Cristian Lica, a Romanian rebel, entrepreneur and explorer, who founded a museum devoted to Romanian kitsch and was famous for his global travels, has died in the middle of a trip around the world. He had just turned 50.
His family said Lica died of a heart attack overnight in New York on May 7. Doctors were unable to resuscitate him according to a post late Thursday.
“He made one last joke on us, this time macabre, a heart attack in his sleep…. The journeyer left us on his last journey,” wrote Laura Vasilescu, his former wife he shared two daughters with. There was an outpouring of shock and grief on Facebook.
Lica, who celebrated his 50th birthday somewhere in the United States on April 28, graduated Bucharest’s prestigious Romanian Economics Academy. He then went on to create the Museum of Kitsch in Bucharest, which made headlines around the world and was at one time Trip Advisor’s number. 1 place to visit in Bucharest.
The museum was closed after a faux gold lion was stolen in a dawn raid. Ever the publicist, Lica offered a kitsch museum exhibit, a carpet, in exchange for the return of the lion.
Lica’s last trip ‘Ground the World” began in January from Bucharest and was a round-the-world journey from east-west and especially quirky as he only used ground transport. He never bored his fans with the intricate logistics of the trip, only once to admit ‘defeat’ when he had to catch a plane from southern Asia to Australia.
He took a cruise ship with limited internet access (meaning a post every few days) across the Pacific, posting videos from gorgeous islands and outcrops few had ever heard of, let alone visited, while admitting the voyage was a good opportunity to ‘put on some weight.’
Every time he arrived in a new city or country, he would walk around and post highlights, accompanied by informative and humorous commentary, with Romanian or international music to add a vibe.
He started his journey in January, which ended tragically in New York, 111 days into his voyage, by catching a bus to Istanbul. He then traveled across Iran during the crackdown on anti-government protesters where 1000s died, and then entered the former Soviet republics, far less developed than Romania, in the deep of winter.
From there, he and fellow travel companions, who occasionally appeared or were mentioned, entered China. In one memorable scene in western China, he went to a market where animal heads and entrails were offered as food. With characteristic humor and a non-judgmental attitude, he managed to locate a kebab stall, which he said was the only edible-looking item on offer.
As he traveled east across China on high speed trains to cities with many millions, the urban landscape turned high-tech, with mirrored skyscrapers and sleek roads.
He seemed happiest when he left China and entered southeast Asia where the sun came out and the atmosphere turned relaxed. In one post, he dived into a pool saying he’d been waiting for ages for that moment. As his travels progressed, he tanned and lost the turquoise highlights he sported at the beginning of the trip.
Freedom was his ultimate joy and he mused on that in his most relaxed period in southeast Asia, as well as earlier and future travels, two divorces and a love affair in southeast Asia which he appeared to rekindle along his journey.
Lica worked for more than 20 years in advertising in multinationals and as an entrepreneur and was followed by thousands on Facebook who avidly tapped into his travel.
He had visited 100 countries and planned to visit more and was the author of the book “The World in your Pocket.” „Lumea in buzunar”.
Had he survived, the next step of his trip was a boat ride across the Atlantic back to Europe.
Here is his last post from Times Square, New York.
There was no immediate word about funeral arrangements.
The start of his final journey.
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