Travel thoughts

Thailand & Cambodia, 2022

Trip report published on my website instead: https://hbenjamin.com/post/trip-report-thailand-cambodia/

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2022

You’ll make mistakes. And then you’ll get over it. This is especially true when you solo travel. You just don’t have someone else to bounce ideas off of. I had one early in my trip, before the bus ride from the airport into the city. The bus had just arrived, and the driver wandered off for a few minutes. After a bit discussion, myself and some other passengers decided that it’s probably ok to just board the bus. After a while the driver returned and started shouting for us to alight. Fun start to the trip. Not a big deal, but that’s the point; mistakes are part of travel.

Bring an ereader. I omitted my ereader to make space for my climbing gear. I could have still fitted it in, but it would have been quite overpacked. In hindsight I should have definitely brought it. There were loads of times where I wish I had a book to read to pass the time. There were some meals where I wanted to read while eating, because reading a book is more enjoyable than scrolling through online forums on my phone.

You probably should bring a powerbank. While I don’t think it’s always necessary, it can come in handy. At one point I found myself much too low on battery. I had an event at night I wanted to go to, but the only feasible to travel back from the event was via Grab. I wasn’t confident that I would have enough battery at the end of the night to call a Grab, so I opted not to go to the event.

Consider bringing a day bag. At minimum it’ll provide a convenient way to carry some water and a powerbank with you.

My money management could be better. I’ve forgotten how annoying dealing with physical money can be. In Singapore I hardly ever use physical money anymore. I used a credit card sized wallet and had to fold the bills. Super annoying whenever I needed to take money out. I should prioritize getting a compact bifold for travel.

It’s nice to buy conveniences sometimes. I took the bus from the airport, and the train when departing back to the airport. The train costs about SGD$18, while the bus costs $5. An extra $10 is a small enough absolute value that it doesn’t really matter. We’re fortunatey to have such disposable income, and it’s nice to exploit it once in a while.

Walking around is much more tiring than I expected. After the first day my knees and feet were already hurting. I took it easy the second day, spending a lazy afternoon in a museum. I should get more comfortable shoes for travel.

One bag travel is fantastic. I brought a 28L bag. Most of it was filled with climbing gear; harness, shoes, rack, helmet, chalk bag. My clothes took up less than 20% of the total capacity. I could easily travel indefinitely in a tropical country with a 20L bag, since there would be no need for cold weather clothes. I imagine it’s a lot less stressful to simply have a small bag, rather than lugging around massive suitcases.

Merino wool and other technical fabrics are fantastic. Merino wool is known for being extremely odor resistant. I wore mine walking around in a hot day, then during a downpour at night, and again on the last day at the airport. On my second day I wore a regular cotton shirt I had, and it was so much less comfortable. Until then I didn’t appreciate how much work my merino shirt was doing to wick away moisture.

Food tourism is difficult for solo travellers. There were times I wanted to try more food options, but simply didn’t have the appetite to do so.

Kuala Lumpur isn’t that exciting to me. Well, apart from the climbing anyway. I probably wouldn’t visit KL again unless I can tack on a climbing session during the trip.

Lead climbing at your limit is really quite scary. I onsighted a 5c, which was fun because of how easy it was. I then proceeded to try a 6a, which turned out to be much scarier. 6a isn’t difficult for me, nor is it my limit in terms of technical ability. However I haven’t lead climbed enough recently to build up my mental game. As a result I was taking things much more cautiously than I needed to, and wasted loads of energy on relatively easy moves. I didn’t send the 6a, instead falling at around 80% up the route.

I’ll need to practice leading a lot more before my Krabi trip in December. My endurance is currently way to bad to be going to Krabi. Ideally I’d like to be doing 6b or 6c comfortably before the trip. Technique-wise I should be able to, but I’ll need to build up both my endurance and my mental game. I’ll have to start sport climbing more regularly.

Ipoh, Malaysia, 2020

This was a climbing trip with Rockerfellas. I have a more in-depth trip report on my blog.

I can pack really light. Several of my travel companions had large suitcases. No idea what they brought, because I easily made do with a 28L bag. This is including a harness, climbing shoes, chalk bag, and helmet. In fact, after the trip I decided there were a few things I could cut from my packing list for future trips.

Travelling for outdoor climbing is more accessible than I thought. To be fair, I’ve never really thought much about travelling to climb, but I suppose at the back of my mind I’ve always figured it’ll take a considerable amount of planning. It’s actually pretty simple to look up routes in a guidebook or online, then rock up to the crag with some friends and start climbing. I’m excited to climb more often after this trip.

I felt way more comfortable around others than I thought I would. Initially I was a bit apprehensive about the trip, because I’m not the most social person. However during the trip I felt extremely comfortable around everyone else. I think it might have been because we all shared a common interest. I think part of it is that since I was around new people, I didn’t feel constrained by preconceptions they might have the same way I would if I were around people I’ve known for a long time.

Lombok, Indonesia, 2018

I went to Lombok with a few friends from work to climb Mount Rinjani.

Get a good hiking backpack for serious hikes. A good bag is especially important for multi-day hikes with 8+ hours of walking per day. I carried a Osprey Talon 22, which was excellent. We had porters, so water wasn’t much of a concern. If we were carrying our own water, I might opt for something with a more substantial frame. Given my relatively light load (~7kg), the Talon 22 was perfect.

Hiking shoes are a little unnecessary. I wouldn’t go so far as to say they were entirely useless, but I don’t think they justify their weight and space requirements. For future trips I would consider a pair of trail runners instead, with the exception if I’m going on a particularly difficult hike. Trail runners are much more versatile shoes for travel, assuming there’s a chance of the occasional trail hike.

The military has prepared me more than I initially realized. I found the hike up Mount Rinjani to be downright easy. Some of my travel companions found it a little difficult however. To me it just felt like a very casual route march. A route march, but with ample rest, more comfortable attire, less load, no unwieldy rifle, and no heavy helmet.

This was the trip where I started to seriously consider solo travel. I enjoyed the trip immensely. However by the last day of the trip I was starting to feel like I would really have liked to explore the area on my own. I’m introverted, so it was likely that after a few days of constant social interaction, I needed some time alone to recharge.