Travel friendships are uniquely different than any other type of friendships. People who don’t travel, or who have never bonded with other travelers on the road, might not realize how fast and deep travel friendships develop.
Now, experienced with long haul buses in Vietnam, I convinced the Londoner to take the bus with me instead of flying- insisting it was something he had to experience! He agreed. The other guy was going to take a day longer than us to get there since he was traveling by motorcycle, so, before we left the island, we all pre-booked our hostel in Ho Chi Minh and made plans to meet up.
Not many of the travelers I meet make it to Phu Quoc Island. When I tell people I went, they give me a look of disappointment and ask… “was it good?” hoping I’ll say it was crappy so they feel better about skipping it. My response is always the same “Sooooooo good! You should definitely go if you have the time!” Then I watch as their look of disappointment turns to longing envy.
One night, I overheard guys in my dorm room talking about Starfish Beach. Having never heard of it before, I looked it up. I quickly discovered it was on Phu Quoc- a Vietnamese island I’d also never heard of before. Between the mystery of an unknown place and my longing to get out of the city again, I wanted to go.
Yoga has made me stronger, more physically fit, and more flexible. But it’s also had a profound impact on my mental and emotional health. It amazes me how lessons learned in yoga directly apply to other aspects of my life. It’s as if by magic, when I work through something on the mat, I work through a correlating issue in my life simultaneously. While at a yoga retreat in Chiang Mai Thailand, I discovered 7 yoga lessons that directly apply to life as a long-term traveler.
At times I have spent as little as $10 USD per week by staying in the same place for weeks at a time, working and volunteering. This isn’t always an option for short-term travelers though. So, asking me how much money I brought with me isn’t going to help you backpack Southeast Asia- but I have info that will!
Can’t decide where to go? Select “Everywhere” as your destination on Skyscanner.net! You will get a list of the cheapest flights leaving your selected location. This, my friends, is how I ended up in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam!
I had been traveling for over a month when I arrived at Suan Sati- a yoga and meditation retreat outside of Chiang Mai, Thailand. After 12 days in Bangkok, 5 days in Singapore, one night in Chiang Rai and two weeks bouncing around Chiang Mai, I needed a break. A break from city life and a break from my own mind.
Travel hacking is finding ways to support a travel lifestyle without being independently wealthy (as I am not). It took a lot of research and travel experience to understand how to travel hack successfully. I wrote the following article to help people better understand how I’m doing what I’m doing, financially, and to help other travelers travel hack! Oh, and so I’m more prepared the next time someone straight up asks me “how much money do you have?”
