I still remember standing in the middle of a bustling, humid street market in Bangkok during my first month of teaching English abroad. I was wearing a heavy cotton t-shirt that was completely soaked through with sweat, paired with stiff denim shorts that chafed with every single step. Local vendors looked at me with a…
I still remember standing in the middle of JFK Airport back in 2018, staring down at a massive, bursting rolling suitcase that weighed nearly fifty pounds. I was about to board a flight to Europe for my very first major solo backpacking trip, and I was terrified. I had packed for every single hypothetical disaster….
When I walked away from my gray corporate office cubicle back in New York, I bought a single 40-liter backpack. I was terrified. I sat on my bedroom floor surrounded by four different pairs of shoes, wondering how on earth I was going to fit them into a tiny nylon bag alongside my clothes, my…
When I left my rigid 9-to-5 office desk to travel the world, I made a massive mistake on my first big solo backpacking trip. I stuffed a massive, heavy winter coat into my luggage. I was terrified of being cold. Within two weeks of moving between trains and hostels, that giant coat felt like a…
I still remember standing in the middle of my tiny apartment floor a few weeks after quitting my corporate office job. Around me was a sea of clothes. I had heavy winter coats, linen shirts, three pairs of boots, and enough jeans to open a store. I was preparing for a journey that would take…
I still remember my first winter trip after I left my rigid 9-to-5 corporate grind. I was heading to Europe, and my anxiety was through the roof. Coming from New York, I knew how cold winter could get, but packing for a stationary life in a heated apartment is entirely different from packing your life…
I still remember standing on the platform at the Roma Termini train station during my very first solo backpacking trip across Europe. My shoulder straps were digging deep into my skin, my lower back was throbbing, and I was sweating through a heavy cotton shirt. I had packed for every single hypothetical scenario: a rainy…
There is a specific moment that every solo traveler remembers. For me, it happened on a muggy afternoon outside the Hua Lamphong Train Station in Bangkok. I had just stepped off an overnight train. The air smelled of fried garlic, exhaust fumes, and sweet jasmine. My shoulders were aching from a massive, top-heavy backpack that…
I still remember the absolute panic I felt when I landed in Bangkok for my very first solo teaching gig. I had just spent months waitressing extra shifts back in New York to save up every dollar I could. I quit my rigid corporate office desk job, packed everything I owned into one giant, heavy…