It’s weird because I’m finally (more than a year overdue!) writing this blog post. Since then, I’ve travelled solo to Malaysia numerous times and travelled (with a friend) to 5 cities in Romania — which I will hopefully write about it in my next blog.
Vietnam was my first solo travel destination and it was super ‘well-planned’ to the hour. Then came Malaysia, Cameron Highlands, when the plan was to ‘see how it goes’ — basically no plan at all except to know how to get there.
I realised the beauty of planning for travels is that we’ll get better at it. We’ll find ways that best suit us. And planning for each trip is going to be different depending on where you’re travelling, what you’re doing there and if you’re travelling solo or not.
Of course, not all the case you can ‘survive’ without a plan. Maybe ‘survive’ is a slightly harsh word to use. ‘Enjoy’ might be a better word. I mean, a trip is meant to be enjoyed, to do the things you love, to experience the country, its culture and tradition as much as possible. So to plan for a trip is to ensure you get the best out of it. But most importantly, you need to know how to get there safely and stay safe.
Why an impromptu trip?
Didn’t really have time to plan
I just wanted a quick escape. At that time, I just received rejections from the only few vet schools I knew of and could afford. On top of that, vet nursing work was intense. I just wanted a quick escape without a plan. At that point, my mind was just not in the right state to plan. I just wanted to flow with things and maybe somehow get an inspiration from somewhere or something, to rekindle my plan for vet school.
I didn’t want to travel to somewhere far which needed a plane to get there. Thus, Malaysia it was. Just a cheap and easy-to-book bus journey will get me there.
Volunteering and living with locals
Since my first overseas volunteer experience with my school, I’ve always wanted to engage in volunteer projects overseas. I thought that a simple way to go about this is to use Workaway. A site where budget travelers can find hosts to engage in volunteer work or culture exchange. (Credits to my friend who reached out to me about this when she saw my posts while on my Vietnam solo trip.)
The thing I realised through that solo trip is that living with locals in homestays really helps a lot to figure out what to do or eat there and how to get to places. Basically, they help me plan a better trip (yes, I tweaked a lot of my initial plan after talking to the owners of my homestays). So I thought, why not I don’t plan anything this time and see what the locals recommend. I know… it was an excuse to my laziness but it turned out well so it wasn’t a bad plan after all. I guess, sometimes no plan is a plan.
So yes, this impromptu trip involved me volunteering for 3 to 4 hours per day in exchange for free accommodation and 1 to 2 free homecooked meals per day.
A safe and familiar destination
Though I’ve never been to Cameron Highlands, Malaysia, I know that its culture, language and people are somewhat similar to Singapore. Not to mention, food will be familiar and homely! I’ll just be in at a higher altitude, with more beautiful sights and a chance to meet new people.
And of course, if you just search it up, it is an incredibly safe destination for solo travelers, except for the potential dangers of landslides during rainy seasons.
How did I do it?
- Decided on the country of destination and days I’ll be away
- Applied for my leave from work
- Looked through description of workaway opportunities in Malaysia and sent my profile the hosts in Malaysia
- Decided on 1 out of the 2 hosts who responded to me
- Booked my bus to Cameron Highlands
My itinerary:
Night 1 (14/12/2022)
- 9pm: finally reached the homestay after about 14 hours on the road! (yes it took longer than expected because of the school holiday season and a little ‘misunderstanding’ I had with the host that I thought TBS bus terminal was at Cameron Highlands already but turned out I needed to get another bus from TBS to Tanah Rata which was another 6 hours)
- Had simple dinner, washed up and slept
Day 2 (15/12/2022)
- Morning: yoga, morning run, wash up, brunch at homestay
- Afternoon: arranged goods at homestay’s family minimart (2-3h), blog writing, learnt to ride the scooter
- Evening: dinner at Highland Steamboat Cheese & Grill with other volunteers, social night with other volunteers at homestay’s bar
Day 3 (16/12/2022)
- Morning: yoga, breakfast at homestay, arranged goods at homestay’s family minimart (2-3h)
- Afternoon: lunch at homestay, hiked at Robinson Falls, journal, video editing
- Evening: shop at nearby night market, dinner at Restoran Sri Brinchang with other volunteers
Day 4 (17/12/2022) (no volunteer work — rest day!)
— intended to go for 5-6h hike using a route recommended by homestay but aborted plan due to cloudy weather —
- Morning: yoga, breakfast at Restoran Sri Brinchang, blog writing
- Afternoon: Health Strawberry Farm visit, Big Red Strawberry Farm visit
- Evening: Golden Hills Night Market visit and street food dinner
Day 5 (18/12/2022) (no volunteer work — rest day!)
- Morning; yoga, breakfast at Restoran Sri Brinchang, journal
- Afternoon: Bharat Tea Plantation visit, blog writing, video editing
- Evening: simple dinner of eggs and bread, watch world cup finals with homestay and volunteers
Day 6 (19/12/2022)
- Morning: yoga, breakfast at homestay, arranged goods homestay’s family minimart (2-3h)
- Afternoon: Cameron Highlands Flora Park visit, late lunch (dinner-ish) at homestay
- Evening: blog writing, video editing
Day 7 (20/12/2022)
- Morning: yoga, breakfast at homestay, clean up homestay’s garden (3-4h)
- Afternoon: lunch at homestay, Ee Feng Gu Bee Farm visit, video editing
- Evening: dinner at a nearby restaurant (I didn’t even take note of the name but ate some delicious local fried rice at a cup of hot horlicks after riding in the rain)
Day 8 (21/12/2022) (no volunteer work — rest day!)
- Morning: yoga, breakfast at Lord’s cafe, journal
- Afternoon: BOH tea plantation visit, tea break at the tea plantation, journal
- Evening: dinner at Abang Strawberry, explored street near dinner place
Day 9 (22/12/2022)
- Morning: yoga, breakfast at homestay, arranged goods at homestay’s family minimart (2-3h)
- Afternoon: lunch at homestay, Animal Feeding Rainbow Garden visit
- Evening: dinner at Restoran Sheng Ming, video editing
Day 10 (23/12/2022)
- Morning: yoga, breakfast at Restoran Sri Brinchang, bus journey to TBS, journal
- Afternoon: lunch at stopover, bus journey to SG, journal, read
- Evening: home sweet home!
Spending
Before trip – 70SGD bus round trip (SG ↔ TBS)
14/12 – 70RM SIM card + 8.8RM stopover lunch + 7.5RM dinner and water + 38RM bus to Tanah Rata + 5.5RM peanuts snack
15/12 – 40RM dinner + 3RM kopi
16/12 – 8.10RM dinner + 13.5RM water, bread, eggs
17/12 – 5.5RM brekkie roti potato curry and teh c + 10RM strawberry milkshake+ 7.5RM night market food + 5RM sambal popiah supper
18/12 – 6.5RM brekkie naan and teh tarik + 4.6RM teh tarik tea at bharat tea plantation + 32.1RM tea shopping
19/12 – 50RM flora park
20/12 – 18RM honey and honey comb + 10RM fried rice with Horlick dinner
21/12 – 10.80RM lords cafe breakfast + 11.30RM BOH green tea latte and chocolate roll + 18RM dinner
22/12 – 8RM animal feeding garden admission + 19RM dinner
23/12 – 8RM puri masala tea + 9.50RM lunch + 5RM tempeh snack/dinner + 40RM bus from Tanah Rata to TBS + 12.80RM baked potato and pau
Total spending = 220SGD = 720RM
Other brainstormed places to visit (but didn’t get to visit):
- Mossy Forest
- Mount Brinchang
- Butterfly Farm
- Lavendar Garden
- Kea Market
- Robinson falls
What I learnt/gained from my first impromptu solo travel
Just do it
Action first, think later. This mentality gets us started, and that’s when the true learning begins.
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.
~ Helen Keler
Be uncomfortable
The more we practice facing our fears, the better we are at the thing we fear. On the other hand, the more we practice avoiding our fears, the better we are at running away.
Clarity of mind
Away from my safe space that have always fed into my usual thought process. And a quick escape turned out to be a mind opening experience. Change in environment. Mountains and nature. Journaling and writing. Alone time.
Nothing in life has any meaning except the meaning you give it
A fact is a fact. But to each of us, we can interpret the same fact in a completely different way. Try to see things in an empowering way. Strengthen empowering beliefs, weaken disempowering ones.
Remove judgements
About yourself and others. What you can see in others is what you can see in yourself. Your judgement of others reflect upon yourself. Start by loving yourself and you’ll realise that there’s so much love to give in this world.