After more than 10 years of continuous work and feeling drained of energy, in 2023 My Chau bought a bicycle to travel across Vietnam. Right after her solo trip from North to South, the girl came up with the idea of continuing to cycle around Southeast Asia to challenge herself.
Cycling through 5 countries for only 250 USD
The girl from Gia Lai said: "Once I decided, I did it right away without much preparation." However, thanks to her passion for mountain climbing, experience in self-sufficient trekking in the forest, sleeping in the bushes, having stable health, and studying martial arts for many years, My Chau realized that she had enough basic skills to take care of herself.
Starting from Po Y border gate, Kon Tum province in mid-December 2023, Chau began her cycling journey out of the Vietnam border. The first stop was Laos, the 9X girl traveled from Southern Laos to Northern Laos, through Nong Khai border gate to go across Thailand, then continued to enter Padang Besar border gate, exploring Malaysia.
After that, Chau stayed in Singapore for 3 days, taking a ferry to Batam Island in Indonesia. Here she wandered around the big islands like Java and Bali before returning to Vietnam. Each country she visited took nearly a month, but the Lion Island was small and expensive so Chau only stayed for 3 days.
The Vietnamese girl’s Southeast Asia trip attracted the attention of the cycling and backpacking community after she shared her journey on Bicycle Travellers. The special thing is that Chau is small (38kg) but her bike and belongings weigh up to 40kg, moreover, she only brought 250 USD to “survive” the long journey.
Chau confided that if you have a lot of money, everyone can travel comfortably, so she chose to save money to challenge herself. To travel for such a long time, it really takes more than money. It requires self-confidence, courage, independence and discipline.
Chau always has a tent, sleeping bag, pots and pans, and coffee on her bike so she can cook and sleep anywhere she can. Places she can sleep include police stations, houses, pagodas, churches, and even the edge of the forest along the road.
Regarding expenses, Chau initially prepared only 50 USD for each country, but in reality, there were places she did not spend. For example, in Malaysia, she still had money left over and went to Indonesia to exchange it to rupiah to spend. In Singapore, she was lucky to have friends to help her for 3 days, so in total, after the trip, she only spent about 250 USD.
Backpacking is not for “healing”
Chau confided that she set off on her journey with a relaxed spirit and an open mind. Traveling is not a way for her to escape from the pressures of life, but to always solve problems and be ready to travel to enjoy more.
During her 4 months of traveling around Southeast Asia, Chau did not have to “go it alone” but had companions. In each country she met and made new friends. One of them was the person she affectionately called Papa YY. He was always full of positive energy, a father, a brother, and a great guide. He not only went all the way to Johor Bahru in Malaysia to pick her up and arrange accommodation in Singapore for her, but also took her to visit many places with a smile always on his face.
Her new friend told her, “Don’t be afraid to accept help. If you have the chance, help others in the same way.” From an independent person who didn’t like the feeling of being “indebted” because she was afraid of bothering others, Chau gradually opened her heart on each cycling journey.
Chau believes that what she gets from backpacking is not just as sparkling as the photos and videos posted online, but also the experience after the hardships and difficulties. There are nights when she still looks for a place to sleep at 11-12pm, even stays up all night at a convenience store for fear of losing her bike, feels tired and discouraged every time she rides uphill in the hot sun and pouring rain... However, after that, she encounters many beautiful scenes and receives a lot of extremely cute help from strangers. The quiet moments on the cycling journey are the times when she has time to reflect, seeing that she is a much more easy-going person and can live a much more minimalistic life than before.
If there is a chance, Chau still wants to return to Southeast Asian countries by other means of transport and meet old friends who have helped her on the way. Because every place is vast with countless natural beauties, kind people, cycling and with only 30 days in each country, she cannot explore everything.
