Marek Slobodník: On a Tricycle to Mongolia

Videos, slideshow and stories from Banská Bystrica-based traveller Marek Slobodník about his journey from Banská Bystrica to Mongolia - on a Honda ATC 200 tricycle and amphibious Luaz 967 vehicles, nicknamed Yellow Frogs.

The story began in 2012 in South America, where travellers would say at every river that a floating car would come in handy. They knew about the Luaz, and so the phrase "BUT LUAZ" was born. After returning home, they set out for Ukraine, bought one such vehicle and the first amphibious expedition could begin. Marek Slobodník wanted to stay true to motorcycles, so he looked for one that wouldn't sink in water - he eventually heard about the Honda ATC 200. From the purchase of the first Luaz to the start in 2024, an incredible 11 years of preparation and bureaucratic obstacles passed.

The lecture will cover how seven travellers crossed from Europe across Asia through Turkmenistan, why they crossed the border into Uzbekistan on a rope, what the situation in Russia looks like now and what they were asked for at the borders. There will also be talk of the Altai Mountains, Mongolian plains, moments when vehicles sank instead of floating, and why the Honda ATC stopped being manufactured and why no one had been there with one before them.

Three months on the road, 14,000 kilometres and endless problems - that is "On a Tricycle to Mongolia".