- Preparation is the key.
- Impromptu Plan is good too.
- Willing and be ready to accept any unpredictable/unexpected situation.
How I planned my 4 months trip? The most important thing is by doing research.
Google is my best friend, here are my ways :
1) Google Map
Take a look at the map.
I want to explore four countries for my last trip, hence I took a look how each country looks like.
And which country is next to each other.
Photo source: here
2) Google Flight
I do use a lot of Google Flight engine to search for the cheapest flight.
There are many good deals from different airlines.
For example, Vietnam airline is one of my favourite airlines. I have flown with them for three times, and so far the flying experiences with them were great. They always depart on time. Yes, they are very punctual.
Guess what, I got a great deal to Tokyo, Japan which only costs me about RM700++ (for a return ticket) on last two years ago.
And of course, since it is the airline from Vietnam, so you need to stopover at Vietnam.
For me, which is great because I managed to go out Ho Chi Minch City (HCMC) that time for a half day trip.
Photo Source: here
I also booked with Vietnam Airline which costs me around RM120+ for a one-way ticket, but it is inclusive of
meals on the plane, insurance, luggage etc.
If you are a smart traveller, I am sure you know how to compare to pick the best deal.
3) Contact friends in the country that you are going to visit
If you have any friends in the country that you want to visit, try to ping them and ask some information.
Local knows the best! And if they are willing to hang out and meet up with you, that would be even better.
Don’t worry even if you do not have any friends over there, you are always able to use these websites to ask more questions: Couchsurfing, Travelfish and Lonely Planet .
Or you could also search for any relevant facebook group to join and ask questions from there.
There are many nice people out there which they are willing to share their own travel tips and ways.
Photo Source: here
When I was planning for my solo Japan and Mount Fuji hiking trip that time, I posted on the forum in Courchsurfing.
Ended up I met a nice couchsurfer and we had a great time in Japan..will share my Japan stories on upcoming new posts.
4) Ask yourself what type of travelling you like
This is your own trip hence you could decide what type of travelling style that you like.
For me, I just do not want to have a simply pure travelling kind of trip.
It’s would be boring for me and I like getting involved in voluntary service.
There’s where I started my research for Volunteering in South East Asia.
I did put a lot of research into this because majority volunteering in overseas it seems required to pay for a lump sum
(up to USD1000) which for me, it does not make sense at all. I want to be a volunteer because I want to help people, but ended up
it seems it’s just a tour/ package me to get “participate” in the voluntary service.
5) Volunteering
Luckily enough, I managed to find a website WORKWAY which I managed to find some hosts and stayed with them.
Despite you still need to pay for USD34 (around RM135) for a yearly membership, for me, it is definitely worth it because
with the amount of RM135, most probably I might just spend it at one day hotel.
The experience to stay with the locals is totally priceless.By doing workaway, they will be able to provide you with a referral letter( if you managed to
receive good feedback from at least 2 hosts)
Photo Source: here
6) Buying insurance
This is essential and must-buy item for your long travel trip.
You cant predict what would happen during your travel time.
It is an adventurous trip and of course, safety is important too.
I have chose Alliance insurance after compared many other insurance companies. And again, it all depends which country you are planning to go.
You can use this website: https://www.gobear.com/my
Photo Source: here
Overall it was a safe trip for the whole solo trip (besides a few roller coaster journeys on the bus ).
7) Transportation in local
use www.Rome2rio to check if it’s possible to travel from one place to another by bus/train.
Photo Source: here
8) Budget and Money that you need to bring
Money is the most crucial one. How much do you need to bring for such long trip?
In the beginning, I was thinking to open an account in overseas lol..
After chatting with my friend, she just advised me to bring Vietnam Dong and change some USD first.
It is not necessary for you to carry so much cash for your whole journey.
For my case, I started from Vietnam and wanted to stay there longer (ended up I stayed for 2 months) hence I brought the rough costs for 2 months.
And I have also have some USD currency with me (to travel to Cambodia) and when you are going to both Laos and Thailand, you could use the USD currency to change to local currency.
Tip: Laos kip is a pretty small currency, many countries did not accept it and in Laos, and most of them do accept Thai Baht.
9) Be spontaneous
Despite I have prepared and planned my itinerary initially, there were some places which I’ve decided to go and not to go at last minute.
When I was in Dalat, Vietnam and I have met an old friend. So he suggested me to check out Quy Nyon city (which was not in my list initially)
I went and I liked it a lot.
My Hainoi trip was decided at last minute too.
Do it. Trust me, it’s fun!
10) Enjoy and have fun
And last but not least, just enjoy the whole journey and safe travel!
If you know you are a female traveller, do not go out at night by yourself. This is a common sense, even if you are in your own country, you know what to do
to avoid or to minimize the crime case.
Be a Smart traveller and enjoy the whole journey!
Booking flight, train, bus ticket in Asia? click here
Other posts: Asian life, are you willing to travel long term?
Luang Prabang , Laos Itinerary
I appreciate you sharing this blog post.Much thanks again. Keep writing.