Peleg Cohen was born in 1983 in Nahariyya, an Israeli city. After graduating from high school, Peleg joined the army and was sent to the battlefield in the Gaza Strip for about 3 years.
After leaving the army, unlike many young Israelis who traveled for 6 months in many countries, Peleg traveled for 1 year to Nepal, Thailand, Laos, Australia, New Zealand… When he returned home, he was also a
Impressive experience
After leaving the army, Peleg had the idea to travel around the world and he went to North America, Central America, then Europe, Africa, Asia, for 8 consecutive years.
Describing himself as `uneducated, without a home`, Peleg’s luggage was just a worn backpack weighing 13 kg. Peleg said he was a vegetarian and mostly moved by walking.
Peleg (seated back) on the streets of Thailand.
To earn money to pay for visas and food, he stopped to find a job to have money to move on, settling in South Africa for 1 year, Canada for 6 months and Australia for 4 months.
`You go out into the world, you can observe the world and have many work opportunities, everywhere there are many good people, ready to help you,` Peleg said, adding that wherever he is, it’s easy for him to go to work.
He always remembers the time he had a fever in Ghana (West Africa) and fainted at the boarding house. Luckily, someone discovered and took him to the hospital.
Like many other Jews, Peleg Cohen said it was difficult for him to get a visa to Arab and Muslim countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq… but he said `If I can’t go to these countries, I’ll go to another country.`
Face many dangers
Traveling alone for 9 years, Peleg had many interesting experiences but also many risks and dangers such as when in Guinea (West Africa), he went to the Sierra Leone Embassy to apply for a visa and was asked to do so.
`At that time, I was very scared, but I had to try to stay calm because they could shoot me at any time. At that time, I didn’t scream because if I screamed, I could be shot early. I had to try to assert myself and convince them.`
Peleg in the Gobi Desert (Mongolia).
He also told of the times he hitchhiked across the desert across the Kenyan border (East Africa), where trucks were often stopped by robbers to steal goods and kill people, or accidentally slept in a brothel in Guatemala.
However, Peleg said he had also been able to stay for free in a very luxurious apartment of a drug trafficker or a living room for $80/night because the owners admired him.
`Each place, people’s personalities are the same, they all do good things or bad things, but wherever you go, keep smiling, even the most evil thieves and criminals will open up to you, because you are not a target.`
Feeling a bit sad when arriving in Sapa
Traveling through many countries, Peleg said he has no intention of settling anywhere permanently. After leaving Vietnam, he will go to Cambodia, Myanmar, and the Philippines to complete 100 countries, and then count the journey.
`My wish is to travel all over the world. I want to encourage the spirit of travel in the world because many people like to go but not everyone can go,` Peleg said.
The Jewish guy said he would go to Vietnam in 1 month with a trip to Hanoi, Sapa, Ha Long, Hoi An, and Ho Chi Minh City.
`Sapa is very beautiful with many rolling mountains, but I felt a bit sad when I met children asking for 1 USD when they saw I was about to take a photo,` Peleg expressed.
Peleg also said that most Israeli young people travel to the world for 6 months, and he is the one who visits the most countries for the longest time.
His Facebook page called Lonely Peleg currently has more than 12,000 followers. Peleg shares many photos and experiences on each journey. He also receives a lot of support from friends for his journey.
Doan Loan
