1 Girl, 3 Countries, 10 Days

It’s been more than a month since I traveled alone to Thailand, Cambodia, and Singapore with a sort-of-tight budget. Until now, I still can’t find the words to express how I felt back then. I still can’t fathom the things that happened, the things I experienced. Everything was surreal.

I didn’t know I could do it at first. Imagine a just-turned-eighteen girl being alone in a foreign country with a limited budget, with no tour guides or whatsoever, and only equipped with a camera, a pen and a notebook, and a map. And to be honest, on my first day, I was having doubts, I wanted to go home already and I thought that the whole backpack trip thing was just an impulsive decision. But I told myself that I should just make the best out of it. I knew that I wanted this ever since but I wasn’t sure how I would deal with it.

Another thing is I was not used to hostels, sharing a room with strangers, thinking about how much money I have left. In short, I was not used to a ‘budget trip’. I grew up traveling, yes. But it was all fancy hotels with giant rooms and big pools. This whole thing was entirely new to me. But after a few self-cheering and self-insuring minutes on my top-bunk bed at the hostel, I was ready to face this journey. And it was scary and exciting at the same time.

Once I stepped out of the hostel for the first time that evening, I felt freedom. I did not have a complete itinerary, heck I didn’t even have a plan. All I had are lists of places that I need to go to, and the rest just happened. I let my feet take me from one place to another, I talked with other travelers and locals, I used their public transportation, and I even ate at carinderias. I was a tourist, but I tried to experience how they live and it was amazing.

If we’ve got the means to get here, we owe it to the country we’re visiting not to treat it like an amusement park, sanitized for our comfort. It’s insulting to the people who live here. People just trying to have the best lives they can, with the hands they’ve been dealt.
- Wanderlove

I have been looking for an adventure for a very long time. I have been wanting to do something spontaneous. I’ve been hiding inside my comfort zone for a long time already and I needed to get out. This was it — the moment that I have been waiting for.

Of course, meeting people was almost 50% of what made my trip incredible. Being able to talk to strangers about anything, sharing your travel stories while having beer. Even those small talks while visiting the Angkor temples or watching a play matter a lot. And I swear, if you’re going to travel alone, meet people, talk to them! Because they would make your experience better and who knows? Maybe they’d teach you a thing or two.

And oh! The beauty of witnessing amazing sceneries and all I could do is smile and be teary-eyed. I was just a speck of dust watching everything around me, noticing the simplest things, observing how things work… Everything was big around me and all I need to do is explore.

I felt like a little girl in awe of everything happening. Things are happening so fast that it leaves me breathless and wonderfully lost. The whole trip was overwhelming. I am still a lost for words, to be honest. And believe me when I say that those ten days were one of the best things that happened to me. Someday, I’ll do this again. Soon, I hope.