Travel pursuit: Young wanderlusters redefine dream holidays

SINGAPORE – They do not let school or a full-time job stand in the way of their travel dreams. Even if they have to scrimp, save or juggle side hustles, they find creative ways to fund their next getaway.

Whether it is discovering new cultures, building bonds across borders, savouring new cuisines, capturing evocative vignettes of the world or chasing the rush of catching K-pop idols live, these four young people are turning every journey into a story worth sharing – which they do on their social media accounts.

Budget travel, priceless connections

At 19, Ms Jaedyn Choo went on her first solo adventure – a two-week backpacking trip in Thailand in 2023.

She was eager to meet new people from around the world, and her itinerary included seeing the Golden Buddha in Bangkok, partying in Chiang Mai and tubing down Pai River in northern Thailand. Including flights, she spent $800 on that trip.

Now a third-year student in the Media, Arts & Design School at Singapore Polytechnic, she has since backpacked to another three countries.

To fund her travels, she juggles part-time jobs such as banquet server alongside her school commitments.

She stretches her dollar by searching for affordable flights – once snagging a $30 one-way ticket from Langkawi, Malaysia, to Singapore – and by staying in hostels.

“When I plan trips with friends, accommodation can be $40 to $60 a night,” she mused, adding that this amount sounds “crazy” from her budget-traveller point of view. She usually spends between $10 and $15 a night on hostels.

While her shortest trip – to Kuala Lumpur and Cameron Highlands – was just five days, she usually packs in multiple cities in the same country over about two weeks. Her school schedule prevents her from longer travels, she said.

A 15-day stay in Langkawi, her longest in one city, was her most memorable.

She said: “It was my first time staying in an all-female hostel. It felt very cosy and it rained a lot, so all the girls would just sit and watch movies together.”

Twelve hours before her flight home, Ms Choo spontaneously extended her trip, which was originally set to be a week long. 

Her favourite memories revolve around people from different backgrounds and of different ages hanging out together. 

At a hostel in Okinawa, Japan, she recalls having dinner in the communal area and listening to a Canadian man, who looked to be in his 50s, regaling fellow travellers with his tales about backpacking in India.

She said she was struck by the community spirit and shared sense of adventure among the group of strangers from countries such as Canada, Chile and Germany.

Ms Choo’s parents had initially opposed the idea of their teenage daughter backpacking solo, worrying about her safety. But she said she asserted her rights as “an adult” and went ahead.

She takes precautions such as ensuring there are others around and frequently updating her parents about her location.

As she has been able to build a following on TikTok, “I think my mum is a little bit proud of me, so it’s not so bad”, she said.

“Obviously, they still don’t love it or encourage it, but now they’re just irritated,” she quipped.

Posting her travel tales on her TikTok account (@jaejaepeanut) since October 2023, Ms Choo has amassed more than 18,000 followers on the platform. 

She enjoys posting not just about backpacking, but also vlogs about her life on TikTok. 

“I have a lot of fun. Every now and then, I get to do ads, which is great because I can use the money to travel more.”

She started earning from TikTok ads in March, and makes between $600 and $2,000 a month.

But she does not see a future in being a content creator. “I try not to put too much weight on it. I just post and hope to earn money.

“So when it stops, it stops.” 

The fangirl era tour

K-pop fangirl Genevieve Sia was just 17 when she attended her first overseas concert in Seoul, South Korea, in 2019.

She paid about $2,200 for tickets to three shows of boy band Wanna One across three days, saving up “months of allowance” and selling second-hand items, such as clothes, online. Her parents covered all other travel expenses.

Now, the 22-year-old communications student at University at Buffalo – Singapore Institute of Management said she is adopting a Yolo, or “you only live once”, mindset when it comes to travelling to see her favourite K-pop groups. 

“You never know when your last day is, so I want to maximise my youth and travel for concerts when I still have the capacity to. I doubt it will be as easy when I’m working a full-time job.”

The fan of K-pop boy bands The Boyz and NCT Dream added: “Since I’ve become an adult, it’s been easier to fly for concerts, so I try to go to every Asia stop for groups I like whenever they tour.”

She has lost track of the number of overseas concerts she has attended, but said she and her friends have been to at least seven shows of The Boyz’s recent world tour, Zeneration.  

She usually uploads short post-trip vlogs about her getaways on TikTok and YouTube, and puts her earnings as a content creator towards travelling for concerts. She declined to say how much she makes.

Ms Sia estimates a trip to catch one artiste or band performing over multiple days can cost her between $5,000 and $6,000 for concert tickets, flights and accommodation. She funds this herself.

She usually attends overseas concerts because she wants to see the artiste again, and her family does not object to her pursuits, she said. 

“Most concerts are on the weekends, so it doesn’t really affect my school schedule. I can always fly on Friday after class and fly back in time for classes on Monday.” 

The content creator, who has over 188,000 followers on TikTok (@genevievesjy), said: “It’s much more exciting when concerts are during a school term because it gives me something to look forward to every few weeks.”

When she was in Bangkok in August for The Boyz’s concert and fan-sign session, where fans get to meet idols up close, Ms Sia said one of the band members recognised her. 

“Chang-min actually told me he always sees me at their concerts and that he knew it was my second time at a physical fan-sign. I don’t ever expect any of my idols to remember me, but the fact that he remembered me from a short interaction really touched me.

“Things like this make me think it’s worth it to keep travelling to see them again.”

Getting his showreel on the road

Mr Isaac Lee Zhi Wen, a third-year student in Nanyang Polytechnic’s diploma in mass media management, travels for his videography and photography pursuits. 

The 19-year-old has been making travel vlogs for about five years now. He started at 14 while on a family vacation. 

“I was inspired by travel videographers Benntk and Casey Neistat, whose content resonated deeply with me,” he said.

He has visited eight destinations, including Angsana Ihuru, an atoll in the Maldives, Bangkok, Osaka and Tokyo.

He usually travels with a friend or his family, as his parents are concerned about his safety.

His videos are cinematic showreels of the places he visits, as well as the locals he meets. He usually posts the videos on Instagram (@maybeimisaac).

He said taking travel videos and photos is his way of expressing his creativity and immersing himself in the moment. “I can shut off the world and focus on capturing the present through my camera lens.” 

He typically carries a lot of videography gear – which may include multiple camera lenses and a drone. “Depending on the trip, I might have to pack lighter or buy extra baggage to accommodate all the equipment,” he said.

On a trip to Bali with a fellow videographer in March 2023, he had to purchase an extra 20kg of checked baggage to accommodate his filming equipment, which included a new drone that cost $1,900.

He had a close call with the drone while attempting to film a wide shot of the beach during that trip.

“The drone’s battery started running low unexpectedly. We had to land it quickly, but since it was my first time flying a drone, I wasn’t sure how to safely catch and land it,” he said. “The drone almost crashed, but thankfully, we managed to bring it down safely just in time. It was a nerve-racking moment, but it taught me a lot about handling equipment under pressure.”

Mr Lee funds his trips by taking on freelance videography projects around once in two months.

“I usually do corporate or event videography. It pays about $1,200 a project, so I save the money for new equipment and trips.”

Stamping her culinary passport

From weekend getaways to two week-long escapades, Ms Nadiah Motosir, 27, travels at least once a month to try new foods and experiences.

She has been to 30 cities in Asia, and prefers investing in travel experiences instead of material possessions.

She squirrels away about a third of her take-home pay from her job in corporate strategy, where she earns between $5,500 and $7,500 a month.

“In Singapore, I’m frugal. I eat at home, take public transport and shop only when needed. My splurges are reserved for travel,” she said.

And splurge she does. She budgets $500 to $1,000 a day for meals and activities during her holidays, which last around three days for South-east Asian destinations and around a week for stops further afield, such as Australia.

To ensure that she tries only the best, Ms Motosir said she meticulously maps out must-see spots and researches food options.

In Japan, she once travelled from Osaka to Kobe just for dinner at Royal Mouriya, a renowned spot for Kobe beef. She paid 35,000 yen (S$313) for a meal of 120g of A5 sirloin and 120g of A5 Kobe rib-eye steak, along with starters and a drink. 

“The experience was fantastic, and the beef was delicious,” she said. 

And she still savours the memory of a venison donburi she had at Amano-Ya restaurant in Yamanakako, a village near Mount Fuji in Japan.

She discovered the dish by chance while cycling with a travel buddy during Japan’s Golden Week in May 2023, when many businesses – especially in less touristy areas – were closed.

Hungry and curious at 7am, they stumbled upon the shop and noticed locals enthusiastically tucking into venison donburi, which cost around 1,400 yen.

“The meat was tender and flavourful, and it turned out to be one of the best dishes I’ve ever had, despite my initial hesitation about eating something so heavy in the morning.”  

She posts her foodie stories on social media platform Lemon8 (@deznadz). Her posts have more than 12,000 “likes” and “saves”, and she has over 1,300 followers, whose supportive messages motivate her, she said.

Ms Motosir said her best memories tend to come from quieter areas where locals gather – “places that feel genuine, not curated for Instagram”. 

On her travel goals, she said: “Ideally, I’d love to visit every country at least once, but realistically, I have limited annual leave. My focus is on quality over quantity, so I’ll probably prioritise four to six new destinations in Asia for now.

“I’m not racing against anyone. I want to savour the experiences fully.”

Correction note: In an earlier version of the story, we said that Ms Nadiah Motosir has 12,100 followers on Lemon8 instead of over 12,000 likes and saves. This has been corrected.