Our next Tripfezroamer is the amazing Nabila Asyiqin!
T: A short bio about yourself, A 3-4 lines that best describe you, what you do for a living and so…
N: I’m Nurul Nabila Asyiqin, a diploma holder in Applied Science. Currently, I’m a fulltime model. I leave out my modelling life when I travel and become a completely different person; more adventurous and I also love backpacking with my friends, or even going solo.
T: Where have you been?
N: Iran was my 13th country, and still counting. I’ve been to Switzerland, Myanmar, Thai, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Brunei, Korea and Indonesia.
T: What’s your favourite place so far? Why?
N: My favourite place would be Indonesia, as the country has so many to offer, from beautiful islands to mountains and waterfalls. I could have everything I want in just one place which is totally awesome. And I had my first sailing experience which was from Lombok to the Islands of Flores. It was truly challenging as we suffered from all sort of motion sickness. But my friends and I did get through it which was a huge achievement for all of us. Aside from just backpacking, I am also an open water diver, which explains my love for the ocean. I could go on a dive trip for days and enjoy every bit of it.
T: One unforgettable travel experience or incident that sticks in your mind…?
N: The most unforgettable trip was my Indochina trip, it took me two weeks to complete it. We covered 5 countries in total from Myanmar back to Thailand and took the bus almost every day to travel from one place to another.
For me, it was a hardcore backpacking trip as I was the only female on the trip and I had to be as tough as the others. Since we are travelling within certain budget limit the journey gets more challenging especially when the price of accommodations and food are crazy! We brought our camping stove and cooked by the roadside, slept on the bus station floor and camped.
What makes it more memorable is that we went to visit schools, played Ukelele for the locals, countless bus rides, met other backpackers along the way and what’s important is the experience we all shared as a team. Unfortunately when we’re in the city of Hanoi, my phone was snatched, we were scammed and had to walk really far to catch a bus. But thank god we stick together as a team!
T: What was the most challenging thing about travelling?
N: The most challenging thing would be the journey itself, and sometimes the things you face along the journey such as the language barrier between you and the locals which makes it harder to communicate, or going to places that are difficult to reach or surviving in a place that has no halal food.
I think travelling solo is much more challenging than going with a group of friends. When you travel solo, you are in full charge of every single aspect such as your finance, itinerary, accommodation and such.
T: What place is top of your bucket list?
N: Bhutan, Tibet, and Himalayan areas hike to Annapurna Base Camp in Nepal, watch the Aurora in Iceland and live in the snowy woods in Russia.
T: One advice for travellers?
N: One advice for travellers: ditch your smartphone, it’s okay to use them once in a while to get information of the place you’re going, or to update but never get into using your phone all times. Travelling is about living back to basics. I’ve traveled both with internet connectivity and without and I have to say I enjoyed more without any distraction from Instagram, Facebook, and any other social media.
Since I was travelling alone, I taught myself to communicate more with the locals and other travellers and to gather info from them without relying on the net. If you are unsure, do proper research and study before going anywhere.