For 10 years Konstantin Symonenko has visited all 193 countries of the world. To do this, he flew and swam 2 million kilometers. The traveler told how he travels with his family and how to spark interest in traveling in children
- Your dream to visit all countries of the world was born in childhood. Please tell us how it happened. Did you often travel as a child, did you go somewhere with your parents?
- I was born and raised in the city of Odessa, right on the seashore. We were often visited by foreign ships, and many of our friends were sailors who talked about distant countries and exotic islands.
As a teenager, I was engaged in the Odessa sports club, we dived in scuba diving and went on tiny youth yachts. Our coach arranged for us a meeting with the legendary host of the TV show "Film Travelers Club" Yuri Senkevich. At that time, he was a megastar - the only person in the USSR who traveled half the world. Everyone watched his program every Saturday, it was a window to the world.
Fateful meeting with Yuri Senkevich / Instagram
I was so impressed by this meeting. I, with bated breath, listened to his stories about Africa, Oceania, islands, tribes, customs. Probably, it was then that my interest in travel sparked. I wanted to see at least a small part of what he saw.
But all this was still in the days of the USSR, which was an extremely closed country from which it was difficult to travel abroad. To do this, it was necessary to obtain a special exit visa and the chances of going on a tourist trip abroad were very small. Therefore, I began to really travel when I was old enough. And now I even envy my kids a little, who can travel at a very early age, to see what at one time was inaccessible to us.
Konstantin Symonenko on the Vanuatu volcano / Instagram
- What books about travel and travelers do your children read? Have they read your book "2.000.000 Kilometers to a Dream"?
- I have two sons - 8 and 12 years old. And of course, they were both among the first to read my book! I had to test if the book is suitable for teenagers (laughs).
In Mongolia, on the throne of Genghis Khan / Instagram
I give my eldest son to read the books that I myself read as a child, for example, he recently finished the book "Drivers of Frigates" about the discovery of Oceania, next in line is "Kon-Tiki" by Thor Heyerdahl. And, of course, both of them are subscribed to my instagram, in which I talk about a new country every week. Children of today are the best at assimilating visual material.
- Which of the 193 countries you have visited would you recommend for a family trip? How often do you travel with your family?
- By and large, you can travel with children to any tourist countries, although, of course, there are many nuances - how old the children are, how they endure long flights, what is most interesting for them.
I travel alone to all exotic and not always safe countries. But twice a year we definitely go on a big trip with the whole family. Children themselves on the Internet find several directions that are interesting to them.
For example, in the winter of 2020 we flew to Singapore, because the children were very impressed by the videos about the local zoo and the amusement park of the Universal studio. This year, when most of the countries are still closed, we went to Turkey for a hotel with its own water park, and that was also a choice the children made themselves.
For the winter of 2021, we plan to drive through all of the US National Parks. The eldest son is in the process of compiling a list of parks that they want to see. When the list is ready and approved by my wife, I will begin the detailed work on drawing up a route, booking hotels, tickets, etc.
In Kurdistan / Instagram
- Where in Ukraine do you like to relax with the whole family?
- Certainly in Odessa, because I grew up in this wonderful city, where you can have a good rest and see a lot of interesting things. In addition, you can go to Odessa for a few days by car, during holidays or children's vacations.
- Please tell us an interesting incident from your family trip.
- My eldest son went on his first trip abroad when he was 4 years old. It was Greece. We left the airport and caught a taxi. In the taxi cabin, I talked to the driver in English. My son started shaking me by the shoulder and with eyes wide with horror told me - "Dad, dad, why don't I understand what is going on?"
I had to explain to him that in other countries people do not know either Ukrainian or Russian, and in order to communicate with them, you need to know at least English. Upon returning home, my son asked us to enroll him in an English course for children.
- Share tips, life hacks, how to properly organize a family trip?
- The main rule is that the trip should be interesting to all family members - both children and adults.
