The journey from a joke
Luke Deakin (31 years old, from England) is a content creator, the chance to live in Hanoi for a year makes him love Vietnam and really like life here. He works as a digital nomad (digital nomad) having spent many years traveling everywhere, enjoying the landscape and people, but always wants to "do unimaginable things".
In September 2024, Luke carried a bullet alone from Stratford Upon Avon to take a challenge to himself, completing the journey from England to Vietnam. That was also the time he created new social networking channels from YouTube and Instagram under the name Chubby Trekka to record and share about his life trip.
Luke chose Vietnam as his destination because he has lived in Hanoi for a year, which is one of his favorite places in the world. He felt like at home in Vietnam, so he should walk back to this place as well as back to his home.
Talking about the reason for the journey from England to Vietnam, Luke recalled last year, during a beer drinking session with a few friends in Da Nang, he joked: "It must be a walk back from England".
A month later Luke officially packed his backpack and set off. It can be said that the trip started out as a joke, but this is also a challenge he feels he needs to do to motivate himself both physically and mentally.
Luke confided: Walking will help you see the world in a completely different way. You will meet people that only pedestrians have the opportunity to meet, you will realize small things and truly experience a country instead of just passing by".
The trip was urgent because there was only about a month to plan. That month, Luke prepared a visa and outlined a preliminary roadmap. He can't practice much, can't prepare elaborately, everything he has is an essential backpacking bag and the belief that he will find a way to go.
Luke has now traveled for more than 5 months in European countries such as: England, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece... His next route is Central Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia to set foot in Vietnam at the end of this year.
Overcoming thousands of obstacles
The Englishman started in the second half of the year, so he had to face the cold winter months in Europe. physically, Luke's biggest challenge is physical exhaustion. There are days when I walk 40km continuously in bad weather without a comfortable place to stay overnight, Luke said.
Finding a place to sleep is not easy on a cross-continental walk. Sometimes he sought shelter in a private home or motel, but sometimes he had to set up a tent in an unexpected place like Iskar Lake - where there are bears in Bulgaria in the monsoon.
Feet swollen, muscles pain after each day of walking, but it is only a certain part of the difficulty that needs to be quenched when walking long distances. The mental challenge is that Luke needs to stay motivated as things get worse. During his time in France, the continuous rain forced him to walk in a state of humidity for many days. There were nights when his body and mind seemed frozen in a tent.
In addition, Luke has encountered many problems with visas and regulations when traveling across the border. After the Brexit, British citizens were only allowed to stay in Schengen for up to 90 days, which changed his schedule. Not only that, when he entered Central Asia, he was wondering how to go from Georgia to Azerbaijan because the border gate has been closed for many years.
One of Luke's memorable moments was when he arrived in Austria. He walked 100km for two consecutive days, and when he reached the border, the snow started to fall at the beginning of the season. Although he was exhausted and left, watching the beautiful snow fall in surreal style and full of cinematic style made him more excited.
When he arrived in Türkiye in early March, the British guy was very surprised by the hospitality of the people here. He said that they kept asking him to come into the house to drink tea, eat or chat. Moreover, after many months of cold prices in Europe, traveling to warm climates like Turkey is also a great motivation for him.
Leaving behind the difficulties and challenges he still encountered every day, that face-pointed guy never thought of giving up. He is now halfway there and has reached Türkiye - the gateway to Asia.
Every day is a unique adventure and I enjoy everything. I did not give up, first because I was here, if I stopped, I would regret it. Second, because of the people I met on the road, strangers gave me food, accommodation or just a few words of encouragement.
And third, because my followers on social networks, they send messages and comments, they consider me a source of inspiration to go and overcome challenges for themselves. All of that is the foundation for me to move forward, Luke confided.
