Motorbiking in Vietnam – Photo Essays

“I thought the world would get smaller the more you have seen of it, but it only gets deeper.”

As I was looking for ideas on how to spend 5 days differently, I stumbled upon Vietnam Coracle blog, telling in details on how to enjoy Vietnam at its best which is by motorbiking.

Having gone through mini research deciding which trustworthy motorbike rentals to choose from, what cities to stop by and to stay in, which routes to take and how to get there, I gained self-confidence and self-esteem simultaneously. It takes huge courage to believe in oneself that one is able to ride a motorbike in someone else’s country for the first time.

Thanks to Benjamin Willekens and Sophie Zolotovskaya for hosting me in KL and Thủ Dầu Một, without them, I would be feeling so foreign staying in stranger’s houses, despite my extensive Couchsurfing experience. 🙂 Deep thanks to Simon Lunde Hagensen and Severin Lölkes as well, without them, spending time in Da Lat wouldn’t be that interesting.

Riding for nearly 900kms (Sài Gòn – Mũi Né – Đà Lạt – Sài Gòn) in foreign country for the first time has taught me deeply many things. It redefines myself, taught me of who I am, what I have become, how far I could go, and until which point would I give up. It helps me a lot to believe that the only person in the world I should truly count on is myself. It also taught me that being present should be a priority and never lose faith in humanity, and more importantly on how to use Google Map properly :p Despite all the sacrifice and struggle (flat tires three times, steep and underdeveloped roads, extreme heat) I wouldn’t have it any other way. This doesnt stop me from traveling, instead, made me crave for more adventure!

The taken photos wouldnt do any justice to the beauty of Vietnam’s countryside, but I hope these would at least represent what I have seen during my journey.

“The world is really big, possessing so much to be seen and learned, but the beauty of it is that it’s made to feel smaller when we’re lucky to be a part of something that’s greater than us. ”

Herewith I attach some of my favorite part of Vietnam during the journey. Enjoy!

What Trúc Lâm Temple in Vietnam Taught Me

“When traveling solo, we’re removed from all that is familiar. We discover who we are when no one is looking. Thrust into unfamiliar situations, we sometimes learn that we are not who we think we are – we discover aspects of our personality that we weren’t aware of. And when we have to rely on strangers for help we learn to trust our intuition. All these experiences, this learning, promotes spiritual growth.”

Deepest in my heart, I believe that solo traveling has been always part of my spiritual journey. It teaches me that solo travel helps me understand the true desires of hearts and souls. As I travel and meet new people, I discover them and myself.

When I was casting my mind back to the day when I was in Da Lat, Vietnam, I remember this one very remarkable moment in which I got invited by the Vietnamese monk to join their lunch with all the required rituals.

It happened on April 6th, 2015.

As I was walking around the grounds and was surrounded by the flowers, trees and bonsai at Truc Lam Temple, I passed by a monk who were talking to other visitors. He suddenly stopped talking, was looking at me (the one on the picture standing on the right), and smiled. I noticed and realized that I was the only woman wearing an obvious religious symbol, in which I was fully covered. I said hi and we began talking. It was 11 AM and he told me that the rest of the monks is going to start their lunch time followed by all the rituals. I was invited to join. It took me a second to accept the offer. I was so humbled and touched by the kind offer noting the fact that I was the only “outsider” and opposite gender being in that room.

The rituals started with silence moment for 30 seconds. We then stood and started praying. We sat and the leader of the monks began praying by singing together with the other monks. I was mesmerized while it happened. I was told that they have the specific way to hold the bowl, to take the food and to put them into your mouth. You need three different fingers to hold the bowl from the bottom (thumb, index & baby finger) and folding the other hand using index, baby and ring finger to show respects to the food we were given.

We started eating.

I was told to use chopstick to take the food into my own bowl, put the chopstick aside, and use the (Chinese) spoon to eat. We were provided wet tissue, a cake and carrot juice. Spending 30 minutes to finish the food, there were no one, I said, no one that talked to each other. It was so peaceful and everyone was so focused on their on food. At 12 AM, we put all the chopstick, bowl and spoon down. The monk’s leader led the prayer in Vietnamese. Having finished the food and all the rituals being done, we put our spoon inside the bowl, and chopstick above it. All the monks, be it junior or senior were helping each other with the chores and setting all the chairs and tables in place.

I didnt have the chance to have picture with him (the one on the right) as the monks was not allowed to be in one picture with the opposite sex.  However, this experience taught me a lot the tolerance we showed among each other regardless of our nation.

“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” –Ibn Battuta

A Little Kindness Found in Penang

Travelling can be very exhausting, daunting and overwhelming at the same time.

The accumulation of extended period of travel for these past few months has somewhat affected my recent trip to Penang. You can never expect what will happen to you while you are on the road, nor imagining that traveling is all about rainbows and butterflies. Throughout the journey I had, I learnt that traveling is not always about seeing new things, but it is also for me to learn how to be unselfish, be forgiving, and embrace every situations that I am dealt with.

Having chosen to travel to Penang from KL by bus on May 1st, I was stunned to know that all the ticket bus to Penang were sold out. Apparently, all Malaysians are having their long weekend and going back to their hometown. So I decided to take a bus to Puduraya Bus Terminal, hoping that a spark of miracle will appear. I was told the same thing. All ticket to either Butterworth or Penang were sold out. Almost losing hope, I kept asking each and every ticket counter with the same question, and I was given the same answers. Fortunately, the last ticket counter I came to said they have one additional bus that departs at 11AM, without any further thought, I bought the ticket right away.

Long story short, I spent 10 hours, on the road due to terrible traffic jam, due to the fact that every Malaysians are going out of KL and enjoy their holiday. From KL to Penang supposedly only takes 4 to 5 hours. Arrived in Penang at 9PM, I spent another 2 hours to wait for the bus that will take me to Georgetown, area in which my hostel is located.

The struggle doesnt stop there. The hostel that I booked told me that the room was full therefore I was transferred to another hostel. Crazy. The following day, as I was wandering around Penang with good friends of mine, I had heat stroke. I struggled so much with the Penang’s humidity that I decided to rest the whole day instead. I lost all the desire to even take a single photo in Penang.

On the last day, I was ready to leave. Bus departed at 4 and I arrived at 3.30 at the bus counter. Having bought the ticket online, the old lady said that my name is not on their system. I was denied boarding. Arguing here and there, she finally said that I can get on to the bus.

Apparently I spent another 10 hours on the road back to KL. Good thing was I sat next to a lady that was so keen on hearing my travel stories. We were chatting the whole way about everything, mostly travel and relationships. We both had predicted that the bus will arrive at 2AM in the morning. On our first stop, she initially bought hot crispy coffee bun for me to eat, since we both havent had anything since we left Penang.

Later she asked whether I had sufficient money to take the taxi back to the airport, knowing that there will be no other alternatives. I said yes, somewhat unsure. She insisted in giving 50RM, (around 15USD) so that I could get back to the airport safely. At 1.30AM, she got off before me, we hugged and thanked each other.

I was often asked that where did I get all the bravery to travel solo (although this one not), I always said that the world isn’t the terribly scary place it’s portrayed to be. Despite shitty things that happened during my travel, I believe that the “scenario” was meant to be like that, so that I can learn and develop. That is why it is called journey, for it is not always rainbow, but also the storm.

The Start of a New Journey

The first sentence of a long writing has always been hard. However, the journey of my travel journal begins.

It was my encounter with a girl in Wolfpack Hostel in Đà Lạt, in the southern part of Vietnam, that made me do this.

Her name was Claudia, a female solo traveler, a 19 year-old teenager from London. Since we were all sleeping on a bunk bed dormitory kind of hostel, everything is so visible. As I was about to climb up the stair to my bed, I saw her writing some postcards and on a medium-sized journal on her bed. It was before we start our supper with the other, accommodated by the hostel.

Being curious, I asked her who was she writing to. She said it was postcard for her dad, as he travels frequently for work, for he friends she made along the way and a journal written for herself.

“A journal?” I asked.

“Yeap, I almost finish this one. I am going to have to buy a new one later.”

“But why? Why is it so appealing to write one?”

She then explained something that intrigued me. Being a solo traveler during her journey, she often feels that the journal is the only best friend she can count on to. She often writes telling stories of what happened that day, as if she was talking to a good friend. There are times, she added, that she does not feel like talking to anyone about her day and the journal remains her only best friend. Being on the road for such period of time, journal is her second home.

What surprised me most, she said that she could look back of how she was, how she has grown into and developed from her journey into someone as she is right now.

The last explanation linger on my mind the whole night, even until I come back to Jakarta.

Every time I came back from a trip, I always put small amount of effort to write in an Indonesian Backpacker Forum called, Backpacker Dunia. The forum itself has helped me a lot, like really, in changing my perspective about travel as well as the media for me to share to other members.

I remembered watching “Into the Wild”, an adaptation of the 1996 non-fiction book based on the travels of Christopher McCandless across North America and his life spent in the Alaskan wilderness in the early 1990s. At the end of the movie, a quote was written by Alexander, the main character, on his travel journal saying, “Happiness is only real, when shared”. That quotes fascinated me. It awakened me. It made me realized that sharing means caring and I could not postpone this any longer. I should write. I have to.

It took me quite some time to finally decide that I should write a travel journal. The idea of committed to writing every now and then is somewhat freaks me out, but I remembered the feeling every time I get feedback from Backpacker Dunia forum. The feeling of joy and pride, knowing the fact that there are number of people who are inspired from my writing. It is indescribable. I guess traveling feel much more meaningful once you know how much influence a writing can

Nevertheless, I do have personal reasons that needs to be pointed out as to why I started writing a travel journal.

1. Everytime I travel, oftentimes I met people with several repetitive questions, fulfilling their curiosity. I guess by writing a travel journal, a travel blog actually, is a way of sharing my journey publicly.
2. Being in Asian culture, be it in family, friends and neighborhood, I understand how much the idea of traveling can be somewhat misleading. Traveling is often associated with luxury, mere way of spending money, and of course, having fun. It is so rare and uncommon for any Asian to travel extensively, despite for work, on a frequent basis for philosophical purpose. Through my writing, I want to let people know, especially those who know me personally, that travel is an astonishing way for our own personal growth.
3. A journal is a tool for self-discovery. What more can I say about this? I realized how much changes I have this past year since I started traveling. I found myself again in a way that I would not even imagine, and for that, I am forever grateful.

At the end, perhaps the idea of journals help me remember the details of what would otherwise be a faded memory, would be my most ideal reason. Travelling is my greatest passion and I am feeling blessed for that.