They Drove Their Motorcycle From Romania To Mongolia With Their 6-Year-Old In A Sidecar.
When freelance photographer and Instagrammer Mihai Barbu decided to go on a trip around Europe in 2015, he decided to bring his girlfriend, Oana, and their, then, four-year-old son, Vladimir. It took them four months, but their trek through 41 countries was a success, and they used a 2014 Ural Ranger sidecar, which they named Zair. Then in 2016, they head through Caucasus, Georgia, and Armenia with their trusty sidecar. But in 2017, they decided to go on a 26,000-kilometer trip through 12 countries towards Mongolia, which took four months. Mihai and Oana once again brought their, now, 6-year-old son on the most amazing journey yet.
People assume that traveling with kids across foreign countries can be dangerous.
Mihai Barbu and his girlfriend Oana had traveled with their son, Vladimir several in 2015, and in 2016, so this new journey to Mongolia seemed like a no brainer. In fact, Mihai believes that traveling with his son instills a sense of adventure in his child at a young age that'll make him love the world more.
In a country like Mongolia, where distances are far, communication can be tough.
The locals form a sense of community in order to stay in touch in a place that's as far and wide as the beautiful stars themselves. Speaking of stars, there's nothing like looking up the Mongolian sky at night. The lack of city lights and pollution allows travelers a front row seat to the universe.
As Mihai and his wife traveled towards Mongolia, they got to cross the most stunning rainbow ever.
This rainbow was a perfect arch of colors as Mihai's Ural Ranger sidecar rode through the seemingly empty road in Kyrgyzstan. How often do you get to see a double rainbow quite as spectacular as that?
All kids have a great smile, including in places like Murghab, Tajikistan, where Mihai traveled.
Tajikistan is 2,775 kilometers from Mongolia, so it looks like Mihai's sidecar, Zahir, got a lot of mileage added on this trip. And when you travel for so long, it's nice to see some friendly smiles greeting you along the way.
Along the journey, Mihai, who's a freelance photographer, takes time goof off with the family.
Commercial photography is mostly what Mihai does these days, but press photography is his number passion, next to his girlfriend, and their son. But as much as they love to travel, they don't consider themselves travelers. They just love to explore the world and then go home.
Along the way, they ran into a serious panda invasion while traveling through the streets of Iran.
According to Mihai's Instagram, there was a guy selling pandas. “I've seen pandas for sale before, but this?!? We did not interfere. Took the pic and ran away." These pandas certainly put the conventional garden gnome to shame.
The Pamir Highway in Tajikistan slices through some of the highest mountains in the entire world.
It's also one of the wildest roads in Central Asia with peaks, but you can cross 3 mountain passes without dipping below 3,800 meters. Apparently, you can defy gravity too as little Vladimir proved in this photo.
At just six years old, Vladimir has accrued more memories and more adventures than most of us have.
Here he is giving his dad Mihai a fearless pose with one foot on his helmet and Zair, their sidecar, next to him. It's a great photo, and his shirt, "I want to see the world," really says it all. Fortunately, with parents like Mihai and Oana that dream is totally feasible.
The Bazaar of Tabriz is located in Iran and is right smack in the center of the city of Tabriz.
It's known as one of the oldest bazaars throughout the Middle East and also one of the largest in all of the world. It's even listed as a world heritage site by UNESCO. It might explain why Vladimir is absolutely glowing.
Mongolia was Mihai's ultimate destination, but did he ever imagine that he'd run into so many lambs?
The people living in the countryside of Mongolia are known for welcoming visitors and weary travelers with a bowl of warm, salty milk tea. The region is said to have some of the finest cheese in the world and lots of lambs.
When you're on the road, you need to be able to rest, which is why they hit their brakes and took a break.
Believe it or not, this is a roadside restaurant where the family decided to relax and eat in Uzbekistan. Now that's pretty cool. It's like a road trip picnic, which the family took before heading towards Tajikistan from here.
Mihai always has time to stop and have some fun with his son while they're on the road.
They took a stop in front of this statue of a Russian police officer and took the ultimate, "I didn't do it, I swear," pic for their Instagram. Meanwhile, Vladimir is smiling his little head off. Fortunately, they didn't use the wrong motorcycle.
When you're driving through Russia, some of the roads seem to go on forever and ever.
While in Irkutsk, Russia, the family had to stop for a bit to rest and to take a photo of this seemingly endless Siberian road, that's neither long nor winding, but an open road. She can almost see a mirage in the distance.
The narrow strip of the Wakhan Corridor in Tajikistan separates Tahikistan from Pakistan.
The corridor also extends all the way to China and is wedged between the Pamir Mountains in the north and the southern Karakoram range. It also has an altitude of 4,000 meters. We're surprised no one got a nosebleed.
During Mihai's first night of camping, the family decided to stay on a beach, but not just any beach.
They stayed at a beach by the Black Sea in Bulgaria, where some sunblock, a camera, and a good book is all you really need to have a good time. This makes for a picture perfect adventure for any child, and it's one Vladimir will likely never forget.
Bukhara, Uzbekistan is considered a city-museum with over a hundred monuments like this one.
It's also Uzbekistan's fifth largest city, which the family stopped by to take a few photos. It's not only a place where you can trade things, but it's full of culture, religion, and has been around for approximately 2,500 years.
Song Kul Lake, Kyrgyzstan is considered one of the country's most precious gems, because of the sights.
Aside from having the second largest alpine lakes, visitors get to see the endangered snow leopards, wandering nomads, and horses grazing. Now this certainly made a great place to take a break from so much traveling.
During their long trek, it wasn't surprising to find some Mongolian locals along the way.
Mihai decided to take a photo of the local family, who was busy doing their morning routine near their tent. Apparently, the littlest one seemed to get getting ready to throw some kind of snowball, while the other one is showing off her runway pose.
As we mentioned earlier, the Wakhan Corridor is a narrow strip between Tajikistan and Pakistan.
The family took a breather to enjoy the beauty of the mountains and the green trees and grass in the distance that sandwiches their path. When you've been on the road for so long, your body is aching for a break!
Most travelers would avoid heading into a storm, especially on a side car, but not Mihai's family.
They took a moment to take a photo of Vladimir on the outskirts of Kyrgyzstan where a summer storm was brewing in the not-so distant horizon. This takes the calm before the storm to a whole new meaning and it's stunning.
As the family traveled through Tajikistan, they made their way to the Ak-Baytal Pass in the Pamir Mountains.
From here they headed to Murgab using the path that took them through the Muzkul Mountains. The pass is considered one of the highest pass in the region. We wouldn't be surprised if the family ran into a few yak along the way.
When you're in Tajikistan, you're going to see a lot of roads and trails from travelers that came before.
It's a stunning sight to see the mountains in the horizon, but it's frightening and thrilling at the same time trying to traverse a path of unpaved roads. But this family seemed ready to tackle the road until they reached their next destination.
The Registan was considered the heart of the city of Samarkand in Uzbekistan during the Timurid Dynasty.
The word Registan actually means “sandy place” in Persian. It was used as a public square, where folks gathered to hear the proclamation of the royals. Today, it's a real nice place to visit. You can even take a really cool photo of with those amazing inlaid mosaics with the most intricate designs ever.
The family would have never made it to Sary-Tash, Osh, Kyrgyzstan without their sidecar, Zair.
It's only fitting that they took this incredible photo, which looks like it belongs on the cover of a hard cover novel. There's something so ethereal and otherworldly. It also makes a nice memory for the family to have.
This photo immortalizes Oana and Vladimir as they try to stay warm by a nice, cozy campfire.
Coincidently, this photo was the last night that the family camped in Iran, by the Caspian Sea, a sea that's landlocked between Europe and Asia and in the world's largest inland body of water, which gives it characteristics of lakes and seas.
All good things must come to an end, which is why this photo is so epic for the family.
As the sun sets in the horizon, it also marks the end of their journey. After this, they headed home to Romania, where Mihai and his family could finally settle down for a bit, and hopefully begin planning their next adventure in 2018.
The Wakhan Corridor in Tajikistan is the kind of place you'd expect to see in "Lord of the Rings."
It's got huge mountains with ice tops and an ethereal fog in the distance, and a seemingly endless flowing river, as well as some luscious green grass. This is one of those places that most of us would probably never even know existed if it weren't for Mihai and his family.
When you're traveling on a sidecar, you better expect to get a bit lost on the way to your destination.
Here we see Mihai lost in the Siberian Taiga, which is located been the Kolyma River and the Lena River in Siberia, Russia. The greenery of the area consists of a mixture of pines, birch, and spruce trees, which might explain why Mihai got a bit turned around here.
On the banks of the Former Aral Sea, is the Moynaq in Uzbekistan, where an old shipwreck awaited them.
This Moynaq Ship Graveyard is full of ships just like this one, which was shipwrecked. So, technically, it's like a naval resting place right smack in the middle of a desert. Ironically, it was once one of the busiest fishing ports on the Aral Sea, but now it's just desert.
Mongolia reminds us a bit of the landscape from the film, "Mad Max" because of the sandy color.
Ironically, Mongolia, which is an autonomous zone in China, is known as the land of the eternal blue sky. But areas like the Gobi Desert have also serves as graveyards for dinosaurs. In fact, several fossils have been found in this region.
For Mihai and his girlfriend, watching Vladimir having fun is one of the highlights of their entire vacation.
Here we see Vladimir once again defying gravity by jumping across the sand dunes of Mongolia's Elsen Tasarkhai, which is 80 kilometers long and 5 kilometers wide. It's known to travelers for being a relaxing place with its golden sand dunes.
When you're in East Azerbaijan province in Iran, visiting the Bazaar of Tabriz is a must on your list.
Being one of the oldest bazaars around, and one of the largest, you can see all kinds of things, and might be tempted to buy some of the finest artworks around. Of course, Mihai's Zair probably didn't have a lot of space for a lot of these things.
Along the way, Mihai, Oana, and Vladimir had to rely on the hospitality of some of the local Mongolians.
Mihai spent their first night in Mongolia with a local family. The Mongolia people belong the two subgroups called the Buryat and the Kalmyk. Many of them are farmers who rely on very little to get by, but they have hearts big enough to help strangers.
For many of us, the roads of Mongolia will remain roads not taken, but not for Mihai and his family.
From Mihai's perspective, traveling is one of the best things to do while living in a busy world. Besides, from his perspective, the world should be seen with eyes wide open, so from his point of view, "he's doing it right."
When you put as much mileage on a sidecar as Mihai has, you need to get your vehicle serviced.
Fortunately, Mihai was able to take Zair to the Ural Motorcycle Factory in Irbit, Russia. There, the family's precious traveling vehicle got a full check-up to ensure that it would continue to take the family where they needed to go.
Even with all the cracks on the road, the long, narrow path seems to stretch into infinity in Mongolia.
Fortunately for us, it makes the perfect pit stop for this amazing adventurous family to take another photo. And boy, does Vladimir seem happy. Clearly, this traveling experience has really been as healthy as it has been educational.
There's never a wrong time to take a detour and rest along the way in order to recharge.
In this case, Vladimir just couldn't help himself, so he decided to climb up on this truck, sit on the hood like an ornament, and take a moment to grab a bite to eat before heading out on the sweetest adventure any kid could have.
So how do you know that you're about to cross the border from Tajikistan to Kyrgyzstan?
The statue of a "Marco-Polo" sheep marks the border as the family crossed the Pamir Mountains. Of course, as long as you're there, you might as well take a peaceful selfie in this disputed region. It looks like someone could use a serious nap.
The Sharyn Canyon, Kazakhstan is approximately 90 kilometers of lengthy beauty.
It's located in Almaty, Kazakhstan and is part of the Charyn National Park, which was established in 2004. It's actually been nicknamed Kazakhstan's Grand Canyon with its red sandstones and large river. What a perfect place for a pit stop.
At an altitude of 3,000 meters is the Song Kul Lake in Kyrgyzstan, where you'll find these huts.
These huts are actually yurt camp areas near the plateau of the mountains and lakes in the region, and herdsmen generally use these huts to rest. But the camps will also accept tourists eager to spend some time in second largest lake in the Caspian Sea.
Mihai and his family had an amazing journey together that took them across some interesting places.
Along the way, they stopped to take in the sights. They saw stars, repaired their sidecar, which needed as much of a break as they did to avoid overheating. Returning home to Romania was like a full circle, but they'll always have their memories and lots of photos to share with their friends.
Sources: Instagram/ Mihai Barbu, Bored Panda
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