Ten days after quitting her job, with her old motorbike, Nguyen Diep An Linh (born 1997, Hoa Binh ) set out to explore the S-shaped strip of land with a sense of relief in her heart.
Before that, Linh had gone backpacking and camping all over the North but still did not feel much. Because, his trips were quite rushed, the longest was only a week.
After 60 days of traveling across Vietnam, Linh still feels regretful because there are beautiful landscapes everywhere that she hasn't seen enough of, delicious food that she hasn't had the chance to try, and lovely people that she still misses.
Invited by a stranger to his house for dinner and sleep
An Linh used to work in the marketing department for an international e-commerce company and opened his own plant-based coffee shop in Ho Chi Minh City. Although he was offered a management position, he turned down the offer, much to the surprise of his colleagues.
“The job wasn’t hard, I just felt like sitting in one place wasn’t for me. I also pondered and asked myself what I was living for, what kind of life I wanted, and gradually found the answer. So I quit my job,” the 27-year-old man recalled.
On the last day of July, Linh handed over his work and officially became unemployed. In the next 10 days, he made a rough plan to travel across Vietnam, refurbish his motorbike that he bought 4 years ago but rarely rode, and buy a few things.
On August 10, Linh departed from Ho Chi Minh City with a backpack containing personal belongings, a bag of clothes, and camping gear (tent, canopy, air mattress, air pillow, cooking utensils, stove, folding table and chairs, flashlight, and large spare battery, etc.). After spending more than half a month exploring the West, he returned to Ho Chi Minh City on the occasion of the September 2nd holiday, then continued to visit the Eastern provinces.
Leaving the South, Linh decided to take a zigzag route to both admire the mountainous scenery of the Central Highlands and enjoy the beauty of the Central Coast. Sitting on the car, he happily immersed himself in the poetic mountain passes of the windy highlands, then opened his eyes wide when he saw the coastal road of Phu Yen .
When he reached Quang Ngai, the road from there was straight, so he drove straight to the North, camping alternately and renting motels to shower and rest.
An Linh traveled across Vietnam alone after deciding to give up the opportunity for career advancement (Photo: Character provided).
On the journey from South to North, Linh had many funny and sad incidents. In Phu Quoc, he had a stomachache for 5 days due to eating spoiled food. In Bac Lieu, his bike chain broke and he went on strike because of the many potholes on the road.
Or when arriving at Bu Gia Map National Park (Binh Phuoc province), Linh was shocked because he couldn't find a place to sleep, so he had to ask permission from the forest ranger to camp in the forest.
In return for these "tribulations", the young man still feels happy because of the beautiful scenery, delicious food and especially the affection of the people in every land he passes through.
“The people in the West are enthusiastic, honest and friendly. Seeing my car full of stuff, everyone asked and encouraged me when they learned that I was traveling across Vietnam. Many uncles and aunts, seeing me fumbling on the road, invited me to their homes to eat and sleep,” he said.
Linh smiled when talking about the 3 5th grade girls he met by chance on Ly Son Island. Thanks to these lovely little “tour guides”, he was taken around the beautiful island and had memorable experiences such as going swimming at 4am. The boy was also guided to the pier by a kind islander when he was so engrossed in playing that he forgot the time to catch the boat back to the mainland.
An Linh brought camping gear to sleep in places with beautiful scenery and freely admire nature (Photo: Character provided).
Financial plan failed
After 2 months of traveling across Vietnam, An Linh returned to Hanoi on October 10, his birthday. The young man felt both happy and regretful, as almost all his plans had fallen through.
Initially, Linh planned to stay in each province and city for only one day. However, because of the beautiful scenery, delicious food and friendly people, he lingered a little longer in each place.
Linh also budgeted about 100 million VND for the whole trip, including camping gear (20 million VND) and expenses on the way. As a result, the financial plan was also… slightly broken.
“I planned to spend 1 million VND per day. But staying at a hotel cost about 500,000 VND per night, plus 3 meals a day, drinks along the way, train and bus tickets, sightseeing tickets, gifts for family and friends, etc., so it wasn’t as planned. I spent 120 million VND for the whole trip,” he said.
Linh believes that if you just go out and sightsee, spending about 1 million VND per day is comfortable. He finds that in provinces where tourism has not yet been developed, hotel prices are quite high. In localities with strong tourism, food and hotels are quite cheap, only sightseeing tickets will cost more.
An Linh traveled 8,000km in 60 days, completing the goal of setting foot in 63 provinces and cities of Vietnam (Photo: Character provided).
When asked what Linh gained the most from the trip, the young man humorously said: "It's the dark skin, the wide mouth from laughing too much, the stained teeth from drinking coffee, the long hair, and the hastily made YouTube channel with only a few hundred subscribers."
On this journey, realizing the country's agricultural potential, Linh also had a new direction in his work. He is researching to start a business in the agricultural sector.
“It could be exporting raw products, then packaging local agricultural products, refining them, and shipping them abroad. I want to contribute to building a national brand internationally,” the young man said.
After traveling across Vietnam, An Linh lived flexibly in Hanoi and his hometown Cao Phong (Hoa Binh). The 8,000km journey marked the end of his old job but also a new, promising beginning for him at the age of 27.
Dantri.com.vn
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/du-lich/chang-trai-viet-nghi-viec-di-du-lich-60-ngay-tieu-het-120-trieu-dong-20241031101528716.htm
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