Tag: Travel Inspiration

Life for Rent: a Song for Nomadic Soul

Lockdowned by covid just like a bird in a cage, I just wanna share with you a song that inspires me when I’m feeling lost in my life, even when it offers me too much comfort zone, full of warmth but boredom too.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=OFtNChII78k%3Frel%3D0

The first time I heard this song, it didn’t make any sound to me. Maybe that wasn’t time for me. But the second encounter really hit my head with a brick. What’s wrong with me?

I listened to the lyric and slowly realized how truly it reflected my mind.

“I haven’t ever really found a place that I call home
I never stick around quite long enough to make it”

A nomadic journey give you a lot of opportunities to see many people, hang-out in many places and experience many more. What a colorful life! But there seems to be no place to call home. At first I was confused about finding out that I love waking up in strange places, memorably leaving there and traveling to another one to live, eat, breathe and write and then pack up and go, again, instead of staying at home. It’s unusual to a “normal” person.

The world becomes home, and the tiny home in your country becomes a “safehouse”, where you miss when you travel but stay there for a lifetime. Well, it’s not your choice. Sometimes you get homesick and eagerly wanna go back home, but when the first steps past the door, you immediately wish to return to your journey !

“I apologize that once again I’m not in love”

Love, well, is exactly the glue that sticks you to somewhere you wish to call it “home”. It’s likely to make friends with a lot of people on your way to pursue your travel goal. And some of them, luckily (or badly) hold your heart.

Once I met a girl in Da Lat – a beautiful highland town in VietNam. In the afternoon, we had a lovely time together eating out somewhere, taking joyful rides around and eventually ended up on an outside balcony looking down at the noisy streets below. Cappuccino and mocha scented in the atmosphere, freezing out. We were talkative, sharing our dreams of travel, memorable moments and destinations we’d visited. And night came and she had to go back home. I wouldn’t forget those memories.

“But it’s not as if I mind that your heart ain’t exactly breaking
It’s just a thought, only a thought”.

For me, it’s more than a thought, it’s an obsession!

“But if my life is for rent and I don’t learn to buy
Well I deserve nothing more than I get
’cause nothing I have is truly mine”

Travel teaches us a lot, one of the lessons is about ourselves. If I settle too long at home, then I’m jealous of the other’s achievement, their cars, house and social ranks. A life I’m renting someone’s mind and it’s not actually mine. The city becomes stuffy for me, and a great retreat is always a ride to countrysides, highlands or shores.

It’s not expensive as many ones share, and worthy looking back. Sometimes we should find some quiet, gentle moments to figure out the inner voice. I guess you will be surprised with what you conceive at that time. Let’s give it a try.

“I’ve always thought that I would love to live by the sea
To travel the world alone and live more simply
I have no idea what’s happened to that dream
’cause there’s really nothing left here to stop me”

These words I love most in the song, urging me to backpack and start my journey at once. Like an anchor in need when you are far far away from your dreams, because of the daily pressure and external voice noise in your mind.

“While my heart is a shield and I won’t let it down
While I am so afraid to fail so I won’t even try
Well how can I say I’m alive”

Most of us are likely to fail to protect our dreams. It’s true, but Hey nomadic souls, dare journey, you only live once, let wind wake you up and sun shine on your way!

24 January, 2025
Road Trip By Dream: What Does Love Mean To Us?

There is a road trip to remember, there is a road trip we never forget, like Road Trip by Dream.

Dream’s road trip story

For most of you, Dream is a strange guy. For Minecraft video game fans, he is some of the most favorite Youtuber, primarily well-known for his viral Minecraft videos. The American content creator (his real name is Clay by the way) owns a super hot youtube channel “Dream”, which has attracted 23.7 million subscribers so far. That’s a BIG number if you’re familiar with Youtube, and this year, he launched another channel, “Dream Music.” And guess what? “Roadtrip” is his debut single. Listen now and enjoy yourself!

It is such a surprise when a hardcore Youtuber of the best-selling video game series of all time turns his head to music realm. And his first ever inspiration happened to be a 20-hour road trip from Florida to the East Coast to visit a girlfriend during his teenage years. Now, whenever he travels on that interstate, it “is paved with memories” of traveling to see his former love.

But Dream didn’t reveal his story alone. PmBata, a rapper and songwriter from Kansas City, also joins Dream on the track, but his feeling is absolutely in contrast. He recounts a 20-hour journey in his old Ford to visit an ex too, but the relationship became toxic in his case, mentioned in the lyrics “across the Midwest, thinking, ‘What for?’”

Modern beats on classic affairs

The beat of this song is crazy, ear-catchy and pleasant to hear. I also highly recommend playing it during a road trip, when you are in a van, driving at dawn or sunset, and see the skyline glowing slowly up or down. It’s such a beautiful and vibrant moment to immerse ourselves into, and be reminiscent of our love in teenagehood. How eager, keen and enthusiastic we were for love relentlessly.

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The road we were rolling on then becomes a piece in mind that triggers the memories, both sweet and bitter, to come, like an old film and we are now just spectators. I’m kinda sure that for most of us, there is always a road trip to remember. A solo road trip like my motorbike ride in Sapa, Vietnam a couple of years ago. A road trip we did with our dear buddies and loves (I still remember vividly a road trip from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang with my travel buddies). A road trip that marked the end of such a long relationship. A road trip in tears when we tried to forget the one we couldn’t forget though, like a night road trip I did with a friend of mine to Vung Tau long time ago. And the roads somehow carved those memories in our naive mind, long for triggering chances.

I love traveling after all, as most of the meaningful moments in my life happened on road trips during my twenty-something. And I feel the same feeling as Dream did when he put down words for lyrics. Dream could have written on his other stories and experiences, but eventually Dream’s decision was a memorable road trip in his teenagehood, and that makes it beautiful for a debut.

Dream and PmBata each wrote their own verses, while the Dutch beatmaker Banrisk and frequent PmBata collaborator Perish Beats produced the track, which now receives positive responses from enthusiastic fans all over the world. The below is lyrics, if you’d like to save and sing along on your own road trip.

Road Trip by Dream Lyrics

Secure the bag, know what I’m sayin’?

Banrisk on the beat

Ayo, Perish, this sh- hot, boy

People change like the tides in the ocean

At least I think or am I dead wrong?

Foot on the brake, at the light I don’t notice

I sit and wait until the next song

20 hours in an old van

Up the east coast, through the cold wind

Drove 20 hours by the ocean

Up the east coast, what a road trip

Now that interstate is paved with memories

Of a past life I lived when I was 18

And evеry winter, I think back to what we used to bе

In that past life we lived at 18

Uh, I reminisce about a past life

Things change, I get it, ’cause nothing lasts right?

Yeah, and I was thinking ’bout her last night

Scrolling through our memories, debating ’bout our last times

Ay, for a minute, we was cool

Then we flew just a lil’ too close to the sun

Now we finished, now we through

Guess we knew one day we would have to grow up

20 hours in an old Ford

Across the Midwest, thinking, what for?

Drove 20 hours, but it’s hopeless

Across the Midwest, what a road trip

Now that interstate is paved with memories

Of a past life I lived when I was 18

And every winter, I think back to what we used to be

In that past life we lived at 18…

24 January, 2025
21 Marvelous Benefits of Becoming A Digital Nomad

The era of digital nomad is coming. Stay sharp!

How does Covid pandemic change our life? I don’t know exactly how billions of people are impacted by the worldwide disease, but it changes COMPLETELY the way we live. The new waves of Covid come one after one, and all experts sadly admit: we have to live with it like seasonal flu, and it soon becomes a part of human history.

For now, it’s a massive pandemic, it strikes us hard, but like most of the pivotal events in our life, it forces us to sit down and think about what’s our most priority in our lifetime and pursue it right here and right now. Why? We don’t know when covid calls our name (yup, who knows), whether it hits us deadly, or at least a long long lockdown in hospital then longer quarantine when we’re better. So the only thing we can do best now, is to follow our heart, not to be saying sorry later.

Some now spend more time with family, while the others choose to go after their ultimate dream: become location independent workers and travel around the country (or world). Is it possible? Yes, many people have done it. Is it hard? Super hard but not like becoming a superman. Good news: Some travelers indeed generate enough money to pay the bills on the road, myself included, though, to be honest, it’s kinda rough.

And like other businesses, becoming a successful digital nomad takes time and serious investment, say your valuable time and efforts of learning new skills, to take off at a certain level that enables you to harvest the fruits of labor eventually.

So what is a digital nomad? According to Wikipedia, Digital nomads are “people who use telecommunications technologies to earn a living and conduct their life in a nomadic manner. Such workers often work remotely from foreign countries, coffee shops, public libraries, co-working spaces, or recreational vehicles.“

Before we start to build that lifestyle, let’s dig into the essence of the matter: why should we become a digital nomad.

1. No more 9-5 (plus Monday blue)

This is the very first perk that you will see immediately, after you bravely quit the jobs, office jobs that lock you in stuffy cubicles, now you can take a rest on the weekend and no more blue monday, ever. It would be a bit empty of your feelings. It’s “job lag” and everything will be alright then. Just forget about your previous life, no more 9-5. Your schedule is all set by yourself. Wanna take a scuba dive or trail hike during the day and work at caffeine-fueled night with a cup of coffee? Just do it. It’s your life, and you are at the helm of every minute of the day. Control it well. And the next Mondays are brighter and brighter.

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2. Choose your own uniform

Yes, your own uniform, because no one would require you to dress in a suit, tie and trousers like in the office or … a mascot on the street. Actually, you still need to dress up a bit when you are on a video call session with a client, but free yourself from the burden of dress code for most of the time. The digital nomad lifestyle also enables me to practice minimalism on a daily basis, buy less but essential outfits, which also follow my own style, on the way I love. In tropical regions, I prefer patterned short-sleeve shirts well matched with capris and shorts. It feels truly comfortable, every single day.

3. Save your creativity

Doing daily jobs, day by day, over and over, is the best way to kill creativity. Truth be told, most sedentary workers are feeling “stuck” at the end of the day. Becoming a digital nomad will be the ultimate salvation, and it’s true. Say, you will be working with a wide array of new clients and complete new various tasks. In fact, start-ups and small businesses may be your very first clients and their crazy ideas will be blowing your mind. But I warn you that the dawn of your digital nomad era will be highly chaotic, but it is such a crucial test to our flexibility and creativity. You got the picture.

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4. Working by the beach or in a coffee shop?

One of the best perks of becoming a digital nomad in 2021 is the reality of location independent. Not locked in the cubicles, now you can choose the best place to boost your mood and creativity and performance. It may be on an airy balcony of a romantic coffee shop in the countryside or a tropical beach lounge with a beautiful sea view. But keep in mind that, you still have to work efficiently to complete all the tasks, get jobs done and earn income. At the beginning, I prefer instagrammable locations as I thought they would improve mood and efficiency, then I felt there were so many matters distracting my flow of thought, so I prefer quiet places, even in hostel lounges when everyone’s out exploring, and entirely focus on the jobs. Finishing them quickly, and enjoying a cocktail at the end of the day is much better than doing both at the same time – At least, it works fine to me. Words of wisdom: You have to recognize the pattern of working to get the best of both worlds, working – traveling, at perfect balance to stay longer on the road.

5. Goodbye to commuting

Well, I have saved at least 2 hours per day of my life so far as I work from home during covid. It is the fact of becoming a digital nomad in 2021, too. You don’t have to drive/ride home – office back and forth every working day, as you mostly work at your chosen offices, like cafe, lounge, hotel room and your room at home, to name a few, as long as you get the jobs done by the deadline. Take that 2 hour per day to build up your lifestyle, you may admire the sunrise and the good mood at the beginning of the day, practise yoga, swim in the sea, and not be stuck in a boring drive from home to the office.

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6. Long long leisure time

When we’re trapped in cubicles with a task-and-deadline circle, there’s little time for daily leisure. We start the day with roasted sandwiches and hot dogs (instant noodle is prefered in some countries too), then we commute to the office in time. Checked! Try to be a real busy staff member as best as we can, then go home late with tiredness spreading throughout the body. Weekend comes and we try to go around for a while, just to rush back to welcome a blue monday. It’s a rat race but we are not rats actually, we are human, and we deserve a better life. A life to breathe in fresh air and eyes open to admire nature. A digital nomad still has to work, but they can arrange at their own pace to enjoy more leisure time.

7. It’s stressful, but in a positive way

Is there stress when becoming a digital nomad? Yes, it is, due to the uncertainty of the nomad lifestyle. Most travelers work as freelancers for temporary projects and start-ups, until they build up a successful business like respected travel bloggers, hostel owners or adventure tour operators. They may not know how the income fluctuates month by month, not a steady stream of money so say a “digital nomad salary“, it depends on projects. Digital nomads frequently move around when visas expire, and getting acquantainced to the new destination may be stressful to somebody. But in contrast, it’s kinda boring when you have nothing to deal with on a daily basis, besides paying visits to points of interests or hang-out with other guys. So a certain level of stress is also essential to have a good experience on the road, and trust me, it’s not like the stress you face on a 9-5 lifestyle or paying the monthly bills in an expensive metropolis. It’s the stress of freedom.

8. More time for yourself

What I love most when becoming a digital nomad is having more free time for myself, to start a clear thought about who I am, what I truly love, what kind of careers to follow in so many years instead of short-term jobs not ever igniting a flame in my soul. I have more time to digest the books in my backpack, watch inspirational travel movies, to consider get some best travel tattoos, to write about my journey on this blog – my little nest in cyberworld and to enjoy a cup of coffee in a slow morning, and to spend more time on the favourite destinations in my solo travel bucket list.

9. Immerse in new cultures

Digital nomads frequently drift to different regions and countries during the expedition and encounter the new cultures from time to time. Not all of them are sweet, as the culture shocks still happen here and there, but after all, they are all new and feed our curiosity well. I admired the openness to LGBT in Thai society when my country Vietnam was still reversed with the local community many years ago. I love the way Laotians practice a slow-living lifestyle and nature-friendly manner, the Hindu religious activities in Malaysia, or Catholic cathedral and religious-related during my walk across Intra Muros in Philippines, the first time I felt scary but also excited at the Black Nazarene parade on my first day in the Manila, while working on laptop from the hostel’s lounge. Or a calmness rising inside my soul when I was in the iconic Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque at the heart of the Brunei long-named capital, Bandar Seri Begawan. The scenery may be same same but the cultures make it different!

10. Becoming a digital nomad boosts your skill

Becoming a digital nomad means a hard-working life, as you will work not only remotely but also independently. I started as a freelance writer – a “pen for rent” job. I was self-employed and under no line manager. I had to seek clients via my networks, pitch the creative portfolio, then build myself professional skills to meet the criteria and deadline, take feedback positively and move on. The way you look at digital nomads relaxed posing on their laptop outside is different from inside. But at the end of the day, it’s worth working like that to be independent and flexible. I chose that lifestyle, no matter what it costs. And the price? I gain more digital nomad skills like team-management, time-management, pitching, problem-solving, etc. because most of the time, I learn and work on my own, out of my comfort zone and grow up over time.

11. Start your own business

With digital nomad skills, world-traveling workers can actually build their own business and earn mainstream flows of income. Not a few travelers now try to build a sustainable blog or vlog in hope that it will help them pay the bills on the road one day. The cake is still enormous enough for dreamers who persistently advance the business to monetizable scale. If you are a designer, it’s a chance to establish a design firm, hire freelancers and build up a reputation cyberworld-wide to earn money for traveling. The same model can be applied for marketing consultants, translators, language tutors, etc. A business helps you have more financial sustainability when coming back home. A popular balanced work-life living now is to spend constant 3 – 6 months in digital nomad bases like HCMc or Bali for business and travel for the rest of the time.

12. Eat – Pray – Love

Becoming a digital nomad enables us to travel long-term far away from home and explore myriads of experience we’ve never ever been to. One of my favorite journey is to do food tours in a new town, visit local wet markets and try cuisine in a bistro. New foods always make me a happy, just like little kids putting all things in their mouth to explore the world around, we adult eat to know. The lifestyle also allow people to well-known religious countries like India, China, Iran or Israel to dig into the very deep wells of the popular religions in the world. And the value of love in our life: digital nomads drifts here and there everytime and only great love makes them compromise the lifestyle.

13. Spend less

It may sound ridiculous but traveling on a budget with a minimalist-oriented mind requires less money than living out of home with office jobs in terms of daily cost. In fact, staying in suburbs is cheaper than in downtowns and daily expenses in third-world countries are often less than first-world nations. Digital nomad lifestyle enables people to take advantage of that unbalanced scale while enjoying the change of scenery during their journeys. Just find one or two favorite cheap countries to travel to and enjoy the low-cost living there. Vietnam and Thailand are often among the most popular destinations for budget travelers, in case you start typing on search engines for a clue now.

14. Earn more

Yeah, this is a surprising result of the digital nomad lifestyle when you actually build a sustainable business when traveling. Imagine you work for clients from rich countries to earn so-called “digital nomad salary” then only spend a few bucks living in affordable countries and cities. That’s why more and more Western workers now strive to build an independent business, travel the world, set based on a digital nomad paradise and get rid of stressful monthly utility bills at homeland. Sounds unreal, but it’s true.

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15. Making new friends

Friends on the road, I miss them so much and still get in touch with some via social media. Working as a digital nomad, some of the clients may eventually turn into lovely friends, other typing-and-clicking guys at the coworking space could be your partners by chance too. Friendships in the digital nomad world like kaleidoscope experience, making new friends in the working space as well as on the road is such a compelling reason to pursue this lifestyle. While working on the laptop during the ride with my travel buddy in Laos, I met enthusiastic cyclists on uphill and downhill passages across the mountainous country. Jobs were done and I walked around Kota Kinabalu with a young local boy who ran a bakery at the airport. They all paint vivid colors in my life.

16. Bonding in the relationship

I used to ignore all the opinions and worries from family members on my uncertain digital nomad. But a life-changing moment happened when I was alone in Brunei capital, living on the tightest budget ever due to the pickpocket accidents in Manila a couple of days before: I missed my home pretty much, wondered why I should travel to eventually get stuck in that miserable situation and whole-heartedly yearned for the return. After that, I didn’t quit traveling, LoL. But I have been spending more time talking with families and friends while I’m on the road. I share more empathetic feelings with beloved people that form a strong bond in my relationship.

17. Enrich the experience beyond the boundary

Too much discussion on how to earn money with a digital nomad lifestyle and we forget about one thing: to enrich the experience and living out of the laptop enables people to do volunteer work too. Between commercial projects, digital nomads are long-term travelers and applying for missions to save environments, wildlife and aid local communities is a good aspect of this living after all, not in home country but other continents that digital nomad travel to.

18. Self-learning accelebration

Working as a digital nomad is a self-learning journey, especially when you have no background on digital nomad jobs that are conveniently digitalizable. Let’s become proactive and start learning whatever is essential for the lifestyle to take off. Focus on your core skills and try to pitch them online to attract potential clients. Read more books and surf more websites to sharpen the valuable digital nomad skills as well as interesting knowledge about the upcoming destinations to visit. Living as a digital nomad often pushes eager individuals beyond their limit more quickly than leading a sedentary lifestyle.

19. Learning new languages

I live in Vietnam, a country dominated by one single language – mother tongue Vietnamese. Most students “learn English for a better future” (most language centers say so), but only a small percentage could actually use the language fluently enough in the workplace. We lack a ground for playing with foreign languages. Things change when I become a digital nomad and start traveling. As I’m forced to communicate with the locals, firstly by English in big cities then native language when traveling to more remote regions, I get adapted quickly. Learning the local language then turns into a hobby on the road. I know that if I can speak around 20 words & phrases in basic greetings, numbers and “yes-no”, the experience becomes more interesting: the local surprises when hearing foreigners saying their language and I feel more connected to them too. And if we stay longer in a country, even score a temporary job there, or frequently have a seat in coworking space, we have more time to absorb the new language, which is a part of the indigenous culture.

20. Joining the future workforce

Sounds cliche and sci-fi themed right? But there’s a best-kept secret in work from home era that people don’t tell you: they work from everywhere providing good internet and low-cost living. There are estimations, which assume that by 2035 there will be 1 billion digital nomads on this planet, just more than a decade from now. Freedom of work-life balance in the experience-oriented era is so irresistible that more and more workers demand remote jobs to fulfill their lives.

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21. The world at your doorstep

Last but foremost, the ultimate reason to become a digital nomad in 2021 is to see the world in the limited time of human lifespan. Air travel costs a fortune, and for a standard 9-5 worker (it’s 9-9-6 in China, which means 9AM-9PM, 6 days a week), several days of annual leave plus national holidays only suffice to pay a brief visit to one or two countries, several touristy destinations and worse, in peak season of travel. A digital nomad may choose the best time to travel to the countries in their wishlist. And that should guarantee the best travel experience. But it is just one of the perks of travel as a digital nomad. Look above for the other and you see a huge “why not” to live this lifestyle.

24 January, 2025
2020 Review: A Round-Up for My Goals, Travels, Life and Work
(First published on January 26th; Last Updated on February 16th)

So 2020, wow, it is such a tough year for most of us, itchy feet stung by travel bugs.

But to look back, I feel so lucky that at time of writing this piece, I stay here in Vietnam, a “free country” during covid pandemic. You may get shock to see an ocean of people marching on their cars, motorbikes or whatever to see 15-minute firework performance to celebrate the new year (I took a night bus with two friends – my girl friend included – and we experienced 2-hour delay to say “happy new year” in a remote cape in Southern Central Vietnam. Wonderful!

So how did my 2020 go? My income dropped a little bit during the peak of pandemic (thank the Almighty, I still survive and enjoy my travel life, many people did not during the lock-down, to be honest). We all put on hold, but still have glimmers of light here and there. So let’s have a look.

First and foremost, I can fly now as I complete the course of paragliding training. It took a hell of money, in a bloody year to say. And I was broke again. But I did it, tick the box in my bucket list since 2018: learn to fly.

Actually, it’s not the only good side. I try to recap my travel timeline last year, and it turns out to be very satisfying, in terms of traveling.

My 2020 Timeline

January

I ushered in the new year at the back of the bike, my travel buddy was the rider and we took a tour around the Southern provinces of the Mekong Delta. To be honest, Tra Vinh surprised us with a handful of cool pagodas like Cave Pagoda, or Wax Coconut (a local fruit that looks do like the ordinaries but full of copra inside). Then we passed a ferry to get on Tra Vinh, to explore more interesting buddha architecture like Wat Pătum Wôngsa Som Rông, or Bat Pagoda. On top of that, the food is awesome and very budget-friendly. Then we headed to Bac Lieu to visit windmills generating electric power. It is huge, like giants with blades slashing in the air. It’s not the only one. The province is also home to plenty of cultural, historical attractions like the Cao Van Lau monumental site or Prince Bac Lieu’s mansion.

Two weeks later, I continued embarking on another journey. It is such an epic trip that was a combination of the journey on rail from Saigon to Hanoi, then one week in Myanmar and another seven days riding across Northwest Vietnam, by motorbike.

Landing on Yangon, the new capital of Myanmar, for the very first time after a regretful missing 4 year ago (I booked 0d ticket to the Myanmar via a budget airline but filled my name incorrectly in the booking form, the fee to correct that was a hell costly so I didn’t make it then). I took a very typical itinerary: racing from the airport to the bus station, getting on an overnight bus to Bagan, then Mandalay, before my feet touched the ground of Inle lake. Never expected covid came soon after. That has been the last trip so far. The countries are now locked-down. I was one of a few lucky travelers.

Goodbye Myanmar, I took flight back to Hanoi for the second part of the trip: a road trip across Northwest Vietnam, from Dien Bien, to the Westernmost point, then through Lao Cai to Ha Giang. It was such an amazing trip I’ve ever done.

February

I spent most of my weekend on paragliding train course of Saigon Paragliding club, and had a wonderful company trip (I work for Robb Report Vietnam, a luxury lifestyle magazine) to Melia Ho Tram, a beach resort in Ba Ria – Vung Tau, ideal for weekend getaway!

March

The country lock-down. The whole society stayed in the house for 2 weeks, just out for the essential stuff. But my paragliding class managed to finish, and we enjoyed the funniest ever graduation: pouring water (and cold water, beers,..LoL).

April + May

The better days came finally. And on the Deliberation day of the country, my travel buddy and I marked it with a trip to Mui Dinh (Phan Rang), my favorite getaway spot. Spectacular landscape, amazing seafood, no cellphone coverage (ideal digital detox experience), you do yoga or jogging to the lighthouse nearby. It’s all recommended! We had white wine with lobsters, too!

The paragliding club also planned to join the Marathon contest in Dalat in June, so we did a minor practice at Dinh mountain in Ba Ria, around 25km hiking on multiple terrains. This is one of the hubs for marathon training, obviously.

June

Dalat Ultratrail 2020 – the first ever marathon I’ve taken part in and it occured in mountainous town Da lat (Lam Dong). We shared a house, we went out for dinner, we beat the challenge together. That was just awesome!

September

My girlfriend and I took hiking to the highest peak in Southern Vietnam – Ba Den mountain, but we failed (lack of training should be the reason), so we turned to the other side of the mountain, and enjoyed a very good atmosphere by the lake!

And it’s not the only one trip, I also had a wonderful experience with my friends on the rowing tour into the heart of the Tuyen Lam lake in Da Lat. In the mist and little rain, we explored a small part of the forest, and were very happy to see the local fruits in the garden.

October + November

A trip back to Cat Ba island, Hai Phong. It was quiet as few foreigners visit due to the lock-down. It is not the best time to visit the island, which means we could enjoy the sightseeing freely, not the crowds! I first visited the island in 2017 and it change little in 2020, so I just expand the visit to stunning caves in the island like Quan Y Cave and enjoy the most beautiful ferry route in Viet Nam, Cat Ba – Tuan Chau ferry, once again, and it was so cool as the first time.

The next company trip in the year was to Anantara Mui Ne (Binh Thuan), a luxury serene resort with amazing high-end service. Swimming in the pool under the sunshine then having a delicious buffet for breakfast would take all your exhausts away, trust me!

And a detox trip to Can Gio, too. This is definitely recommended for weekend getaway, a small road trip (60km from City Center to the beach) and you can enjoy the breeze, seafood, coconut and some books, too!

But the last days in November turned out to be very memorable, as my paragliding team joined in a festival in Tri Ton, An Giang – a well-known province in Mekong Delta. We finally took off and flew high after so many challenges from the weather. That’s also the very first time my brave heart tested in the really dangerous situation that all my training proved effectively (I would love to share in details in another post).

December

My friend’s wedding took place in Nha Trang, so the whole team took advantage to have a leisure trip to the seaside city. We rent a serviced apartment at a very reasonable price (travel during covid seems ideal in terms of cost as many incentives are implemented to promote domestic tourism). The weather was weird (unexpectedly cold for a coastal region) when we traveled to Doc Let beach (it is impossible to swim). Then we headed to Hon Ba nature reserve, visited Kong Forest, an amusement park offering activities like do-it-yourself zip-line or driving jeeps through forest. We had many “woo-hoo” moments there!

A week later, I had an invitation to visit my admirable friends – a couple who leaves the city for a quiet life in a mountainous province. Their story is now viral, and it is such a rare opportunity to visit them in their serene paradise – Lalafarm. We camped by a stream, and played a Truth or Dare game the whole night! Love it so much!

Health in 2020

Not much physical exercise, but I lead a healthy life with fruits and juices to boost my immunity, like having orange juice every single day to avoid cold flu (you would get trouble with high body temperature during covid in Vietnam). Several weeks of training before the marathon events also made my life better. I’ve seen beautiful sunrise and fresh air before starting a working day.

Mental health? I suffered the same anxiety which we all did during Covid lockdown, but now life in Vietnam turns normal, everyone can get out for working and entertaining. And I can travel to domestic destinations I love!

Work in 2020

Having been an intern for Tech in Asia – an online news website startup years before, I was back to the journalist-life since 2018. It’s been such a long time that I had chances to meet and interview so many amazing iconic people, wonderful places and to be honest, it’s a dream job I’ve ever dreamed of when I started the blog, like thousands of the inspired travel bloggers in the digital world. Moving. Traveling. Experiencing. Writing. I wrote more about the yachting world, horology and wine! You can check it out in my LinkedIn profile, which I will update soon in weeks later!

Life in 2020

2020 was a tough year for everybody, me included. I would have traveled to Bali, Indonesia to complete my SouthEast Asian nation bucket list unless pandemic had happened. But I was healthy, and had a fulfilling year. I traveled a lot, learned new skills – like paragliding. And my relationship with a “special” travel buddy got stronger. That’s better than many people in the world.

Travel in 2020

I just little expand my blank check:
- Myanmar (travel loop Yangon – Bagan – Mandalay – Inle lake)
- Vietnam (Northwest Vietnam road trip)
21 January, 2025
2021 Resolutions, Goals & Travels Plans
New Year’s Resolutions should be much more than some novelty pledge to get good shape in three or six months. This is our life.

After my 2020 recap, it’s now the best time to look towards 2021 and make a plan for what I want to achieve with my year coming. Every year passes and you will never get it back, so it is a one-shot chance to chase our dreams. I don’t want to waste it, and neither should you.

2020 was tough for most of us, but instead of feeling sorry for ourselves, let’s take advantage of that energy to make 2021 great, a watershed year where you crystallise what you want to do in life, to pursue your dreams and desires. That means risks of failure, something that we all panic about on a daily basis, but the alternative is worse.

Let’s write down your plan, but don’t start small. Aim big to something meaningful in your life. With that in mind, here is how I plan to “attack” 2021.

Goals for 2021

Write a fiction travel book (15%)

This one is a big fish. I have never written any books before. There are thousands of inspirational travel stories in blogging world, so traditionally telling my own with some travel tips is unlikely to work. So I plan to write a story based on my eight-years travels in Vietnam, plus unconventional tips in camping, hiking and biking, as well as my own love stories.

As it is a fiction work, I can freely rearrange materials to make it interesting in my own way. I found out that I’ve ever dreamed of being a novelist. I love to read short stories, novels, and used to compose some short stories during my childhood. So this is the best time to fulfill my little dream.

Write 21 posts for Darejourney (21/21)

I opened this blog in 2016, when I wish to be a travel blogger, a dream job of most travelers. But I was not persistent enough to make that dream come true. I was burnt out after trials and errors. So this year I am desperate to come back and start to contribute to my beloved readers. Let’s rock together, again!
Achieve IELTS 8.0 (10%)

I got IELTS 7.0 years ago. Now the certification expired. It’s time to make a push to improve language skills and convey better ideas to people around the world. I have to find a way to figure it out. I was good at Listening and Reading skills at the latest test, but the rest were average. I plan to change that situation this year. To improve my speaking skills, I tend to join Toastmaster and the expats community. Whereas blogging may boost my writing skill.

Read 21 English books (5/21)

After years of reading novels and watching movies, I found my love in sci-fi works. So I plan to read these books to fulfill my reading bugs, as well as some non-fiction and pop-sci to enrich my mind. I list to-read books below to track my progress:

1-The Hitchhiker’s guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adam
2-Artemis, by Andy Weir
3-Guns, Germs, and Steels: The Fates of Human Societies, by Jared Diamond
4-Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, by Philip K. Dicks
5-Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
6-Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decision, by Brian Cristain, Tom Griffiths
7-The gene: An Intimate History, by Siddhartha Mukherjee
8-Man’s Search for Meaning, by Viktor E. Frankl, Harold S. Kushner
9-When Breath Becomes Air, by Paul Kalanithi
10-The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot
11-The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank
12-Freakonomics: a Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Sides Of Everything, by Steven D. Levitt &. Stephen J. Dubner
13-Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routine, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers, by Timothy Ferriss
14-Copywriting: Successful Writing for Design, Advertising and Marketing, by Mark Shaw
15-World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, by Max Brooks
16-Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long Term World Travel, by Rolf Potts
17- The Geography of Bliss, One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World, by Eric Weiner
18-The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish way to Live Well, by Meik Wiking
19-Down Under, by Bill Bryson
20-Predictably Irrational, by Dan Ariely
21- Leonardo Da Vinci, by Walter Isaacson

The porsche is not mine!

Increase my net worth by $10K (10%)

I start this as a yearly goal from now then to push me beyond the limit, but I am not so confident about this. The pandemic clearly strikes hard to the world economy. As travel is not ‘back’ properly yet, but I will try to figure out the plan to reach for the number!

Travel plans for 2021

Travel to complete 63 provinces of Vietnam (62/63)

Covid means oversea travel is weird, so I plan to take a chance to visit countrywide. There are still some provinces I’ve never put my feet on so far, which I would like to travel, as follows:

1-Quang Ngai
2-Yen Bai
3-Tuyen Quang
4-Cao Bang
5-Lang Son
6-Bac Giang
7-Bac Ninh
8-Hai Duong
9-Hung Yen
10-Vinh Phuc

Morning in Yangon, Myanmar

Travel overseas

The covid pandemic still makes a big impact on travels in the world and Vietnam, as well. Lock-downs are activated now and then, unexpectedly. But in case the cure comes early, I wish to travel to Bali, Indonesia to complete my Southeast Asia region (not included Timor Leste). So the next country to visit:

1. Indonesia (Bali)

Final thoughts on my 2021 Resolutions

I’m writing this from Dalat in Vietnam, when the pandemic has struck HCMc again. It may take weeks to ease the covid and back to “New Norm”. The cure is still on its way and in the second half of 2021, let’s hope we can travel freely again and squeeze even more stuff in!
21 January, 2025
How to Love Travel, Again

Have you ever thought you will stop travelling?

In spite of starting with an inspring dream “travel the world”, but recently you’ve been likely to be fed up with journeys, you rush on a bus to a new destination but your mind is away, your heart is not full and your thought is confusing “why I don’t feel satisfied, what’s wrong with me”.

I was.

Well, truth to be told, sometimes I just wanted to settle down, 9-5 jobs, earn for living, read books and enjoy my weekends on some coffee. But then I was confused and my heart was eager to be put on road again. I was stuck in that situation.

It is a circle of emotion.

Finally I come up with some ideas, hopefully they help you refresh and enjoy a travel again and again, as it does for me!

1. Travel slowly

One of the best mistakes I’ve ever made was to rush myself to check in as much as possible in very limited time and budget. I would just spend 1-2 days walking around a new city, then I hopped on a flight to the another, held a short visit and continue the hustle pace, as if I didn’t travel, I did work, tried to finish the KPI, and put an end to all my enthusiasm.

So this is how to fix it: Give your travel bug more time to bite you!

If you love a cathedral, extend 1-2 hours for it to enjoy every details, to have conversation, to get deeper knowledge, to feed your curiosity.

If you fall in love with a city, don’t be hustle, be gentle, take a walk with her as romantic as you can be. Make those moments everlasting as it should be, because, you know, you travel, not work!

Eventhough we are not interested in some destinations from time to time, just make sure that the reason you leave those places is not only do you have to transit to the other but also there’s nothing left for you to explore them!

2. Diverse your style (adventure, foodtour, photography,…)

We have our own guts, styles and interests, we focus on what we do really love, but too much a travel style will bore you, no more no less.

Now and then, we should also get out of comfort zone, try new kinds of travel that we’ve never done before. It should somehow fulfill you.

I recollect my pieces of memories when I was first time hitting road, just a late teenager, on my beloved bike, we rode to the countryside, to a beach not too far from my city, via a mangrove. How green and fresh it was. And I harbored a dream to cycle around the world as a solo traveler.

Then my friend joined me and we traveled together for years, on bikes, to virtually every destinations in my countries, and the neighbor countries. More friends, more fun!

When ride was enough for me, I went for flights, for the first time, and kept doing for a year. Amazing experiences! I learnt about budget travel and how to get cheap flights. It expanded my horizons.

Then I made several road trips, alone, on my bike. It was astonishing to see things I’d never seen before, completely free (maybe solitude for sometimes). Meeting local, getting into unbeaten tracks, adventures… by chance.

And this year, I would keep up working to new experiences, new skills to acquire, new countries to explore.

It’s worthy! Why not!

3. Solo to social and vice versa

Okay okay, this is getting more serious.

Indeed, I hear that there is even a war among solo travelers and social ones. The solo take pride in their freedom and inner discovery while the other believe that there’s no satisfactory trip without partners. Well, we all have our own thought, but it’s ourselves that we know what we really love. No one knows but you, trust me!

In my case, I was initially a solo backpacker, but after a deep depression, I changed a little bit. I open my mind and my plans with the other and invite them to take part in my trips, giving it more colors and voices.

And when in hostels, instead of lazily sipping coffee planning myself where to kill time, I ask other travelers what their plan is, and if they do new thing that sounds interesting, I would ask to join.

However, occasionally I know I need some fresh air. Or maybe, just simply no one would join my plan but I’m dying to make it come true. So I travel alone again.

4. Read more, travel deeper

I love reading books, if you can’t afford travel, you can travel through books.

Actually, I’m convinced that, along with no-planning travel style which you either get lost interestingly or waste your time wandering around and find nothing, reading and planning give us more eagerness.

Some books should give you inspiration like legendary “The alchemist”, “On the road”, “Eat, pray, love”,… and of course, motivational posts from bloggers and travel megazines.

Some books should feed your curiousity with detail information, pictures and facts such as Lonely Planet, or online resource as Wikitravel. I was surprised when I read about my incoming countries: the culture, the food, the meanings in every social gesture, where should be the best destinations to spot sunrise and sunset,…

One advice that most travelers will give you: Whenever you travel, bring along at least a book! Not only does kill time effectively, knowledge enrichs your experience in upcoming destinations.

alms giving ceremony in Luang Prabang

5. Helping people

When you help people, you help yourself more, you have motivation in the work you’re on. Because you know you’re of use to everyone, which makes your life meaningful as well as your travelling.

I establish Darejourney as a travel blog to note down interesting stories in my travel lifestyle, so that years later, looking back and I’m proud of what I’ve done, that I won’t forget people, lands, experiences, everythings I’ve been to.

But soon when I shared my stuff, people knocked my inbox and asked for advices. I found out how useful I could be, that my doings might help people to fulfill their dreams, that I was doing right things: sharing! That’s still my best purposes to keep up on the blog with happiness everyday.

Someones choose to combine charity activities and trips. It’s also a good start. You’re not only to enjoy the trip but also you help the miserable less miserable. You give them hope and it fuels your soul.

It’s great to do good thing every days, along with travelling!

6. Stop travelling, for a while

Last but not least, my suggestion is to settle down. It sounds destructive but it works, at least for some ones I know.

The stop needn’t to be long, maybe months so that you feel loving roads again, the smell of dusty backpack lures you to put on and the travel bug, well, transforms fully into a beautiful butterfly. And fly !

It comes naturally.

Instead of struggling with the confusion, just go with the flow, your heart always knows what you love, and if travel is your call, then it will ring the bell, no worry!

20 January, 2025
5 Reasons To Trek Ba Den Mountain

Many travelers miss to trek Ba Den mountain while it is a must-try experience when you’re in HCMc. Here is the reasons:

1. Location

Ba Den mountain is such a popular trekking site among Saigon citizens. The young usually spend the weekend climbing the peak. It’s very close to HCMc, only 90 km on highway. At average speed of 50 km/h, it takes 2 hours to reach the foot of the mountain.

Due to the short range, you can take your time to climb up and down within a day or join a night trek and get down day after. (It shares the same direction with Cu Chi tunnel so you might like to include it).

By the sun

2. Challenge

There are plenty of mountains in the South of Vietnam, but Ba Den mountain is famous for its brand as the highest peak among the other (986m). So it’s worthy conquering.

The trails are very difficult to pass if you’re a newbie, and even you are a veteran, they still challenge you at the beginning. There’s a way with hundreds of stairs, the another requires trekkers to use both hands and feet, sometimes you get lost, some paths are very dangerous and the leaders only accepted advanced players.

It’s not an easy trek, but the compensation is worthy.

Panorama

3. Landscape

Despite of a well-known trekking site, travelers still enjoy the natural flora and fauna, bamboo, orchids, sometime is orchards of the local with mango, banana, jackfruit,…

Camping and you watch the city at night with lines of lights following the roads, some lonely lights from houses and maybe, if you’re lucky, a full moon on a clear dark sky smiles you.

Waking up at dawn, with cold breezes outsides hitting the tent, bending trees guiding you to the “sky gate” and if you’re lucky (again), a sea of cloud that you can not take your eyes off.

Read More: Ba Den summit moment

Butterfly at dawn

4. Multi Trails

The site provides the variety of routes to the peak that attracts such numerous travelers. There are generally 5 routes and it ranges from the easy to more difficult options.

As the beginners, you can choose “electricity pole” to follow due to it clear road mark and the popularity, but then “pagoda path” is also a good choice as it require a bit more stamina to climb up. The other is said to be more challenging so when you get used to the easy, try to conquer the harder.

Ba Den peak at dawn

5. Camping experience

I’ve done many times before and honestly recommend it to everyone. People usually travel to the foot of the mountain at night and start hiking up for 3-4 hours.

What makes it memorable is the feelings when you reach peak after so many fatigues, thoughts of quitting game but everyones encourage you to move on, and eventually you make it.

The campfire is also an opportunity to connect with people, share your stories, have meals in wilderness.

When you strive hard, the sleep becomes deeper, the food is exceptionally delicious and the landscape is wonderful.

20 January, 2025
Travelers I met in Laos

What makes your trips memorable? Adventures, Food, Attractions or People? For me, it’s people who I met in Laos fatefully inspiring me to travel more and more by their stories.

Willfrid

A traveler from French, who visited New Zealand as working holiday visa, which I’m aiming for.

He told us his story. He loved soccer, and premier league was his favorite, so he wanted to learn English. And then he applied for working holiday visa of New Zealand.

Landing on a strange country with no English, but after 6 months making efforts to learn day by day, he could finally well communicate with local people then deciding to extend visa for 6 months to travel across NZ. He also showed us the destination used to film Lord of the Ring series (Hobbiton, right?).

His love for travel starts from a very common reason: hating 9-5 circle, as he said “people get up everyday, go to work, back home, then prepare for the next day, go around at the weekend then it’s monday again” and “I don’t know what I should do”.

So the 18 months in NZ changed his mind so much, now he’s studying aerial engineer and wish to work for Emirate.

Willfrid emphasized me that the best way to learn new language was to face it everyday. And the first 6 months he studied in local school was to solve language problem, then it’s done and he enjoyed the life.

Nicole on the right

Nicole

Another French who cycles around the world for 3 years, with his girl friend (we didn’t meet her in Laos).

The most cool stuff is his modified cycle, which allows him to ride very comfortably. (I did think I should learn to create one to travel the world, LOL!)

Nicole reminds one thing: to be a decent travel blogger, you have to make a very very INTERESTING things, and he had done well with actually two aspects: his cycle and his journey.

Hope Nicole finish his journey, I still follow his fanpage for updates.

You can take a visit him at frogsonwheels.net (he has just changed to a very eye-catching theme, wow!)

Ming is at the center

Ming

A Taiwanese woman cycling through Vietnam, China, Lao, Cambodia. We first had a short talk with her on the way to Phonxavan. She was tanned by the sun, covering her head with a red checked scarf, all luggaged put at back with plastic-proof.

She told us that she could only keep pace at average 60 km/ day due to mountainous terrain and Laos possessed many zig-zag passes, differing from China, where straight slopes were omnipresent.

And for the most interesting, she didn’t use social media and hardly updated on blog. Well, it seemed she could pay whole attention to every details on roads.

She reminds me of my dream to bike around the world years ago. Yes, crossing border with cycles is much easier than motorbike (in my country, a traveler rider are doing his trip on his own motorbike and it’s such a time-money-comsuming journey. However, it’s still very cool!

Isaac

My buddy – Isaac

Well, he’s totally planner-in-chef of our Lao trip. Full-time rider and human windshield also (he blocked all strong winds against us on roads, well, LoL).

We all had crysis of youth, fed up with routine of 9-to-5 and really thought a getaway was the best solution. It’s proven to be a right choice eventually.

Together, we made effort to conquer challenging passes, celebrating every milestones at rest stop with our favorite energy drink M150, enjoying delicious local food, playing bargain game, taking photographs for each other, riding in a pitchblack lonely night from Vang Vieng to Vientiane, dealing with polices and sharing back up charges on Viet – Laos bus.

Simply, he’s a great travel partner.

Leon – Mokdovan

the 23-year-old traveler made me surprised when he set up a hostel in Luang Prabang after a long journey. I saw many pictures in frame hung nearly every walls in the hostel, most of them are smiles of people from India, Nepal, Laos,… His guide for any points of interests in the town is super clear and details, you would know most of places to go after 5′ presentation! Yeah !

Leon proves me that at very young age, you can do what you want, if you love it definitely!

Last but not least, it’s a Vietnamese community which supports us eagerly.

It’s happy to hear Vietnamese spoken overseas. This is my most pretty trip that I ate Vietnamese food in Cambodia stop, stayed in Vietnamese hostel in Vang Vieng and be helped by Tuan – a Vietnamese boy in Vientiane. Everyone was so friendly and supportive. A big thank to them. It’s warm and welcome so much.

19 January, 2025
1001 Excuses to Travel: The Only Reason to Stop You Travelling Is… You

A trip around the world is definitely an awesome experience but someones of us reject the idea with common excuses to travel.

Though I am a solo traveler, sometimes I still invite my friends to travel with me when they confide that the the rat race ruins their life, and they are not actually living but existing, which is a inevitable bridge to hell, and they just want to hit “escape” button.

However, all I receive are just excuses below:

1. Study – “I love travelling, but university is my dream, so, thanks”

It may sound crazy but I know some bloggers study to travel. They learn hard, try to score a decent scholarship, and fly to the country, spend time studying then traveling in the breaks.

This is a sustainably slow travel that you can add qualifications into your resumé while tripping, and when you turn back home for a professional career, it’s easy.

2. Work – “I’ve got to build a sustainable career, and travelling overseas would steal my chance”

How you define a dream job? Good salary, social reputation or high value network, etc. You’re right, if they are really what you LOVE. I know some not bitten by any travel bugs, and staying at home is their optimum choice, but if you possess a heart of adventurous journeys, just put it in right track, for your sake.

Turning your journey into a SUSTAINABLE CAREER is definitely best way to lead a satisfactory life that you’re not ever regretful. Be a sailor, tour guide, dive master, electric engineer, photographer or like me, a travel blogger, … just be creative and persistent. I know that every thing sets out f*cking hard, but it’s worthy, just look back to the rat race, and you have reason to follow the lifestyle.

3. Relationships – “You’re kidding, my family won’t let me do” or “my boyfriend/ girl friend threads to break up”

This is a typical excuse, even I also got trapped at first, but gradually I learnt to deal with them successfully, of course with a lot of tear drops if you’re kind of sentimentality.

Our family loves us, so they seek to keep us Safe from the DANGEROUS WORLD (it’s ironically the world is safer than we worry at home). I was reluctant for a long time due to my family, but then I slowly realized that we could compromise to follow our heart while easing beloved people.

Just show them your travel plan, make trips with friends, keep in touch via social platforms and everything you can come up with to prove that travel is safe and you’re alright, if something happens, you know how to deal with it, your last resort in some bad situations,…

And for love, space is a challenge. If you believe your relationship is incredibly inextricable, you will have a chance to test how strong it is. I know there will be millions of teardrops down, but do you want to know whether a forever love exists?

4. Money – “Simply, I don’t have money”

Ok you win. But listen, most of us never have enough money to do anything we’d love to right away, so we SAVE and WORK.

Maybe you look down on people who accumulate every bucks every day, but after a year, those pennies become a fortune that funds them entire a year of travel. Some choose to score oversea jobs to travel, the opportunities are endless.

So if you’re planning to save and take off, remember to cut off unnecessary stuff, little entertainment, limit your eat-out, train your cooking ability (an interesting method to ease stress FYI, especially with your favorite music).

Working oversea sometimes requires some certain certificates. Go for them, and your can fund your trips while take care of the career sustainably!

I know this would be a hard time for everyone, and your life will turn boring at the beginning, saying goodbye to familiar routines is like climbing Mt Everest, but when your adaptive ability is developed, you’ll get used to it and acknowledge the meaning of minimalism. Don’t worry!

5. Making friend – “I cannot make friend with strange people”

So you just like me, an introverted person, solo traveler, travelling alone countries by countries and it’s so pity that I could not start conversations with strangers at the beginning.

But It’s okay, my friends. We’re not hero afternight, but most of heroes even learn to overcome their obstacles and push forward. You should travel with a friend, a social butterfly, who is a bridge connecting you and the rest of the world.

You should also put yourself in attempts to open your heart, getting started with ones who share your interests. I usually talk about trips, my favorite destinations and listening to answer from the opposite, and when I see similarities, I’m just stick to it, and most of those talks go overnight.

6. Food – “You know, I taste the local food, but they’re so weird, I prefer my favorite at home, also, no allergy”

Ya, for allergy, make sure you prepare some note/ signboard in local language (using google translate, easily) and show it to the cook in restaurant. Done!

I know some countries offer a long list of weird food but what about the other, the local can consume it, so can you, except for allergic ingredients. Also, you can learn to cook if the taste is not as you expect, and share your dish with other guys. Who will reject those delicious offers?

7. Language – “I don’t speak local language, how I can do it”

We have bad and good news. Here’s the bad “digesting a new language is the hardest task in the world”, and good news? “We can learn it”.

Learning basic phrases to trade and greetings is not a big deal after all, but it’s very effective in daily context. In Lao trip recently, I and my partner learn Lao while we lazily rode via quiet mountains and practised as much as we could at local market.

It’s mispronounced at first, maybe you have to be back to English sometimes, but you will improve the linguistic ability by the time. Then the local will gradually be impressed and you’re warmly welcome.

8. Solo – “Travel solo scares me out of my mind”

You can choose whether solo or with friends, which depends on your style. Actually, solo travelling doesn’t mean you have to do all on your own, it’s so lonely. Instead, you just have your own plan of where and when to stay, then just go with the flow, ask to join the other group, which is very surprising sometimes due to unexpected experience.

If you’ve never travel solo, just give it a try. You’ve never known what you love until you do it, practically! So don’t be scary, people are willing to help.

9. Safety concern – “Is it safe?”

No, haha, but it’s great. If you’re not kind of adventurer, then just an ordinary traveler, it’s okay, no big deal.

So how to minimize the risk? Stay at home, but even that, you’re still not safe: traffic accidents, catastrophes, terrorism, next-door dogs (just kidding !!)… blah blah, so the risk is quite equal to all over the world, except Middle East, right?

Just take it easy, make a plan, contact anyone who can help you at the destinations, via your facebook networks, your friends, your friends-of-friends, some local-traveller connectors like couchsurfing,.. get the contact and make sure you can reach them in need, that’s all!

The last resort is to manage to the embassy to have their value support due to your citizen rights. I’m so lucky that I’ve never had to get to embassy, but when you’re in trouble, you know ones to call.

10. Reluctancy- “Sound great, but I’ll travel later”

Reluctance is the greatest enemy of the pioneers and travelers, I mean if you love a girl, you’ll be lonely forever if you just “I will tell her I love her, later”. Understand?

If you love travel, just embrace it, give it a room, feed your travel bug with a bucket list, plans to travel there and deadline (you’ll be likely to love this kind of deadline, woohoo).

So don’t travel later, just I’m going to travel to [your bucket list destinations] on [your flight date] and go for it. Just do it!

11.

12.

…

1001.[your excuses here]

Every excuses you will find out exact answer from experienced travelers, but follow your heart or continue living a boring life, it’s you choice! If you’re not ready to travel, then stories from people travelling may make a bigger impact on you

19 January, 2025
5 Reasons to Travel Laos

Back from the memorable trip across mountainous country, to my best recollection, I can list 5 reasons to travel Laos. If you love these ones, why not arrange to make a trip to the heaven destination.

Live slowly

This the number one of reasons to travel Laos. If you’re drown in 9-5 lifestyle, you will love it – the country of slow pace.

In the morning, when it must be time to get up and prepare to work, local people still remain sleeping. The first morning we visited Vientiane and thought it should be a little bit crowded, well, just few people appears and it was hard for us to ask for guidance due to few people to ask.

It seems Lao people have no worries but enjoy their daily life as much as they’d like, especially when you come into remote villages, it’s 4 PM and ladies start their evening shower while men are relaxing at front.

Enjoy the slow-pace lifestyle in Luang Prabang

And we absorbed the slow-pace lifestyle when we stayed in Luang Prabang. It was magically turning us into lazy worms that we just let all the whirlwind away and enjoyed ourselves in armchairs reading books, listening to music and let dreams burst out, or felt hungry and made a ride to local market and had a full meal like nothing to worry at all.

In Luang Prabang, your soul is quite, your inner voice rises loud and all sorrows flow away through Mekong rivers.

READ MORE: Luang Prabang Backpacking Tips

Lao tiny corn

Eat and live healthy

One reasons to travel Lao is food. What you can expect the local food is healthy. Very healthy in way that you may not be familiar with. For me, it’s taste. The rest is good after all.

Most of dishes are bland, so you would need sauce to spice it up, but less intake of salt on daily basic is good, right? The popular dish we take is sticky rice, then larp, a sort of local salad made of buffalo meat with various veggie, fishes from rivers, not ones produced in industrial manner, even tiny corns that my friend joked us that they were food for pigs in her country, well, I simply thought it was produce of the traditional method.

Everyday, you feed your lungs with very fresh air.

I know downtown areas are still somehow populating but just a few walk and you soon get gallons of health-friendly air.

Alms giving ceremony in Luang Prabang

Alms Giving Ceremony

In Luang Prabang, if you wake up early and stick to streets at dawn, you’re likely to see monks walking slowly in row, taking offerings from the local (and tourists, too). It’s very cultural tradition and also suggested as must-do in some guidebooks.

While there’s still controvery over whether you should attend the experience while you’re not really a buddist or not well-prepared both knowledge and appearance before partaking, I think that moment your heart opens wide and selfishness is collapsed. You start the morning with something good and your day turns bright.

A life lesson metropolises won’t teach you.

Kuang Si waterfall

Harmony with nature

I used to have a trek to Fansipan – the highest summit in Vietnam. The trail was set up neatly so that all the trekkers wouldn’t get lost and worry about finding right path to the summit. They are all there: stacked stones put in the order like stairs for you to step on, two camps made of steel with well-furnished interior. I also noticed a very small detail you might ignore: in some areas, the handrails are made of cement and iron but shaped to look like thin trunks.

It’s very different in Laos, especially Kuang Si waterfall, which I prefer the way Lao people perfectly mix their artificial features along with indigenous creation. The bridge and balcony to watch the fall are wooden, and I believe most of bridges you encounter during your trip here will be wooden. Handrails, fences at the top of the fall are all produced from local wood at a very basic treatment: they simply cut off all the branch and nail them together.

We strolled streets by streets in Luang Prabang and always find ourselves surrounded by green color of old trees spreading their shades, which makes the atmosphere often moist, cool and comfortable, your mind just remains relaxed all the time.

Besides, maybe you’ve ridden through many passes in your journeys around the world but ones in Laos will give you an impression of how the purest green passes look like, fewer plantations than most of areas you’ve seen, except for Vientiane province, it is partly industrialized by overseas companies.

If you love gorgeous nature, so it should be a stick in your reasons to travel Laos

19 January, 2025