I spent 6 months of 2025 travelling to a new destination every other month. I thought Id share some stories and my favorite places. Who am I?: I'm a 24yo zoomer who works in the tradesHow did I do it?: I work a rotational job in Alaska with a month on - month off schedule. How do I afford it?: My job has decent pay, but that alone wouldn't afford the travel I did. I moved all my belongings out of my apartment into a storage unit and ended my lease. So Ive just lived nomadically for the last year, sometimes out of my car. Did I have any trouble with Visas?: The only time I had a visa application bounce back is when I forgot to include my middle name. Worst thing that happened?: Got assaulted, and jailed was for punching back, attacker got let go with no repercussions. Best thing that happened?: I may have met my future wife during my travels, but we're still just dating. Top three countries?: Italy, Japan, Vietnam - in least to most favorite order. Overrated places?: Amsterdam, Thailand, urban Philippines, Norway, London, Chile. Future destinations?: Nepal and Taiwan are the only places I'm set on seeing at the moment. I'll reply with more indepth stories about the places Ive been (because I want to share the pictures I've taken too as photography is a hobby)
>>2859150>my future wife>Top three countries?: Italy, Japan, Vietnam - in least to most favorite order. me love you long time
>>2859150Beautiful pic man.What did you not like about Norway?
>the 20s traveling trades chad with stories and soon a wifeOr you can be>the 30s old man coping with money
>>2859156ThisIf you missed out on travel in your 20s to "build a career", then I'm sorry but you wasted your life.
>>2859156>>2859158These are brown zoomers with no money. Probably Indian or some type of asian mystery meat. They come here to doom because they think it harms/constrains white men.Ignore the currycels and the ricels. Go do it at your own pace and find your own way.
>>2859150Pt.1 Let's get my favorite country out of the way, Vietnam. I was actually a lurker on /trv/ for a few years before I started travelling last year. The Vietnam thread inspired me to visit, but I hadn't otherwise heard much about the country. Honestly my expectations were kind of low, but had them blown away for sure. My initial trip to Vietnam was last May for two weeks, and I spent a subsequent two weeks in Thailand. I spent one week in southern Vietnam and the other in Hanoi. I probably would have had jack shit planned for the trip had I not met a vietnamese girl on Facebook dating a few months prior. We hadn't really flirted during that time, but we did chat about our interests. I told her I liked hiking, she told me there were guided trekking tours in Vietnam. I was skeptical, as I'm not the tour group kind, but she intrigued me with the details. I took a long shot and invited her to come, and she got back to me the next day "Yes, I want to". 1 day on the sleeper bus and 2 days camping in the jungle, so I think she was pretty brave to meet a stranger that way. $200 for two people. Transport, accomodations, and food all included. Definitely worth it, especially if it's your first time in Vietnam and you want to experience some of the countryside. Picrel is the waterfall we hiked to. Was definitely convenient having my own personal translator for this as no one spoke English.
>>2859170Pt.2 The next week, I stayed in Hanoi, which is now my favorite city in Vietnam. I went on a coffee date with another Vietnamese girl, whose English was at a native level just from movies and video games (she had never left her home country before). She insisted I rent a motorbike to give riding a try, again I was skeptical as I always thought riding motorcycles was dumb. Spoiler alert, riding motorcycles is now one of my favorite hobbies :)I had already spent 3 days exploring hanoi on foot and was getting a little bored. I caved and rented a Honda air blade (125cc scooter) for the rest of my stay. As I pulled out of the rental shop, I instantly felt regret and a little dread. Shitty balance, jumpy on the throttle and brakes, I felt like a fish out of water. Id only ever ridden bicycles before this. Choosing to learn to ride in one of the worst motor trafficked cities worldwide was feeling like a big mistake. That was until I practiced for about 5 minutes and felt comfortable enough to open that throttle all the way and join the main road chaos. All the fear left and became fun as fuck instead. Ok but enough being a faggot about motorcycles. I made a day trip to Ba Vi national park, which is a great shorter day trip from hanoi for the motos. Btw I wasn't legally licensed for motorcycles at the time, but most shops will still rent to you. I liked riding so much, I rented a bike in Thailand too, and I've done at least some riding every subsequent trip. I also bought a bike back home in America (DRZ400s)
>>2859171Pt.3 I returned to Vietnam in November, this time for 4 weeks. I met back up with the first vietnamese girl I met, and we eventually became official while travelling together. I rented a Kawasaki versys 300 and she rode as my backpack for 1300km in total from Can Tho to Da Nang. We stuck to small mountain rodes, and I wouldn't do that trek any other way. Highlight was seeing a guy riding a giant male Asian elephant in some random mountain town. Lowpoint, my friends that joined me this trip got into a motorcycle accident. I felt pretty bad cause I pressured them into renting a bike. Luckily they got away with minor injuries.While In da nang we went to Ba Na hills without fulling understanding what it was. iirc it was 1.2M per person, so not cheap by Vietnam standards. Was honestly really cool, but we did not show up nearly early enough to enjoy the park. The park closing time is kind of inaccurate as stores and attractions start closing a few hours prior. Show up as early as you can to get your money's worth. Don't pay for the buffet cause the food sucked and catered to Indians and Chinese tourists. It was still cooler than any American theme park I've been to though.Once we made it to hanoi again we made a day trip to ninh binh and did the famous staircase hike up one of the mountains. The most worth it activity of the whole trip, and wasn't even crowded with tourists. Didn't get to do the kayaking on the river cause it rained for the rest of the day.Finished off the trip with the quintessential day cruise in Ha Long bay. While it was very beautiful, it is definitely experiencing over tourism. Tons of other day tours are crowding all the same spots for the tour. Worst of all, most of the other pax were Indians...tragic. Eat before you take the cruise because the lunch these tours serve cater to the Indians serving shitty vegetarian curry.
>>2859173Pt.4 Comments about Vietnam: Vietnam has the best food in SEA imo, it has the best value for money by far, and has amazing nature (although I think the Philippines has the better scenery overall). The people are great. They are kind, but they don't kiss your ass for being a tourist. They are proud of their country, but they hold no resentment over the war. While they definitely hold white people in high regard, they aren't afraid to make fun of you either. I had a hard time finding genuine interactions like that in Thailand. Vietnam also has the best architecture in SEA. Cool mix of oriental and colonial French stuff. Everything in Thailand feels tacky by comparison. I always had a better experience in vietnamese spas than Thai spas as well (Backrubs not happy endings). Fruit is also fresher and cheaper in Vietnam than other SEA countries. Overall I enjoyed Vietnam a lot more.
>>2859155It's not very approachable to the common man. Even a burger is a minimum of $25. If you're like me, youre not travelling to eat burgers so you get raped even harder trying to eat anything else. It's geographically fragmented because of the fjords. It becomes easiest to stick to the town you flew to (I went to bergen). I did some hiking, and while it is beautiful, Alaska absolutely mogs Norway without question. You can have the fjords experience in the the Juneau area for a similar price point, with the bonus of better food, people, and nature.
>>2859158What is it with tards and their love of repeating the same thing fifty times? Like I tell the schoolgirls, age is just a number.
>>2859150How did you manage your luggage? Seems like you went to places with differing climates and did some serious hiking as well as just citytrips, so you needed a variety of clothes. And when you’re doing a roadtrip on a motorbike, you take everything with you? Also, you paid everything for the girls that went with you?I’m same age as you, also wanna take a long continous traveling journy, nomad style, but I havenn’t figured out the logistics of my luggage yet as i feel that the size limits your freedom to travel around. Leaving your bag somewhere to do a couple of days out of town also doesn’t seem that good since you have to go back to get it, instead of just being able to move perpetually.
>>2859150Which country did the assault happen?You have a storage unit big enough for a car, motorbike and other possessions as well while overseas?Did you track monthly expenditures, if so what was the range?Chile is a very long country with tremendous geography. How much of it did you explore before writing it off?
>>2859196If you travel during summer in temperate destinations, you don't need a lot of bulky cold-weather clothing. Down to 5° C is good enough. If you hand wash laundry in your room, you don't need to pack as much or waste so much time doing laundry. And if experiencing life is your goal, leave the laptop, gaming console, and other e-clutter behind. >being able to move perpetuallyThe geography of many regions makes sense to take daily excursions from a hub point, as opposed to continually moving in a straight line (which limits your ability to thoroughly explore an area).
>>2859201This is useless advice>Just wash all your clothes in the sink so you can wear wrinkly clothes all the time while your room has a funky damp smell>Yeah bro, you can definitely wear the same clothes in the tropics as in a moderate climate during summer
>>2859177>Norway>It's not very approachable to the common manfucking lol
>>2859196I just learned to manage with a backpack and nothing else. I just pack enough clothes for 3 days plus the clothes Im wearing to get to the destination. I've never gone more than 3 days without a way to wash my clothes, so it works out perfectly. I still have enough room for my camera and a couple souvenirs I buy for friends when I come back. Almost everyone makes the mistake of over packing their first time, so just let yourself figure it out through trial and error. Yes I paid for everything, within reason. If you're not cucked and friendzoned with the girl in question, you share a bed anyways. My only extra expense was paying for two meals instead of one, which I'd do on dates in the states anyways. I had the advantage of her cleaning my clothes and neatly repacking them for me at every stop, so she did her part. As far as leaving your bag, I actually do this sometimes. I bring a very light weight, packable day bag. I establish a home base in a bigger city that I know is within a couple hours from cool shit. Then I pack what I need for the day in the day bag.
>>2859210You being too stupid to wash andnm dry your clothes like hundreds of millions of people do every day is a personal skill issue. Think twice before you post garbage like this again.
>>2859173Congrats bro made me nostalgic. I will never forget the first Asian girl I toured around with. I was a fucking retard at that age and messed it up eventually, but I still have my memories.
>>2859198The assault happened in Chile. I have a different parking situation for my car and bike that's free atm. I just have a few boxes in a storage unit, and I'm planning to get out of the unit entirely. They way I allocated my budget is by considering how much I was previously paying in rent and bills. My apartment just for me, with utilities included, worked out to be around 1350 a month. When I work my rotational job they supply housing. So when I decide to travel during my month off, that now covers two months of not paying rent or utilities. So I allocate that $2700 as my travel fund, and I rarely exceed that. I make some sacrifices by not having a home address, but financially I see it as a net neutral. A rough estimate for most destinations, if you book a little in advance to save....Flights: $800-1000 for a roundtrip ticket pretty much anywhere. Sometimes you find a deal and get a roundtrip at a discount $600-700. Domestic flights in other countries rarely exceed $50Accomodations: $500-1500 for private rooms, and about half that range if you do hostel dorms. This has the biggest variance depending on the country. Sometimes you can get lucky to book cheap somewhere that is normally expensive. A lot of hostels will also sell private dorms for about half the price of that areas hotels. I actually like doing this a lot because you can still socialize with other travellers without sacrificing privacy or sleep. I try not to pay attention to my food budget, because I would be paying for food back home anyways. Even when I treat myself and eat at nicer places everyday, it's still usually cheaper than the US. We get boned so fucking hard with tipping culture, as if $15 for a basic meal wasn't ridiculous enough on its own. Even countries like Italy are very affordable to eat out at, and mirror what my "eat at home" expenses would be in America.Transport: Usually pretty cheap unless you rent a car, <$200
>>2859227How'd you fuck it up anon?
>>2859243Hmm tl;dr I wasn't romantic enough with her. I was treating her like a friend instead if a girlfriend. She wanted to be swept off her feet, and I just wanted to chill.It wouldn't have been that much effort to give her more attention, and I wished I would have. She was adorable and deserved it, but alas. I thought I had it made and didn't need to put effort in.
>>2859210>funky damp smellYou're too poor to get an A/C room? Jesus Christ. A/C pulls humidity out of your room very effectively. And who even wears wrinkle-prone fabrics anymore? It's 20 fuckin 26, synth blends which don't wrinkle have been the norm for decades.>>2859221Are you talking about daytrip excursions or an overnight stay in a second destination while leaving your bag in the rented room at your first destination? Unless I'm going on a serious trek that would require more than 1L of water, I never bring a pack for daytrips.>>2859242Tell us moar about the dramatic incident. Was it something involving a local girl you were trying to date? Supposedly Chileans are the most peaceful of Latinos, but all that goes out the window with love dramas (or so a Chilean friend once told me).>rent freeBased. About 60% of my domestic spending goes to my landlord, who also owns the company I work for. But there are perks...I can store bedding & cookware on-site for free while I'm away, and car ownership isn't necessary given its proximity to town with everything I need (including a 2x daily bus connection to an international airport 2½ hours away). I still dream of working in the far north sometimes...Colorado is dry and scrubby and ecologically duller than Alaska.
>>2859285I was your neighbor for a while, living in Utah before Alaska. I agree, the arid environments there get a little boring. I bring a small day bag so I can bring my camera. On a day trip I usually find myself needing a backpack more than not. Renting is such a waste of money, and I'd still think that even if I wasn't nomadic atm. Sounds like you have an interesting job setup that also allows for travel.I'll go into deets on what happened with the fight later. I'm back at my rotational job now and it eats up most my day.
>>2859150> Vietnam favouritei'm curious about this. from what I can see it's a crowded humid shithole with various tropical diseases and no white girls to speak of the mario kart thing looks super cool I'll give them that, but you can't cross multiple continents and oceans just for one attraction> reading the thread and he gets yellow feverah that explains it. understand these girls see you as a genetic upgrade and a ticket out of thirdworldism, which means if you breed with them you are downgrading genetically. all because something is easy doesn't mean it's worthwhile
>>2859358>girl will constantly seek your approval and appeal to you instead of the other way around for the rest of your lifeTruly a terrible way to live
>>2859150Are you starting to get burnt out/bored of always traveling?
>>2859273Chile girls are underrated. They have those nice chinky eyes and their accent is cute.
>>2859358>no white girls to speak ofThe fuck makes you think this? White women ambling around Vietnam and taking up space is a common sight.Da nang and Saigon were the only places I've been for that perspective.
>>2859150Why do all of your photos look like they were taken in 1972? Was your camera made in the Soviet Union?
>>2859532it's a hipster thing. lomos and lubitels and shit
>>2859358Uh I mean, those things just sound like a greenlight to me. The Mario kart shit was really fun, but I agree it doesn't justify a trip. I mean, I was going on dates with whites in Europe and the US at the same time. I just got treated so much better by her that it eventually became a no brainer. How often do anons have a girl cook their national dish from scratch for them. I understand where you're coming from thoAt least hapas are the best race mix
>>2859532It may as well be. I use an 80's era Nikon. I also have a modern digital, but I short more video than still with it vidrel
>>2859612KINO!
Is it fatiguing to travel so much starting from Alaska, as I assume you have to haul ass down to the PNW before you can fly direct anywhere? I live in Maine and have that issue, gotta add 6 hours onto whatever itinerary just to get my ass to Boston.This thread is getting me stoked for the old Minolta camera I just picked up at Goodwill, i had so much fun with film photography in high school. Gonna try it out in Egypt next month.
>>2859612Sorry to be a faggot but can you let me know your exact setup? Are these shot on film, then you have a lab develop them and scan them in digitally?
>>2859625I now detest waiting in airports and flying more than I ever did. I still enjoy the travel once I actually get to the destination, it's worth the flight. I guess maine is pretty comparable to me, adds about 8 hours for mine. Stoked for you, just remember to change the light seals. I've never understood the film vs digital, it's like new consoles vs vintage. They both offer a similar but different experience, just pick the one you have the most fun with.
>>2859634Yes I use a lab now, but I used to do the whole process at home before travelling. I use a Nikon FE2 and Lumix s5ii with the following lenses: Nikkor 28mm f2.8 ais Nikkor 50mm f1.8 ais pancake Voitglander 90mm f2.8 These are all roughly the same size and easy to pack. I also use a small water proof canon film camera called the WP-1.
>>2859173>I rented a Kawasaki versys 300 and she rode as my backpack for 1300km in total from Can Tho to Da Nang. We stuck to small mountain rodes, and I wouldn't do that trek any other way.You’re basically the parallel-universe version of me. If I’d made a few different choices, our lives would probably look a lot alike. Everything worked out well in the end, but reading this leaves me feeling happy and a bit melancholic at the same time. I'm still keeping at it, but these days seniority means golden handcuffs for me, so the rolling travel schedule is off the tableKeep doing you, kid. FWIW, this chopped unc is glad that spirit’s still alive and kicking
Nice stories and film photos OP. I did something similar, you make me want to dump my film photos but I won't shit up your thread.
>>2859682Honestly comforting to know you were in my shoes and seem to have made your comeuppance, if that's what you mean by "golden handcuffs". I think too many over-focus on what the outcome might be and that keeps them from ever actually doing anything.
>>2859150Thailand is pretty over rated ngl.
OP Japan was the first place I solo travelled to, and the one place I felt I had to see before I died. When did I visit? Late February - late March. This was both perfect timing and kind of a shitty time to make the trip. The crowds were almost non existent, even for very popular locations. I went to senso-ji and the imperial palace, both had nothing but a handful of people. Ive seen videos of these places during peak season and it looks like a can of sardines. The downside is that the weather sucked until mid March. Every other day was rainy and windy with temps in the 40s. If you like walking around you'd have to carry an umbrella and look like a faggot. Favorite places? Miyajima, Osaka/Nara, Takayama, shirakawa-goPlaces I won't revisit? Kyoto, Tokyo, Kanazawa, Kumamoto. I still think these places are worth seeing, they just don't have revisit value for me personally, especially Kyoto. How did I get around? I bought the 21 day JR pass. Yes it was just after they doubled the price for it. Every influencer faggot says it's a waste of money, but it wasn't in my case. I really enjoyed feeling the freedom to jump on a bullet train anywhere, anytime. I know for a fact I would have taken less day trips had I not bought the pass. But yes, buy the tickets individually if you only plan a couple destinations. Favorite story? I had a couple fun nights out in Osaka with a group from my hostel. One night ended with the token britbong being dropped off at the hostel by the police. But honestly my favorite story is unrelated and less exciting. I had just hopped off the bus to shirakawa-go and was looking for a quick lunch. Small town, so the closest place was a gas station. I was checking out when I noticed the cashier had a pin of keiichi from higurashi. Which, if you don't know, that anime is set in this town. I told him I like the anime (in Japanese). He told me he moved to shirakawa solely because higurashi is his favorite anime. Lmao
>>2859941Pt.2 Akihabara is cool, albiet a lot smaller than I had thought. I think about 2 hours here is adequate, unless you're planning to shop. I don't buy weeby merch shit, so I was satisfied just browsing. While browsing a manga store, I met a Chinese dude who was in Tokyo to study abroad. It's crazy cause this guy had no hint of an Asian accent. He sounded like he grew up 2nd gen Asian American, but he had actually never travelled outside of China or Japan. He said he learned from video games, honestly was very impressed.Some side notes,...I went to Kumamoto, and while the castle is cool, I don't think it's worth visiting. The city is really hard to get around cause they have a couple trolley lines instead of trains. The town looks more American than having the Japanese charm. The zoo was kind of a trip though, barely any barrier to the enclosures, like 2-3ft tall. Some of the barriers were just a shallow moat, like the monkey exhibit. I saw a lady set up a picnic blanket and eat lunch right next to the capybaras, and she wore a capybara hat. I guess that's what being childless does to a hoe. There are faggots out there that say otherwise, but I think Japan deserves every bit of hype it receives.
>>2859922Calling it 'golden handcuffs' is a bit of an exaggeration, but yeah I pretty much have to limit my travels to fall and winter.The upside? I get a lot of free time for international trips in that time frame, at least.>I think too many over-focus on what the outcome might be and that keeps them from ever actually doing anything.I generally agree. As long as you stay outcome independent a lot of doors can open for you.Some advice from an elder: Don't lose that momentum. I'm not telling you not to marry the girl you met or whatever. In fact, you should absolutely enjoy women your age while you're young.Just take a second to ask yourself whether that level of responsibility will help you flourish or turn you neurotic and leave you stagnating.I went through something similar: met a Chinese woman the same way, had a ton of fun at first, but marriage changed me into someone I hardly recognized. She noticed it too and left.I bounced back after the divorce, but, it was a brutal, hard-earned lesson about how precious time and youth really are.
>>2859961nice shot. what film are you using?
>>2859170>>2859171>>2859173what kind of camera? These pics are great I love the texture
>>2859170Name of the tour? I'm going to be backpacking SE Asia in a month and don't really have Vietnam planned which is my final leg.
>>2859150Good thread. Can you say what the job is exactly, and how to apply? Any experience needed? Sounds like something that would fit me if it isn't too strenuous. Also, how did the women treat you in Norway? Was there any attraction or curiosity or were they cold / aloof?
>>2859967Ngl hearing this story is pretty harrowing for me. I wonder if that's just the way these things go. If the relationship was built on fun and travel, then isn't that foundation gone when the travel ends and marriage begins?
>>2860088To Ong Adventures. Just FYI my group and the guide were all Vietnamese and didn't speak English. I know there are other similar guided tours that may appeal to English speakers. >>2860069I listed the exact setup here. >>2859679I didn't mention the film I used, but it's usually Lomo 800 or Gold 200 >>2860005I believe this shot was gold 200
so basically some asian whore gave you fucky wucky because the avg men in her cunt are 150cm which was such a life-changing experience to your incel ass that you came to shill her third world jungle here kek
>>2860129I am an aircraft mechanic. It requires an FAA mechanics license to legally work on planes, which will take you 2 years to obtain on its own. You can either go to an accredited school or find a job that is willing to take you as an apprentice for 2 years to sign off your hours to qualify for testing. I did both, as I worked on planes as an apprentice while also going to a&p school. If you skip the school you'll lose out on a ton of really interesting theory, so I don't recommend that route. If I could change one thing, I would have taken classes to get my NDT (non destructive testing) cert in addition to my mechanics license. If you have the capital to invest in your own equipment, you could contract and make fucking bank. One guy from Oklahoma built his own xray-film darkroom out of his truck bed. He would come up to my old job every few months to do a fuel tank inspection. About 2 hours of work for $15k, I'm not sure how much the equipment cost him originally. There are tons of seasonal jobs in Alaska, so just hop on and start applying. Before this I considered working at a national park because those jobs are seasonal and provide housing on site
>>2860158>If the relationship was built on fun and travel, then isn't that foundation gone when the travel ends and marriage begins?Correct. I couldn’t let the adventure fade, so in my foolishness I cast my heart onto something never truly there and raised our fragile connection on nothing but sand.This is really just a cautionary tale don't let it scare you off too much. Just know that the kind of love you find on these adventures usually belongs there; it doesn't always transplant well to everyday life. It's like picking a wildflower and trying to grow it in foreign soil.Hey, sometimes it's still worth the attempt. After all, I wouldn't be who or where I am today without that particular regret.
>>2859150>Overrated>AmsterdamSomething that is known to be shit can't be overrated.
>anon prefers Asia >anon has yellow fever imagine my shock you lot are so fuckin predictable lmao
>>2860158nice film grain. it almost looks like it's been cross processed
>>2859672>>2859679>>2859961Unbelievable good pictures, thanks for sharing.
