About me
A small introduction…
All the stories, tips, recommendations on this web-site are the result of my life, my trips, my adventures and my travels. Independently, without any intermediaries.
I do not work for any travel agency, I do not sell charter tickets and rooms in hotels. I do not advertise and do not represent any travel company. I have nothing to do with the tourist business at all. Anyway it is my pleasure to invite you to a trip together.
Where? Whatever destination you like! It is totally up to you!
I am ready to be in charge of all the organization details: all the route planning, the tickets purchase, accommodation reservation and trekking equipment if needed. We can call it individual trip with a personal guide so far.
Travel agenda of the future trips is updated on the main page. You can always contact me by e-mail: info@dimaleks.ru or leave the message on my facebook page: dimaleks.ru
How did it all start?
From the early childhood I adored travelling, adventure and fantastic books, documentaries about the nature, geography and faraway countries. I liked to ride my bike, I just took the hot tea and a sandwich and went as far as I could from our countryside house where I used to spend summers.
I was wandering through the forests, mapping the routes, drawing maps and then with my fellow friends we were looking for the hidden treasures. I asked my grandfather for a compass, a tablet and army binoculars. Not an APPLE MAC can you imagine… I saw myself as a true explorer, pioneer and traveler!
We burnt campfires, crossed the rivers by foot. We caught fish, gathered mushrooms and berries and built hidden huts.
Moscow region seemed a huge planet for me.
During my parent’s vacations we usually went to the seaside. I have been to almost every resort in the Soviet Union. Caucasus Mountains, the Black Sea coast, white sands of Curonian Spit and other places are kept in my memories for ever. Getting older I visited some of these places again to renew my child’s emotions and to find the hidden treasures. And yes, some buried treasures were still there.
But my life was going on. I kept on travelling. 2004-2014 was the most active period of my travelling when I visited more than 90 countries. Most countries I visited more than 5 times. Every year I took off and landed 30-50 times not even taking into account the number of kilometers of the land routes (I prefer to rent a car in 99% of the situations). When I travelled to Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia) I did not just have 5 flights but also did 6500 kilometers of driving. I have never forgotten my Motherland. Due to my job I visited more than 70 Russian cities from Kamchatka to Kaliningrad.
Mountains are very special for me. After my first conquest of Elbrus mount I got really fascinated by the mountains. They impressed me greatly and that is why I usually travel to mountain regions at least once or twice a year.
I usually go alone. I am not an alpinist. I just do trekking. Although sometimes depending on the difficulty level I have to climb the ice or move together with an ice axe. Still it is more mountaineering and trekking than alpine climbing.
I started doing photography when I was 8. My parents gave me a first Soviet camera “Smena” and I asked for an enlarging machine for a New Year. Since that my story of the photography has started. I still think I am able to put the film to the tank with the closed eyes. My friendship with digital devices has started recently but in the world of the permanent changes of gadgets one should react fast and I already have all the necessary lenses, camera bodies and others useful accessorizes.
Well, this is how I manage things, with all thoroughness and seriousness. Mountain equipment, bike equipment, photo-equipment should be of great quality and professional enough not to let me down in an important moment.
In fact my child’s interest turned to a great hobby and then a lifestyle.
During years of travelling I got lots of materials, photos, data and of course funny stories. Many of them were published in the travel magazines and on virtual forum boards. Some material is still not published. The information is scattered, the photo archives are not organized. Lot of data is just kept in my head and I am not really sure how my brain is coping with it.
Nowadays my list of visited counties counts 103. I try to post the information on my web site and try not to forget about online notes during my travels as I keep on travelling and my plans for the nearest years are growing like mushrooms after the rain. Not all of my trips finish with a good story or road diary. Sometimes I am just lazy, sometimes the emotions and impressions are not enough. On my website you can find my best stories of my best travels. I hope someone can find the information about countries, hotels, flights and visas useful. It is my personal experience, my own memories and emotions. I am always open to answer whatever questions or to listen to whatever criticism, so do not hesitate to ask and criticize! FAQ will be based on your questions later.
I do not care at all whether to fly in a business or economy class, to stay in a 5-star hotel, in a tent or just sleep on a park bench (yes, that did happen to me). I do not care whether to rent a luxury car or travel by plane, whether to do hitch-hiking or travel by bus. Well, let’s say I can afford not to pay attention to these things. Everything depends on the desire, circumstances, time, conditions and place. I do not campaign for living in a tent nor do I only find business class flights acceptable. I avoid stereotypes at all and that is it!
In my travel stories you can often find situations where I can fly to the destination in expensive business class, but rent a cheapest mechanic car or even to return by bus. I can stay in a luxury apartment on the seaside and next morning bargain for a hut that costs few dollars. I can afford it, I do it for my pleasure and for experiencing different ways of living and traveling. Although sometimes one has no choice.
The only thing that is extremely important for me and where I would never save money is restaurants. Food for me is a journey! I am a true gourmet!
Adventures are going on, like one famous film character once said. The calendar of the future trips is updated on the main page of my blog. Latest news and photos are actualized in a real time mode. Travel reviews, stories about the past trips, country and city information would be uploaded step by step to the “Adventure” page.
Welcome and good luck on your way!
Feel free to contact me by the following e-mails: dimalexweb@gmail.com or info@dimaleks.ru