance of things and events without prejudices, illusions and dogmas, to understand hidden connections. Earlier, when there was no possibility to travel, I decided to accomplish my aim to get to know the world. I orientated to the objective maximum effort and courage and devoted and subordinated all to the aim so that I have to complete the effort to get to know the whole world. I prefer to be in conflict with the whole world than with me myself. During my journeys, I am self-assured, I cope all problems, however, after my return I am somewhat uncertain. It is paradoxical but logical. The majority of people is really too weak for a strong life. I am able to cope with failures, however, I have a persistent idea, viz. that who does not surrender that can never lose.
I am not usually easily available, I am neither interested in a problematic career nor any tinpot honours. I am exclusively satisfied only when I return as a winner.
Visited countries, regions and places (as of 30 November 2000)
Europe: ca 12x, 86 (negative list) (1978-2000) : Portugal, Ireland, Malta, the Ukraine, Faeroe Islands , Albania, San Marino, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Moldavia, the Canary Islands, Crete, Spitsbergen, Shetlands, Azores, Gotland, Corsica, Sardinia, Balearic Islands, Madeira.
Other continents ( a well-arranged integrated positive list) :
Africa: (4x, 23) Ceuta; Morocco (96) 1x, 3 - Tanger, Tetouan, Fez, Casablanca, Rabat, Marrakesh, the Great Atlas - Jebel Thoubkal; Egypt:(94) 1x , 5 - Sinai, Suez, Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor, Aswan, Giza, Kom Ombo, Minya, Sohag, Asyut, Edfu, Esna; Karnak, Sahara; Kenya (96,99) 2x, 11 - Nairobi, Mombasa, Meru, Nyahururu, Nakuru, Nyeri, Nanyuki, Eldored, Uganda (96) 1x, 2 - Jinja, Kampala, Tororo, Masaka, Kasese, Mbarara, Tanzania (96,99) 2x, 3 - Tanga, Dar-Es-Salaam, Arusha, Moshi, Zanzibar, Congo(96) 1x , rise on Mt. Kenya, Ruwenzori, Kilimanjaro - SRWP 2, Safari, Rift Walley, N. P. - Kilimanjaro, Mt. Kenya, Meru, Buffalo Springs, Tsavo, Nakuru, Serengeti, Amboseli
South America: (97) 1x, 8; Guyana, Venezuela - Caracas, El Dorado, Valencia, Trujillo, Valera, Ciudad Bolivar, (piranha fishing); Santa Elena, Merida, Baquisimento, Brazil - Boa Vista, Manaus, Coari, the Amazon watershed, Orinoco, Rio Negro, rises in the Ands (Pico de Bolivar - SRWP), table mountains (SRWP) (Roraima), marches through jungles, voyage along the Amazon River, illegal gold mining in El Dorado.
North America: (94-95,98) 3x, 25, USA; New York, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Maryland, Virginia, Carolina, Tennessee, N. a S. Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Louisiana, Nevada - Las Vegas, National Parks - Everglades, Grand Canyon, Death Valley; Canada (98):1x, 2, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa; Mexico:(95) 1x, 3 - (without permission) Mexico City, Quadalajara, Tequilla, Teotihuacan, Palenque, Nuevo Laredo, San Luis Potosi, Chichen Itza, Cordoba, Veracruz, Merida, Chetumal, Kampeche, Monterrey, Orizaba, Hermosillo, Villahermosa, Tepic, Nogales , Los Mochis, Coatzacoalcos.
Asia: (00,94,96,98,99) 5x, 42, Turkey (96,98,99) 4x, Istanbul, Ankara, Trabzon, Erzurum; Georgia (98,99) 2x, 5, the Caucasus (Svanetie - Mestia, Batumi, Poti, Kutaisi, Zugdidi, Tbilisi); Azerbaijan 1x - Baku; Turkmenistan - Ashkhabad, Uzbekistan 1x, Tashkent, Bukhara, Samarkand; Kyrgyzstan 1x , Kazakhstan 1x, Alma-Ata, the Tian Shan; Siberia - Novosibirsk, Krasnojarsk, Tomsk, Barnaul, Irkutsk - (Baykal); Mongolia (98) 1x, 2,(Ulan-Bator, Gobi); China (98) 1x, 2 (Great Wall, Beijing, Chengdu, Shian); Tibet (98) 1x, 7 Litang, Batang, Markam, Zogang, Bamda, Qamdo, Nagqu, Nepong,, Nagarze, separate crossings of several Himalayan passes at an altitude of over 5000 m – illegal penetration into Tibet (Lhasa, Gyantze, Shikatze). Nepal (98) 1x, 2, Kathmandu, India (96,98) 2x, 8; Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Varanasí, Lucknow, Calcutta, Ajanta, Ellora, Kashmir - Srinaga; Amritsar, Dharmsala, Hyderabad; Singapore (99,00) 4x, 2 , Malaysia(00) 1x, 2 (Kuala Lumpur, Melacca, Penang, Georgetown, Cameron Highlands; Thailand (00) 1x, - Phuket, Indonesia (99) 1x, 2 (Sumatra - Aceh); Israel (94) 2x, 2 (Haifa, Nazaret, Jericho, Tel Aviv, Har Megido, Jerusalem, Betlehem, Hebron, Eilat, Masada); Iran (96,98) 3x, 2 (Teheran, Esfahan, Kerman, Zahedan, Tabriz), Pakistan 3x, 2 (Quetta, Multan, Dera Ghazi Kchan, Sukkur, Lahore)
Australia: (00) 1x,x7 - Sydney, Brisbane, Rockhampton, Mackay, Townsville, Cairns. National Parks - Fraser Island, Blue Mountains, Wet Tropics.
Abbreviations: SRWP (separate rise without permission), 1x number of journeys, 8 length of stay in weeks, (99,00) – year of the journey
Possibilities and services offered:
- consulting and guide activities;
- mediation of game hunting in Kenya;
- photographs, reports;
- publicity, advertising;
- other services (according to requirements and agreement);
- rises on equatorial high mountains
664 02
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e-mail: equator_ltd@yahoo.com
tel: 736 618 579
tel: 776 171 374