On Nov. 30, 2018, Selvaganeshamoorthi Balakrishnan, on the age of 20, determined to embark on a nine-months lengthy journey from Singapore to Montreal, Canada, with out flying.
The route took him by means of Southeast Asia, China, Central Asia, the Center East and Europe.
He shares how he saved up for a price range of S$10,000 to make the journey and restricted himself to spending solely S$25 per day.
This included sleeping in a tent at seashores and parks, spending the nights at bus stations, or utilizing the Couchsurfing web site to remain on the houses of locals at no cost.
Whereas acknowledging that such a travelling model got here with its justifiable share of difficulties and risks, there have been additionally many situations the place he acquired varied acts of kindness from strangers.
You’ll find out extra about Selvaganeshamoorthi’s account of his journey here.
By Selvaganeshamoorthi Balakrishnan
Whereas ready to enrol in college after my Nationwide Service led to end-2018, I had about ten months to do long-term travelling.
So, on the age of 20, I made a decision to embark on an bold, flightless journey from Singapore to Montreal, Canada, with your entire journey accomplished over land and sea.
The overland Singapore-London route was a best choice for me as many heavy weights within the travelling world, together with the founders of the journey firm Lonely Planet, had achieved this journey.
However desirous to problem myself, I assumed: Why not lengthen this flightless journey throughout the Atlantic to Montreal?
Travelling midway internationally at 20 years previous
I left dwelling on November 30, 2018. My route took me throughout 23 international locations, three continents and an ocean.
On common, I spent round two weeks in every South East Asian nation and Turkey, round a month in China, ten weeks in Central Asia, 5 weeks in Iran and just some days for every European nation, as Europe was costly.
It took me 9 months to meander my approach north by means of South East Asia and China, do a small tour of North Korea earlier than swinging westward to journey throughout the good deserts, steppes and mountain ranges of China’s Xinjiang province, Central Asia – the ‘stans – and Iran.
By early-June 2019, seven months into the journey, I used to be in Turkey and I shortly hitchhiked my approach up Europe to Bremerhaven, Germany, the place I took a cargo ship to sail throughout the Atlantic.
Hitchhiking signal from Dresden to Berlin (Germany). Photograph courtesy of Selvaganeshamoorthi Balakrishnan
Ship throughout the Atlantic. Photograph courtesy of Selvaganeshamoorthi Balakrishnan.
I arrived in Charleston, the U.S. in mid-August and for the final two weeks of my journey, bus-hopped my approach throughout the U.S. japanese seaboard to Montreal.
On a price range of S$25/day
In my quest to save lots of up for my journey, I gave tuition (English and French) to main and secondary faculty college students.
Inside a span of 22 months, I managed to save lots of up a big quantity and spent round S$10,000 for my journey, which included transport charges, lodging and every day bills.
Over S$6,000 was spent on every day bills throughout 9 months. The opposite S$3,000 concerned S$2,500 to sail throughout the Atlantic on a cargo ship and S$600 misplaced to a motorbike rip-off in Thailand.
Whereas on the street, I scrimped as a lot as attainable. In truth, I used to be on a shoestring price range and put aside S$25 a day for my three meals, lodging, transportation and miscellaneous spending (like entry tickets to sights, for instance).
On common, S$12 to S$15 was spent on lodging – once I couldn’t discover a Couchsurfing host and didn’t tent – S$eight for meals and S$5 for miscellaneous expenditure.
Typically, any stability within the every day price range was rolled over to the following day, and if I had a substantial stability after a number of days, I handled myself to a ‘luxurious merchandise’, resembling a meal or a beer at an area pub.
Fortuitously, most of the cities I visited have been very reasonably priced. In locations which can be costlier, I walked rather a lot to keep away from spending on intra-city transportation.
Staying with strangers, pitching tents, and sleeping tough
Me ‘roughing it out’ meant that I needed to neglect consolation. However I not solely shortly grew accustomed to this vagrant-like journey life-style, I additionally fell in love with it.
I wasn’t afraid to eat low-cost avenue meals (whereas being conscious of hygiene requirements, in fact). My rule of thumb? If the meals is served sizzling, it’s most likely suitable for eating.
Once in a while, I might additionally lodge at filth low-cost hostels. Nevertheless, I principally used Couchsurfing – a hospitality web site the place travellers can keep on the houses of locals at no cost.
In such circumstances, I’ve learnt to all the time learn a possible host’s evaluate earlier than requesting to stick with them. Additionally, it’s higher to stick with a household than with somebody residing alone.
After I was unable to discover a place to crash for the evening, a form stranger I met at random may take me in for a number of nights.
I recall a very touching incident in Uzbekistan. I wasn’t capable of finding reasonably priced lodging and thus slept below a retailer awning in my sleeping bag in Bukhara. In the midst of the evening, I used to be awoken by a middle-aged girl who informed me in Russian that I used to be ‘a customer in her nation and never a canine’. She took me in for an evening.
Just a few occasions, when my luck with discovering a Couchsurfing host fizzled and a mattress at a hostel was over my price range, I even tented in metropolis parks and seashores, or spent nights sleeping at prepare stations.
Tenting in a metropolis park in Europe. Photograph courtesy of Selvaganeshamoorthi Balakrishnan.
When tenting, I might pitch the tent in a visual and non-secluded space (anyplace close to police stations or brightly lit-up metropolis parks are good choices).
Alternatively, I might sleep in a sleeping bag in locations which can be crowded and extremely frequented by the police – prepare and bus stations, and subway stops are good places.
As soon as, I camped at an deserted and decaying part of the Nice Wall within the lifeless of winter — an expertise that I don’t advocate because it was very harmful.
I nearly fell from a peak of 4 flooring when scaling the virtually vertical wall as a brick that I had clung onto dislodged itself. It was additionally frigid – the temperature was round minus 20 – and the winds have been robust and doused the campfire I had made. A bottle of water I had utterly froze by means of as nicely.
Tenting at deserted part of Nice Wall. Photograph courtesy of Selvaganeshamoorthi Balakrishnan.
Hitchhiking
For intercity journey, I principally thumbed and, at occasions, took buses and trains, particularly when constrained by time (usually on account of brief visa durations).
I discovered that Hitchwiki.org is an efficient useful resource to search out the most effective ready spot, and hitchhiking in locations like the previous Soviet states and Iran have been the best.
The hitchhiking tradition was nonetheless very a lot alive in these areas, and that meant brief ready occasions thumbing by roads. (Hitchhiking in Europe, however, was usually a drawn-out endeavour.)
I additionally discovered folks to be extraordinarily frank when driving, and I’ve had many attention-grabbing conversations. Some drivers even handled me to a meal and invited me over to crash at their place.
Hitchhiking in Istanbul, Turkey. Photograph courtesy of Selvaganeshamoorthi Balakrishnan.
Not having a plan may be useful
Sure, whereas guidebooks may be helpful at occasions, I discover that the majority of them are inclined to solely characteristic common vacationer sights and are geared extra in the direction of vacationers with deep pockets.
Throughout my journey, so as to get a extra genuine and off-the-beaten-track expertise, I made a decision to ask locals for his or her suggestions as a substitute
Even on this age of the web, many hidden gems are identified solely by means of word-of-mouth.
The dearth of planning additionally gave me higher flexibility, which is very necessary when hitchhiking and Couchsurfing. Moreover, when hitchhiking, you merely can’t make certain if you’ll arrive.
Typically, my host would additionally produce other plans for me, and I used to be completely satisfied to drift.
Studying to deal with myself higher
Whereas I used to be open-minded and would deal with everybody as a possible buddy, I additionally learnt to be cautious and belief my instincts — if somebody appears sketchy, it means I ought to stroll away.
Being abroad alone, I additionally learnt to be extra avenue sensible and shield myself higher.
There have been a few situations the place males had inappropriately touched my interior thighs and groped my groin. One in all them was a Couchsurfing host in Beijing, however most different situations concerned a random stranger in a packed bus or a shared taxi.
In such conditions, I both stood my guard and immediately confronted the perpetrator – which frequently led to the miscreant scurrying away – or extricated myself from the state of affairs.
As soon as, I used to be additionally held towards my will for half a day by a Couchsurfing host in Tajikistan who locked me in his room. I suspected that he received jealous that I had deliberate to satisfy one other native on the town.
I escaped from his room within the cowl of darkness by leaping out a window.
Brushes with regulation enforcement
Having grown up in Singapore, I assumed, naively, that regulation enforcers are there to do their job – to implement the regulation. However I shortly discovered that that’s not the case in all places.
In Koh Tao, Thailand, a bunch of policemen colluded with a rental bike store proprietor to rip-off me. Whereas I had broken her bike, I used to be positively overcharged for just some scratches. It was a painful and unforgettable S$600 lesson.
However that have was nonetheless higher than getting kicked by a bunch of policemen, although.
I used to be resting in my sleeping bag at a bus station in Tabriz, Iran when a bunch of policemen kicked me.
They’d assumed that I used to be a homeless Afghan refugee. Many Afghan refugees had fled their homeland on account of conflict and searched for shelter in neighbouring Iran, the place they’ve gained a fame for participating in petty crimes.
After I flashed my Singapore passport, nevertheless, they not solely profusely apologised but in addition invited me to sleep the evening within the consolation of their air-conditioned police submit.
One other nerve-wracking expertise occurred in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. As there have been solely a handful of foreigners within the metropolis, this invited the eye of suspicious police.
My Couchsurfing host informed me that the key police have been watching me.
I seen folks (policemen and presumably policemen in plain garments) have been following me for half a day. Fortuitously, that was all they did. Although I used to be creeped out, I didn’t really feel scared as a result of I knew I had achieved nothing mistaken.
No intention to cease
As a self-proclaimed tradition aficionado and adventurer, my travels are primarily motivated by an insatiable thirst to be taught concerning the historical past of international lands, to expertise the native tradition, and to find areas less-travelled.
I first travelled alone at 18; backpacking and hitchhiking throughout Western Europe for a month.
Lands, distant and unknown, have all the time enthralled me.
Throughout my Secondary faculty and Junior School years, I spent a lot time in my room drawing crude traces throughout maps, drafting itineraries for unbelievable journeys and worming by means of journey guides.
After this outstanding expertise backpacking from Singapore to Canada, I hope to do one thing equally loopy and seemingly inconceivable sooner or later.
Maybe travelling by land and sea, perhaps even on a bicycle, westward from Montreal to Singapore by way of the U.S. West Coast and the Pacific Ocean.
Then I can lastly say that I’ve circumnavigated the planet with out getting on a airplane.
Prime images courtesy of Selvaganeshamoorthi Balakrishnan
Supply: mothership.sg
