My Journey
From booking a one-way ticket to Vietnam to 18 months of travelling the world
It All Started Here
In 2024, I quit my job, packed my backpack and booked a one-way ticket to Vietnam. At the time, I had no idea what to expect. I’d never travelled for anything close to this long before, and suddenly I was leaving behind everything familiar and heading off into the unknown. I had only planned the first 12 days of my adventure, joining a Plot Packers group trip before setting off on my own.
I didn’t have every destination planned, I didn’t know who I’d meet and I certainly didn’t know that this one-way ticket would turn into 18 months of travelling.
I was super excited, of course, but there were also plenty of nerves.
Would I enjoy travelling for that long? Would I be okay on my own? Would I actually manage to stick to a budget? And what would happen when the initial excitement wore off? It was all unknown. So, I went anyway.
Vietnam Was Just The Beginnings
Vietnam was where my journey started, and it didn’t take long for me to realise that travelling was going to be very different from anything I’d experienced before.
There was so much to take in — the food, the landscapes, the chaos of the cities, the people and the completely different pace of everyday life. I quickly learnt that travelling wasn’t about having everything figured out, although It was a relief knowing for the first 12 days of my trip were already planned. I didn’t have to worry about accommodation, or travel, asthis was pre-booked.
Sometimes you have a plan for the next few weeks and sometimes you barely know where you’ll be tomorrow. After I left Vietnam, I met someone who I travelled with for the next 6 months. Things just fall inot place, whether that’s meet someone in a hostel, changing your route, stay somewhere for longer than expected or decide to take a completely different path. And somehow, those unplanned moments often become the ones you remember most.
One Trip Became 18 Months
What started as a trip to Vietnam turned into something much bigger. For 18 months, I travelled, explored new places, met people from all over the world and collected more experiences than I could ever have planned for. There were incredible views, unforgettable adventures, endless bowls of noodles, long travel days, questionable hostel rooms, early mornings, late nights and plenty of moments where I thought:“I can’t believe I’m actually here.”
I learnt how to navigate unfamiliar places, travel on a budget, make decisions on the go and how to live and work in a different country all on my own.
18 MONTHS of travelling, 1 BACKPACK carrying far more than I needed and COUNTLESS EXPERIENCES I’ll never forget.
The Reality Of Travelling
Of course, travelling isn’t always as effortless as it looks in photos. There were days when everything went perfectly and days when absolutely nothing did.
There were cancelled buses, long journeys, unexpected expenses, plans changing at the last minute and moments when I was completely outside my comfort zone. And then there were the moments that made all of it worthwhile.
Watching the sun come up somewhere completely new. Meeting people who started as strangers and became friends. Finding places I hadn’t even heard of before. Sitting down for a meal that cost almost nothing and ended up being one of the best things I’d eaten. Travelling taught me that the best experiences aren’t always the ones you plan months in advance. Sometimes they’re the moments you couldn’t have planned at all.
More Than Just The Places I Visited
When I think about those 18 months, I don’t just remember the countries or the places I ticked off a list. I remember the people. The conversations with complete strangers. The friendships that happened almost instantly. The people I met for a few days and somehow still remember years later. I remember having to figure things out for myself. I remember doing things that, before travelling, I never would have imagined myself doing. And I remember realising that I was capable of much more than I had given myself credit for. Travelling changed the way I see the world, but it also changed the way I see myself.
What Travelling Taught Me
When I think about those 18 months, I don’t just remember the countries or the places I ticked off a list. You don’t need to have everything figured out. Before I left, I thought I needed to have a plan. Travelling taught me that sometimes the best thing you can do is take the first step and work out the rest as you go. Getting outside your comfort zone is where the good stuff happens.
Some of my favourite experiences came from doing things that initially made me nervous. You don’t need a huge budget to have an incredible trip. Travelling on a budget made me more creative about where I stayed, how I got around and what I spent my money on — and it showed me how much you can experience without spending a fortune. The people are just as important as the places. Some of my favourite memories have very little to do with where I was and everything to do with who I was with. There’s always more to explore. Just when you think you’ve seen somewhere amazing, you discover somewhere else that makes you want to book the next flight.
Then, Eventually, I Came Home
After 18 months, eventually it was time to come home. Coming back felt weird. I’d spent so long living out of a backpack, constantly moving from one place to another and never really knowing exactly where I’d be next. Then suddenly, everything was familiar again. The routines, the places, the everyday things I’d barely thought about before leaving. But although I was back home, I wasn’t quite the same person who had boarded that one-way flight to Vietnam.
I’d learnt so much during those 18 months, and I didn’t want those experiences to simply become photographs sitting on my phone. I wanted to do something with them. I wanted to share my experiences and memories because there is so much out in the world. Travelling made me a different person and I now appreciate things more than I used to, because so many people have so little
And That's Where Lu Explores Began
Throughout my travels, I became the person people would ask for advice. Where should I go? How much should I budget? Is this place actually worth visiting? How do I get there? And honestly, I loved answering those questions.
Before I travelled, I spent hours researching trips myself. I wanted to know how much things really cost, what I actually needed to pack, which places were worth visiting and what I should know before arriving. So I decided to put everything I’ve learnt in one place.
Lu Explores was born. It’s my way of sharing the things I wish I’d known before I set off — from practical travel advice and realistic budgets to itineraries, destination guides and the experiences that make travelling what it is. I’m not here to tell you that you need a huge budget, a perfectly planned itinerary or years of travel experience. I’m here to share what I’ve learnt, what worked for me, what didn’t and hopefully make planning your own adventure a little easier.
What's Next?
I’m no longer live out of a backpack, but that doesn’t mean the exploring has stopped. If anything, those 18 months have left me with a much longer list of places I want to see.
For now, I’m taking everything I learnt along the way and turning it into guides, stories and advice that I hope will help someone else take the leap. Vietnam is where my journey began, and it’s where I’m starting with Lu Explores. But there is a lot more of the world left to explore. And I can’t wait to see where it takes me next.