After more than 4 months on the road with a small truck named Soc, Khoa has now stopped in Bali (Indonesia). He has experienced the Day of Silence of the islanders.
Tran Dang Dang Khoa checks in at Bromo volcano - Photo: NVCC
Tran Dang Dang Khoa (38 years old) is a familiar name to the travel community. In June 2020, he completed 1,111 days traveling around the world, across 5 continents on a motorbike with a license plate from his hometown of Tien Giang.
After three years of "hanging up his sword", on November 11, 2023, Khoa began his second solo journey with his dream of traveling around the world. But this time, the vehicle was a truck that had been modified to be convenient to move and could hold many necessary items for the journey, which was expected to be completed in 3 years.
Changed my stay plans because of… Silent Day
Dang Khoa interacted and took photos with an Indonesian father and son. The father brought his son to meet Khoa so that he could be inspired to pursue his dream of becoming a photographer and traveling around the world - Photo: NVCC
After more than 4 months of traveling, Tran Dang Dang Khoa is now stopping in Bali (Indonesia) after having passed through Cambodia, Thailand, and Malaysia. This island has kept the Vietnamese guy here for a week longer than expected. He also had the opportunity to attend the local New Year festival, also known as Day of Silence in Bali.
"The night before the Day of Silence, there is a parade of Ogoh-Ogoh demons, which is very joyful throughout the streets. On the morning of the first day, everyone stays at home, is not allowed to go out, all street lights and lights in the house are turned off, no talking, using TV, radio or making noise. No shops or public transportation are allowed to operate. The state telecommunications company is also temporarily disconnected. The entire island is immersed in darkness and absolute silence so that people can meditate and reflect on themselves.
It feels no different than the lockdowns during the pandemic, only there are pecalang guys like militia patrolling outside to see if anyone is violating the rules," Khoa wrote.
This time, Khoa traveled new routes, to places he had never been before. No longer on the road reserved for motorbikes, the small truck with Vietnamese license plates and eye-catching decorations attracted the attention of other people on the road or when stopping. People took pictures, came to him and commented happily on Khoa's Facebook or YouTube thanks to the logo on the outside of the vehicle.
Khoa also interacted and made friends with many people and received wholehearted support. "The happiest thing was going to places I had never been to, making many new and lovely friends. Meeting old friends, they were very surprised that I was still single and now wandering around the world alone," he said.
Cost a lot of money to park your car across the islands
During his journey around the world by small truck, Khoa encountered some obstacles such as bad weather, heavy rain in Southeast Asia. Besides the weather, the cost of sending the truck from one country to another was considered a challenge, a not small expense.
Unlike the previous motorbike trip west towards the sunset and being able to ride continuously, this time Khoa went east, passing through many island countries, so in the beginning he had to park his motorbike many times and spent quite a bit of time waiting to get it back.
He said that each time he sends his car to another country, it costs quite a lot of money, for example, from Malaysia to Indonesia, it costs nearly 3,000 USD. In the near future, he will have to send his car from East Timor to Australia, New Zealand, and Panama. "After those trips are done, I can go continuously from Central America, North America, and Europe. Then I will save money on shipping," Khoa said.
The truck named Soc, with Vietnamese license plate, will travel around the world with Khoa - Photo: NVCC
Another thing, when going to countries that have left-hand lane regulations like Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Khoa said that if driving on the left, the steering wheel is on the right like in the host country. When you want to overtake, look to see if the right side is empty or not.
"Drive in the left lane, when going from a small road to a big road, you have to look to the right first, the opposite of Vietnam. Because the visibility on the right is limited, try to keep the car perpendicular to the main road as much as possible to observe your car entering the lane or turning.
I have added a side mirror to minimize blind spots. The more blind spots you have, the more you have to add a side mirror. When turning, signal early so that people can proactively avoid you, then slowly change direction," he said.
Previously, when traveling around the world by motorbike, Khoa had experienced driving on the left lane in many countries. "But back then, driving a motorbike, sitting in the middle, was no different from driving in any lane. This time, driving a four-wheeled vehicle with an independent steering wheel on one side, I was a bit confused, but then I adapted quickly and still drove well," he said.
He added that driving a car has more things to worry about, you have to pay close attention to mechanical issues, vehicles, and any breakdowns on the road are more tiring than driving a motorbike, but in return you have a place to sleep in the car, if needed you can sleep without spending a lot of money.
"The car can carry a lot of things, do laundry, cook, has solar power, can bring things out to camp or stay in the car longer and still be comfortable. If I need working Wi-Fi, I will rent a hotel to stay overnight," he said.
On this journey, Khoa determined to live simply and go as far as he can - Photo: NVCC
Every day is a new adventure
According to Khoa, the journey at the age of nearly 40 has some differences compared to the trip when I was just over 30. "Last time I finished my dream of traveling around the world, this time I continue but by different means, different routes, with a different mindset: more gentle, emotional and thoughtful, not going hastily and enthusiastically like before.
But that doesn't mean the love of traveling will decrease, it will just change to another way," he confided.
He said that last time he traveled from Vietnam to Paris (France) in just 5 months. Now he has been gone for 4 months, but he is still in Southeast Asia.
He also added that when his visa expires, while waiting for renewal, he will take advantage of flying home during Tet or summer to visit his family.
"At that time, I only thought about going around the world once and that was it, maybe it would be decades before I could do it again. But I never expected that after 3 years I would be able to set off, living beautiful days without knowing where I would sleep tonight or what would happen tomorrow.
Every day is a new adventure, going out, meeting new people. I am happy with each passing day," the young man from Tien Giang expressed.
How does Tran Dang Dang Khoa earn money to travel around the world?
Tran Dang Dang Khoa said that the funding for his trip around the world comes from travel blogger - a job he has been doing for many years. In addition, he is also a content creator, photographer, videographer and representative for several brands. Recently, he has promoted his personal YouTube channel so that everyone can follow and follow each trip and those who intend to do the same can refer to it. "I do some part-time jobs in the country I am traveling to, but I do freelance work online because my visa is a tourist visa, not a work visa. Just like the time I traveled by motorbike, I decided to go as far as I could, not buy anything expensive, just spend on basic needs."Dieu Qui - Tuoitre.vn
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