From Graz to Mount Everest! Mario Steiner and Matej Pranjic and the adventure of their lives – special experiences included.
Ten flat tires and almost 30 falls – given such an interim result, every average motorcyclist would probably be advised to take driver safety training. A recommendation that only made Matej Pranjic and Mario Steiner smile wearily. On the other hand, the two petrol brothers from Styria have already covered around 17,000 kilometers in the rear-view mirror, crossing seven countries and unwinding countless meters of altitude. At the end, there is still a two-week walk waiting “There are still 2,000 kilometers to Kathmandu”, Steiner explains when the “crown” reached the two adventurers on the Ganges in the Indian city of Haridwar. The duo then leave their machines behind in the Nepalese capital, and at the end there is still a good two-week hike to the base camp of Mount Everest at an altitude of 5,300 meters. The two friends hope that by the end of July they will have reached their goal. It all started a good four months ago. After Steiner and Pranjic quickly converted their newly purchased motorcycles for the upcoming exertions, the big ride started in March. Before that, they quit their well-paid jobs at Samsung SDI in Kalsdorf. “After Corona, the blanket just fell on our heads – we wanted to get out and combine our two great passions, motorcycling and the mountains,” says Steiner a lot to tell. “From southern Turkey, where we drove along the Syrian border, we always had police or military escorts. A Kalashnikov has shown us the way not only once”, Pranjic can now laugh again about such situations. It was particularly bad in Pakistan. “We weren’t allowed to go anywhere without our companions and even had to sleep in police stations, or rather on their roofs or in their courtyards.” The difference to our European society was evident even in daylight: “In Iran and Pakistan we never saw a woman. Not even when people have invited us to their homes. You could only guess the women in the kitchen,” Steiner shakes his head. “Dangerous” Indians An absolute highlight of the trip so far was crossing the border from Pakistan into deeply hostile India – an “experience” that, according to the Pakistani border book, has only been enjoyed by a handful of foreigners became. “In India we could really breathe again. Only the truck drivers here are dangerous to the public – either you save yourself in the ditch or they drive you down.” Which is then again an explanation for the almost 30 falls … Pranjic and Steiner provide an extensive travel diary on their Instagram channel “freegulliver”.
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