My first Backpacking Adventure!

My name is Tracy. I am a member of Vacations Priced Right and I’ve just returned from my very first backpacking adventure with Wendy, the founder of Vacations Priced Right.

My travel experiences before this were limited to the usual stuff, all inclusives or travel packages and a couple of cruises. The farthest I have been is Mexico. So going backpacking for 23 days through Cambodia and Vietnam was really a huge step out of my comfort zone!

I’ve known Wendy for years and followed her travels so I had a general idea of what to expect and I knew I would be in good hands.

While we were planning our adventure, Wendy showed me how she searches to find hostels, transportation, tours, etc. It was an eye opener. We would find a hostel for under $10.00 a night and being a non backpacker, I could not wrap my brain around that. I had very low expectations of the hostels but thought enduring hostels would be a ‘life lesson’ and a fair trade to save money for all the experiences we had planned for each place.

Our adventure (hostels included) was not like anything I have ever experienced and to say I LOVED IT would be a huge understatement!  I was already planning my next backpacking adventure before I even left Vietnam!

Being a first timer, there were things I was uncertain about like the ‘unknowns’ of backpacking and staying in hostels, so I thought I’d shed some light on those ‘unknowns’ for any of you who are curious or even considering going on your first backpacking trip.

Our adventure began in Cambodia; we were in Phnom Penh and then Siem Reap. On day 7 we flew to Vietnam. We spent 15 days in Vietnam visiting Ho Chi Minh City, Mui Ne, Da Lat, Nha Trang, Hoi An, Hue and ended in Hanoi.

Hostels

I went into this trip with low expectations of hostels and budget hotels, but ended up being pleasantly surprised. By pleasantly surprised, I mean my whole perspective of travel accommodations has changed!

We stayed at 2 hostels in Cambodia and 5 hostels, a guesthouse and a budget hotel in Vietnam. We did both dorms and private rooms. Prices ranged from $5.34 to $15.65 CAD per night. I will admit that I prefer the private rooms to the dorms simply because I prefer having my own bathroom and shower. There was nothing bad about sharing a bathroom in a dorm; I had no issue at any of the hostels, it is simply a personal preference.

That being said, the dorms were great. They were all clean and had comfortable beds. In only one dorm did we have some rude, self-centered girls (my last night in Vietnam). Thankfully, I had Wendy to teach me the ins and outs of dorms, so beds with curtains and how to organize my packing cubes were a game changer. Using packing cubes made it so I WAS NOT a rude and self centered dorm mate. Curtains. Never understood the big deal – I get it now! They make all the differences in the dorm world, a small bit of privacy to relax and unwind, also works out well for changing on the mornings we left early.

Each place was different in the set up and amenities, but the feel was the same. It is something I have rarely felt throughout my life, a camaraderie of strangers. Young and old (I am 53), from different countries, different languages, different religions but one common thread, they love to explore the world. Friendships are made easily in the backpacking world.

One hostel experience I thought would be bad turned out to be a great night. The hostel in Da Lat was the smallest room EVER; it was a 4-bed dorm that literally only fit two sets of built in bunks. First night it was just Wendy and I so worked out well. Second night we return to our room and I was bummed out when I realized they had put two other young ladies in the tiny room. That night turned out to be a great gab fest between the four of us, kind of like a girls sleepover!

Bottom line, I cannot imagine NOT staying in hostels and budget hotels from now on!

Transportation

Our adventure included travel by planes, tour buses, sleeper bus, overnight train, taxis, tuk tuks, cyclobikes, an ATV, pedal bikes, a ferry and motorcycles. For the record, I love tuk tuks!

I would use every one of these modes of transportation again, though some were better than others. My absolute first choice would be going everywhere in a tuk tuk, unfortunately I cannot. My second choice would be a sleeper bus. I firmly believe ALL buses need to be sleeper buses, it was a very comfortable way to travel. My least favorite (also happens to be the one I begged Wendy to do) was the overnight train. I would do it again BUT change my expectations. Bed was comfy, I slept well but the train was old and dirty, I mean really dirty. 

I only had one experience I could have done without. The bus ride from Ho Chi Minh City to Mui Ne… let just say, the bus driver was not a good driver. It was a real clenching your nails into the armrest white knuckle kind of a ride. EVERY other driver we had was great except this one.

Also, on a side note – somebody got her Basket Boat driving license…ME! So if you are ever in need of a Basket Boat driver, I am your girl.

Food

Food was cheap, cheap, cheap in Cambodia and Vietnam and it was GREAT!
In the entire 23 days I had 1 dish that I thought…MEH after I finished and one dish I hated. In fairness it would not matter where I was in the world – I do not like crocodile.

I absolutely LOVE Vietnamese coffee; milk coffee, coffee with egg
and my all time favorite – coconut coffee!
It is so good that Wendy, who NEVER drinks coffee, drank coffee in Vietnam.

Exploring

Our adventure was jammed pack full of activities. We were on the go most days from morning until night, We did have some down time to relax but I tend to be a go, go, go person. Wendy knows that so we jammed as much as we could into our adventure. We did a mix of the big paid excursions with tour guides, do-it-yourself excursions (by this I mean Wendy figured out the what, when and how lol) and then just walking around to see what we can find.

I am not a big fan of the big paid excursions in general but did enjoy the ones we went on mostly because the tour guides were so great and I learned so much history from them. If I am being totally honest my problem with big excursions is having to wait around for the other people on the tour. Our tour of Angkor Wat was 9 hours and seriously, 4 hours of it was waiting for all the millennials on our tour to take Instagram photos and selfies. We were not even half way thru that tour and Wendy had already figured out a better way to do the tour on your own.

My personal favorite way is figuring out what we want to see and getting ourselves there. At pretty much every place they have personal tour guides you can pay to take you around and give you the history, or you can google audios of a lot of places and listen. Some of the places, like the War Museum, there is no need for a guide.

Since I’ve gotten home everyone asks me what my one favorite experience was and I honestly cannot pick just one – I have three all vying for the number one position

The cyclobike tour in Ho Chi Minh City

The Pedal bike out in the country in Hoi An

The motorcyle tour in Hue

Going to the touristy stuff was worth it as they are once in a lifetime experiences and I love history (have watched a gazillion documentaries, read even more books) and I thought I had a good understanding of the Vietnam War, nope. What I learned change my perspective of the war and my eyes were opened to the genocide of Cambodian people that happened during my lifetime but I knew nothing about.

My preference was the things we did that involved interacting with the people from the country, doing the everyday things in their lives. It was such a welcoming experience. Children running out to say hello and wave at us gave me that warm and fuzzy feeling every time!

The Adventure was Worth Every Penny!

There is no going back now – I am hooked! As I said I have already figured out when and where I am going backpacking next year – Thailand, then Europe the year after.

I now have the confidence and drive to plan future adventures because of all I learned from Wendy. It was not just the apps she showed me how to use, it was all the little things she taught me along the way. I would NEVER have tried this if I had not joined Vacations Priced Right! I just always thought I could not afford to do anything like this, Wendy and Cheryl shown me I it was possible! I am 100% confident in both Wendy and Cheryl and I’m always recommending Vacations Priced Right to anyone who will listen.

Wendy estimated $2,200 for 23 days for EVERYTHING, I came in at $2,357 including the souvenirs I bought.

Words of Wisdom for First Time Backpackers!

Always carry toilet paper with you.

Packing cubes are a backpacker’s best friend.

Downloaded offline maps are your second best friend.

Squat toilets are not as bad as you think. (Really! Don’t listen to Wendy, she hates them lol!)

The more money you save on accommodations, the more things you can experience on your trip. Think hostels!!!!

People are just people no matter where they are from. A stranger is just a friend you have not met yet.

And lastly, you are never lost – you are on an adventure!!!

How do you build a trip like this? 

Check out our Trip Planning Workbook!  A step-by-step guide to planning your perfect vacation at a price you can afford!