Vietnamese guy Tran Dang Dang Khoa before departure to travel around the world by truck

Having made a splash after a 1,111-day journey across 5 continents by motorbike, travel blogger Tran Dang Dang Khoa is about to embark on a journey around the world in a truck.

Dang Khoa shares the preparation process for his second round-the-world trip.

Tran Dang Dang Khoa's "career" of wandering around the world just started on November 11 - the same date as the number of days he has traveled around the world by motorbike.

In mid-June 2017, when he started his motorbike trip around the world , Tran Dang Dang Khoa had no return date. But after more than 1,000 days of traveling on a motorbike, Khoa was forced to end his journey while in Africa due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Although I think the experiences of the 3-year journey are enough, sometimes I still feel regretful because the reason for ending the journey was quite "ridiculous", not really satisfying my dream, so I decided to go around the world again.

Dang Khoa completed the final step of pasting cute pictures on his car on the afternoon of November 8.

Phan Diep

What is special about the "companion"?

On the afternoon of November 8, Dang Khoa was busy checking and adding stickers to the accompanying truck . It was a Suzuki Blind Van, commonly known as "Su Coc". Khoa renamed it a cuter name, Soc. This was also the first car Dang Khoa owned, with the license plate number 63 - his hometown of Tien Giang.

"When I started thinking about the name for the car, I was in a forest in Khe Sanh District (Quang Tri) when I saw a squirrel running by. The squirrel was small and agile, just like the car, so I decided to name it Soc," Khoa said.

Khoa divided the equipment on the car into many different groups. There are groups used for car repair, rescue, personal hygiene, cooking, storage, filming equipment, medical equipment, entertainment, etc. According to the "backpacker", this is a compact car, no automatic transmission, no sensors, easy to repair and cheap spare parts.

"There are about 300-400 items in the car. I divide them into different areas so they are easy to get when needed," he said.

The car is equipped with more than 300 essential items for personal life, work...

Phan Diep

About 2 years after his trip around the world by motorbike, Khoa published the book "1,111 diary of 60,000 miles on a broken-down motorbike". At that time, he also just got his driver's license, so he brought books and posters across Vietnam to interact with everyone. From here, the journey around the world by car began to take shape.

Khoa bought the car in March, worth about 200 million VND, and bought additional furniture with the same amount, completing it in 6 months. Friends and relatives gave him boxes, screens, and even small souvenirs such as key chains... to give Khoa spirit and luck during the trip.

Khoa neatly arranged the car repair tools in a small corner.

Duong Lan

Furniture is also neatly arranged on the ceiling of the car.

Duong Lan

Khoa shared that each vehicle has its own advantages and disadvantages, the important thing is to adapt. When riding a motorbike, Khoa often has to set up a tent to sleep overnight, if it lasts continuously for several days, the body will be very tired.

Driving a car will limit this, not to mention being able to carry more things, being able to protect from the rain and sun, thus being able to stay in one place for a long time. However, in return, when there is an accident or the car breaks down, repairing a car can take more time and be more difficult than a motorbike.

"Carrying the dreams of many people"

On my previous trip, by the time I had to return to Vietnam, I had been to 73 countries, so this time I plan to visit 100 countries. But that is just a milestone for me to aim for, just live happily, experiencing is a great happiness.

Tran Dang Dang Khoa

Just like the last time, Khoa has not set a return date for this world tour. He estimates that 3 years will be the ideal time. Along the way, in addition to driving and exploring new lands, he also does some extra work such as writing articles, taking photos, filming, etc. to earn extra money.

Last time Dang Khoa set off to the West in the direction of the sunset, so now he will set off to the East, in the direction of the sunrise, to try a new feeling.

His itinerary will go from Vietnam to Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, across Australia, New Zealand, through Central America, to North America, then to Europe, the Mediterranean, Turkey, the Silk Road, Central Asian countries, Mongolia, China and then back to Vietnam.

The words "practice driving" are very familiar to Vietnamese people and are stuck on the back of the car so that Vietnamese people all over the world can easily recognize it.

Phan Diep

On Khoa’s personal page, many people left comments wishing him a safe journey. His journey also carries the dreams of many others, because they will always follow him, exploring new lands with him every day.

The 36-year-old backpacker is ready for his second round-the-world trip.

Phan Diep

"These past few days, I've been thinking a bit about a long and busy journey with a lot of things to prepare. However, because I've done that journey once before, I don't feel nervous or worried. On my previous trip, by the time I had to return to Vietnam, I had visited 73 countries, so this time I plan to visit 100 countries. But that's just a milestone for me to aim for, just live happily, experiencing is a great happiness," he expressed.

Tran Dang Dang Khoa's planned itinerary: Starting from Vietnam through Cambodia, Thailand, down to Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, continuing to East Timor and then by sea to Australia and New Zealand. After that, he will go to America by sea. Last time, Khoa went to many American countries, so this time he will start in Central America, go up to Mexico, through the US, Canada, then send the car across the Atlantic to Europe, through some countries like England, Scotland, Iceland... down to southern Europe to Morocco in Africa. Finally, Khoa will go to the Mediterranean, through Turkey, then travel on the Silk Road to Mongolia, China to return to Vietnam.

On this trip, he plans to return to Vietnam to visit his family for a few weeks during Tet or summer, get more spare parts, equipment and apply for a visa. He also brings some pictures of Vietnam to introduce to friends around the world that his country is very beautiful and the people are friendly.

"I like to travel, discover many special things that I never expected. This seems to have seeped into my blood, becoming my ideal in life. Later, when I get married, I might think differently, but right now I'm single, wandering everywhere makes me happy," the young man confided.

On Khoa’s personal page, many people left comments wishing him a safe journey. His journey also carries the dreams of many others, because they will always follow and explore new lands with him every day. Thanh Nien will also follow and update images and stories along Dang Khoa’s journey around the world, expected to go through 100 countries and territories so that readers can “travel around the world with the backpacker”.

Thanhnien.vn