Dangers and loneliness

Cycling around the world was always Du’s childhood dream. The young man used to work as a programmer in Beijing, but soon realized this was not what he was looking for. In 2011, he decided to quit his job and set out in search of adventure.

During his 26 months on the road, Du met all the problems that a rider might possibly encounter on this journey - getting lost, suffering from thirst, falling ill, or receiving some unexpected “visitors,” for example, the elephants that could have smashed his tent on their migration path at night, or the two green-eyed hyenas that came to “say goodnight” - all terrifying experiences for the young man.

There was also a genuine danger of being robbed on the road, but that was not a big deal for Du. Born in Heze, a city renowned as the cradle of Chinese martial arts, Du learned kungfu since he was a child.

“All I had to do is make a kungfu pose and look intensely into their eyes. This would scare the thieves away,” Du said with a laugh.

But the real fear came from the Sinai Peninsula in