Mon is a Czech girl travelling around the world. One morning, she woke up to find she had booked a flight to Bankok the night before. She spent some time in South East Asia and she finds herself in Greece right now, trying to get back home the budget-friendly way: hitchhiking and finding work on the road. Mon has also travelled to many countries before, including Egypt and more. If you are interested in reading about her adventures, visit her blog, I MON Da Road.
1. Who is Mon?
Simply said, Mon is a Czech girl floating around the globe on a very tight budget. I have no set plan and I don’t call any place „ a destination“. I’ve visited more than 20 countries and I hitchhike most of the time. My friends say I’m like a loose cannon. I love to act spontaneously and live in the moment.
2. What is the reason you began traveling?
Of course, the desire to travel is something that most of us are born with, but was there a specific event or reason that made you decide to just do it? Ever since I was a kid, I knew I wanted to travel but I never had the balls to just leave everything behind and leave. However, I moved to England where I spent 5 years. During that time I visited many new places and my desire to start travelling was growing. I got sick of the system and how money is everyone’s first priority. It wasn’t until last December though when I madly fell in love with a girl but I knew it could never work out between us two. I started to think about the purpose of my life a lot and tried to find answers for all my questions in many pints of beers. So one day, I woke up very hungover, checked my emails and found out I’d booked a one way flight ticket to Bangkok the night before. And that’s when it all kicked off.
3. Where have you visited and what has been you favourite country so far?
I completely love Egypt and Indonesia. Generally, from my personal experience I think that Muslim countries are the best countries to visit for a solo girl. I travelled around Indonesia (the biggest Muslim country in the world) for a month, I didn’t see a white person for 18 days straight, I was hitchhiking and staying in local’s places a lot and I can truly say it was the best travelling experience of my life. Everyone was very kind to me and even though pretty much no one could speak English, they made me feel very welcome and I felt like I belonged somewhere. I only missed my daily intake of beer as you can’t find it anywhere over there 😉
4. What is your favourite aspect about travel?
I love people! I try to avoid hostels and common backpacker’s places so I can stay with locals. I couchsurf a lot or find random places to sleep just so I can be closer to local people. I love to listen to their stories, I love how everyone is unique and no one ever judges me for who I am. I love exploring off the beaten tracks, I love hiking mountains, I love eating local food and generally learning about different types of cuisine (I’m a chef and a big foodie person). I love the freedom that comes with my style of travelling.
5. We know you were in South East Asia for the past few months. What place would you absolutely recommend anyone who is planning a trip there to go to?
If I had to recommend just one place, it’d be Mount Batur in Bali, Indonesia. It’s an active volcano in the north of the island with great history! I drove a motorbike to the basecamp in the middle of a night with another few backpackers and we hiked to the top during the night. It was pitch black everywhere, it was a very difficult hike but once we got to the top and watched the sunrise, I started crying. I was so happy and I didn’t want to leave that place. Definitely a must go!
6. What are your travel plans for the near future?
At the moment I have a project by which I want to encourage more people to travel. Many people around me keep making bad excuses not to travel even though that’s their only big dream. I want to prove that it is possible to travel with very little money, that you can travel even if you have no one to join you or if you’re a girl and that you don’t necessarily need to have a plan. I’m hitchhiking from Turkey to Ireland this summer and I don’t want to spend any money on transport whatsoever.
7. Is it on your plans to settle down somewhere in the future and stop travelling as much?
Right now, I enjoy the freedom I have and I love waking up at one place not knowing where I’m going to wake up the next morning. I’m open to anything though. If I feel like I want to settle down, I’ll do it. I would like to have a house somewhere in the mountains, host people from all over the world, have a little bakery there and live an easy life. I want my kids to grow up in the nature not in a city jungle 🙂
8. We know that travelling as a solo female has it’s certain dangers, which is why many girls arw afraid to embark on solo adventures. Would you say this is true, and if so, are there any safety measures that you would recommend our readers to avoid getting in trouble?
I think that being a girl has it’s pros and cons. People normally tend to be more friendlier towards girls but on the other hand, sometimes they are too friendly if you know what I mean wink emoticon Just use your common sense, be firm and don’t ever let anyone make you cry. Take your time before you start trusting somebody. Keep a smile on your face and it’ll get you far smile emoticon Be prepared to make plan B but remember there’s always a solution for everything 🙂
9. Why did you decide to begin a blog?
And more importantly, how did you come up with such a punny name? I love writing and being away from my family and friends means I have to tell the same story many times so blogging makes my life a bit easier even though it’s difficult to keep up with everything while i MON da road wink emoticon I really wanted to include my name in the name of my blog but couldn’t quite work it out until my friend Sophie came up with this idea and I loved it straight away and decided to go for it!
10. Is there anything you would like to say to our readers who dream of living the life you are leaving but are still afraid or unsure of the possible consequences?
Just fucking do it. In the end, you will only regret the chances you didn’t take. Forget thinking about the money, about who to travel with or where to go, just pack your backpack and go. You will always find a way how to figure things out, I promise. If you’re still in doubt though, just get drunk and book that flight ticket wink emoticon My most favourite quote is: “You will never be able to escape from your heart. So it is better to listen to what it has to say.” Paulo Coelho (and alcohol). Good luck and I hope to see you on da road!!!
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