Hong Kong’s escalators – and its border with China – prove tricky obstacles for adventurer travelling the world without motors

Markus Pukonen canoed, walked, biked and pogosticked across North America, then sailed across the Pacific to Hong Kong.

That seemed like the hard part done, so why was he late for our meeting although he had found the coffee shop? And why is a moving staircase an obstacle for a seasoned extreme traveller?

Canadian Pukonen is two years into a five-year trip travelling the globe without a motor to show the world it does not need fossil fuels.

“I can’t even use the escalator, that counts as a motor,” he said.

The trip, dubbed ‘Routes of Change’, which started in the wake of his father’s tragic death, has already seen him take all manner of transport, including bikes, paddle boards and boats. He intends to use every mode of transport possible, even paragliding. In Canada, he pogosticked for 10km.

Pukonen’s commitment to his motorless life knows no bounds. He is staying in Sai Kung, but to meet on Hong Kong Island, he had to cycle to the Kowloon harbourfront and then stand-up paddle board across Victoria Harbour.