Youngster from Cluj hitchhiked 10 countries on four continents in three years

A young man from Cluj-Napoca, mad about cartography and adventure, became a real globetrotter after he had hitchhiked 230,000 km on four continents in just 3 years. He travelled by a police car in Columbia and Chile, by an ambulance in Ukraine, by a truck of the Russian army and by a gendarmerie vehicle in France.

30yo Timotei Rad, speaking English, Spanish and Hungarian fluently, began the adventure of his life in 2012 when, by good fortune, he had in mind to obtain more details on the first map designed by a Romanian, that he needed for his bachelor’s degree. He found out that an original copy of this map is in London and another one copy in Vienna. And so, he embarked on this incredible ride crossing 229,790 kilometres and ten countries from four continents: Europe, Asia, Africa and South America.

In his attempt to get to London to take the copy of the map, he arrived in Paris on May 2012, having only EUR 90 in his pocket. It was then he decided he’s better hitchhike to save some money on transport. Unfortunately, he has never made it to London as he ran out of money and had to go back to Romania.
In 2013 he took the true big step to globetrotting, beginning his trip by heading to East, to Russia and Siberia, this time with less money in his pocket, no more than EUR 70.

He had to get back from Kazakhstan due to the visa for China, arrived in Afghanistan but the Romanian ambassador in Kabul sent him back home, on the grounds that it was too dangerous there. However, during his Asian adventure he managed to get to Magadan port, Siberia’s closest point to Alaska.

In the summer of 2014 he headed West, crossing Europe entirely. His ride ended in Italy when his credit card demagnetised and had to go back home to Cluj-Napoca, again.

From the end of 2014 to March 2015 he has been travelling through several countries in South America, reaching Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world in Tierra del Fuego Island, Argentina.

When he was up North, he got beyond the Arctic Circle in Norway by a sailing boat designed after a Viking design. He has sailed on the sea through rain, snowfall and wind for 5 days.

The hitchhiker from Cluj wrote on his blog about his trips and managed to raise some money from donations, around EUR 10,000 in 3 years.

He confessed he liked very much in Russia, where people were entertaining and offered him some vodka. Timotei told he had got 1,400 roubles (RON 140) from a guy named Alexei. Many Russians were curious to find out if there are vampires in Transylvania.

The young globetrotter also said he had been impressed by Iran, which, despite it is a closed country, its locals are very hospitable. He had a great time in Ireland and in Columbia, as well but also in Morocco, where he ate “the best 39-spice tajine in his whole life”.