I walked most of the time. But if I'm too tired from walking then I will hitchhike. And if I'm lazy and I have some money with me, then I will take public transports.
Q2:What places have you been to?
Generally, I have travelled to all the states in Peninsular Malaysia except for Terengganu. However, I have only been to 2 towns in Pahang. Plus, I didn't really get to explore the whole of certain states, such as Perak and Johor, because those states are too big for me to explore in 63 days only. Also, I never really travelled around Selangor and KL as that's where I live; so I figured that I can do the visiting there some other time since it's nearby only.
Q3:Where did you sleep?
It depends. If I'm lucky, I will be able to sleep in places such as people's houses, churches, temples, community-based centres, guesthouses, and other similar places. If I'm unlucky, then I will end up sleeping out in the open. When that happens, I don't just sleep beside the road like that; I try to look for safe places to sleep at such as food courts, bus stations, train stations, public facilities, 24 hours operating shops, etc.
Q4:How and where did you bathe?
Well, if I end up in places in which bathing facilities are available, then I will bathe. However, if I'm unlucky, then I don't bathe. Nevertheless, I try to clean myself with wet towel all the time if possible; and I change my shirt roughly 2 days once if I didn't get to take a decent bath. The longest time I didn't get to take a proper bath is probably around 4 days if I remember correctly.
Q5:How did you wash your clothes and dry them?
First of all, most of my clothing that I brought with me is made up of polyester material, i.e. quick dry material. I intentionally brought such clothing with me so that it doesn't occupy a lot of space in my backpack and my backpack would be lighter. Of course, the main reason is that I can dry my clothes quickly after washing; so drying my clothes on time was never much of a problem since my clothes will be dry the next morning after washing the night before. Washing clothes is very much like a complementary activity to bathing during the trip because if bathing facilities are available, then washing clothes shouldn't be a problem too. Sometimes when bathing isn't convenient, I will still try to do the washing with whatever resources available. For instance, only washing my shirt, or washing without detergent.
Q6:Where and how do you look for a toilet?
Generally, toilet wasn't much of a problem. There were many places, especially urban and suburban towns, where public toilet was available e.g. petrol stations, restaurants. Although there were times in which a toilet wasn't nearby, all I had to do was to hold it in till I find a toilet. Plus, somehow when I'm in isolated places like when I'm walking on the main road to another town, I seldom feel the urge to go toilet. It could be that I sweated too much as I had to walk long distances.
Q7:Did you plan your route before the travel?
Nope. I didn't plan a proper route at all. When I first started the journey, I only planned to first head over to Tapah town, and then to the Kampung Orang Asli located nearby. It was quite a random decision. Plus, I only planned to travel north and south because I knew that 2 months is not enough to explore the whole of Peninsular Malaysia. But, I managed to plan my travel route as I move from one place to another. Nonetheless, I always ended up not going to where I planned due to circumstantial reasons.
Q8:How did you survive without money?
Well, I did earn some money during the trip. My main sources of income were getting donation and working. Although I have never begged for money during my travel, quite a number of people actually voluntarily offered me money after knowing my circumstances. Despite my effort in rejecting their offer, their persistence resulted in me accepting their money. Working is self-explanatory I believe. Nonetheless, I only had 2 'real' jobs throughout the entire backpacking trip as finding people who're willing to hire a backpacker such as myself was difficult.
Q9:How and where did you get food and water?
Water wasn't much of a problem as I just need to ask from people at the right places, such as restaurants or somebody's home, and they will provide me with it as water doesn't cost them much. Food, on the other hand, is a little different. Of course, I had to use my own money to buy food most of the time. At other times, people I met throughout the journey will voluntarily buy me food or cook for me depending on circumstances. But, there were twice that I had to ask for free food.
Q10:What did you bring with you for 2 months?
Generally, I didn't bring much and only brought basic necessities that can ensure my survival for 2 months. My idea was to pack light as I knew that I would need to do a lot of walking so a light backpack will certainly help. I brought 3 sets of clothing, toiletries, 2 water bottles, a pair of shoes and slippers, a washing line, notebooks and a few pens, handphone, a Golok knife, 2 mestin, plastic bags, a towel, a pouch bag, raincoat, mosquito repellent, first aid kit, a dynamo torchlight, and of course, my backpack itself. I didn't list down everything I brought with me, but, that was majority of it, so you could probably figure out the rest.
Q11:Did your family know about this? What did they say about it?
Weeelll... Actuallyyyy... I didn't really tell my family about me going backpacking. I kinda lied to them saying that I went for some camp in the jungle haha. I just didn't wanna worry them. But, I did tell them I will be back after 2 months haha. And they kind of 'bought' my camping story in the end. Plus, I'm back safe and sound, so let's leave it at that lol.
Q12:Why 63 days?
No particular reason actually. It just somehow ended up with 63 days. Initially, I planned it to be 75 days of backpacking as I had a 3 months holiday, so being away for 2 and a half months would be ideal as I have about a week to spare before and after the trip. However, the trip was delayed due to various reasons and ended up with 63 days instead of 75 days.
Q13:Why did you only bring RM50?
Actually, I wanted to not bring any money at all with me as my plan was to travel without money and to try surviving with my own capabilities. However, I didn't want to begin my travel in Selangor as I can easily visit places in Selangor during my free time since I live in that state. So I decided to bring sufficient money to take a public transport to a different state and begin my travelling there, and RM50 is definitely more than enough for that purpose. As to why I didn't wanna bring money for travelling, it's just that I wanted to challenge myself in being independent while earning a living with my own effort throughout the journey.
Q14:How long did your RM50 lasts?
Hahaha RM50 is obviously not enough for a 2 months trip. By the 2nd or 3rd day itself I have used up the RM50 I brought with me initially.
Q15:Did you beg for money?
Nope. Not at all. When I started my journey, I intended to survive without money and only receive things that I work for. I wanted to earn what I deserve with my own effort and capability. However, things didn't really turn out exactly the way I expected it to be as many people whom I met during the journey insisted that I accept the money they offered, and many of them also treated me to meals despite the fact that I didn't do anything for them in return. Regardless, I never did ask for money without doing anything in return.
Q16:Did you bring a handphone?
Yea, I brought a cheap, outdated, colourless screen, limited functionality handphone with me for emergencies. Just in case I need to make calls to the police, hospital, or something along that line. Also, of course, for me to contact my friends and families back at my place if any urgent issues arise. During the trip, I 'off-ed' my handphone most of the time because I wanted to conserve the battery as I wouldn't be able to charge it easily. Plus, no point for me to on my handphone when I'm so far away from home in which nobody can help me but myself. Even if somebody is looking for me, I can only reply that I'm currently away, so might as well just off my handphone since contacting and being contacted are meaningless hahahaha. Nonetheless, I did turn on my handphone for awhile every night to check if anybody contacted me for important matters.
Q17:Did you bring a camera to take pictures along the journey?
No, I didn't bring a camera for the trip. Although it's quite a waste that I didn't bring a camera as I've visited many nice places that are worth taking photo, the thing is, I didn't bring a camera with me because I'm the type of person who're not very good at multitasking. I prefer to focus and concentrate when I do something, so I was afraid that if I brought a camera with me, I would have kept taking photos and forgotten to be in the moment. Hopefully you get what I'm trying to put across here haha.
Q18:Did you encounter any bad people who tried to harm you?
Nope. Actually, frankly speaking, it's quite difficult to meet bad persons who will harm you. I find it quite exaggerated in the media in which they always show news on all these criminal cases that happened and made us paranoid. But, if you actually think carefully and do a rough calculation, you will realize that the total number of people who are involved with such incidents are relatively low when compared to the population of the country itself. The likelihood of it happening is actually much lower than 1%, almost like trying to win a lottery. If you so happen to actually got involved with such incidents, then I suppose that you're just plain unlucky haha; unless you intentionally draw such troubles onto yourself. Nevertheless, a certain degree of caution will be wise to keep danger away as you'll never know when you'll be the unlucky one.
Q19:Why didn't you go with some friends instead of alone?
Well, in the first place, who in their right mind will go backpacking without any money with walking as their main mode of transportation?? I believe I'm one of the few who're crazy enough to do such things (or maybe stupid enough? haha). Basically, none of my friends would wanna follow me. In fact, every time I mentioned this idea of backpacking to my friends, the first word they usually say is "Crazy". Nonetheless, there are both pros and cons of travelling alone and in group.
Q20:Why didn't you cycle instead?
Cycling is not too bad either actually. It's just that, I personally prefer to not concern myself with many things. Having a bicycle with me would mean that I need to take care of my bicycle as well. In the contrary, walking requires me to only take care of my backpack and myself. In my opinion, there can be many different styles for backpacking. It's just which you prefer. Each of the backpacking styles has its own pros and cons, but, in the end, all of them will reward you greatly.
Q21:Have you ever regretted or felt like quitting during the trip?
Nope. Not at all. Not even once have I thought of quitting during the trip. And of course, till now itself I have never regretted going for this backpacking adventure. There were times in which thoughts such as "This is really crazy", "Can't believe I'm really doing this", "I could easily go back home now", "This is really difficult" were in my mind. But, I have never thought of "Shall I quit and go home now?" or "I shouldn't have done this". Not once. I was determined all along to complete the journey in 63 days despite the challenges. It just doesn't feel right to not finish what I've started.
Q22:What inspired you to do this?
This whole trip has, generally, one goal - to be a better person. Exposing myself to new experience and environment, as well as getting out of my comfort zone, is a good way to improve myself as a person overall; whether it's in terms of skill, knowledge, physical fitness, or character. In fact, the more hardship I need to endure, the better the reward. That's why I chose to go backpacking the way I did. After all, no pain, no gain. Or maybe, I just simply crave for a challenging adventure.
Q23:What kind of preparations did you make before the trip?
There weren't much preparation done for the trip actually. All I did was buying stuffs that I need for 2 months survival. I did read on some backpacking guide online just to get a general idea on what to prepare and expect. Also, I cut my hair bald so that I don't need to do a lot of washing on my hair, and my towel can dry quickly too since I wouldn't need to wipe my hair. Plus, I only had to bring very little shampoo with me which contributed to packing light and saving space in my backpack. My approach in packing my haversack was to bring as little things as possible so that I will be able to walk distances without tiring myself. All my clothes that I brought with me were either made in polyester material or thin cotton so that my clothes can dry quickly. Even my towel is very thin and relatively smaller than a standard towel.
Q24:Who are you? Where are you from? How old are you? Are you still studying or working? etc etc (questions related to my personal background)
Ermm... Let's just say that I was a teenager from a suburban city in Selangor who was still studying in college. That's all that matters haha.
Q25:So, how was the trip in the end? Will you do it again?
In short, it was difficult and challenging yet a good experience and rewarding. There were times in which things were tough, and there were times that things weren't that bad. All in all, it was certainly a good experience. One thing that I do know is that, it's almost impossible for me to tell the entire story of my backpacking days to people because too many things happened along the journey, and everyday is like a completely new day filled with different challenges and events. Therefore, telling exactly what happened in that 63 days is really hard to be done. However, providing a big picture of the story shouldn't be a problem~
Hmmm... I'm not too sure if I will do the same thing again, but, anything can happen, right? Let's not think too far ahead and focus on now first hahaha.
