Backpacking through Asia: the story of Elena Martinez Salgado.

By Elisa Cornacchia.

I’m shaking the dust of this crummy little town off my feet and I’m gonna see the world.
George Bailey

I would rather own a little and see the world than own the world and see a little of it.

                                                                                                                  Alexander Sattler

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in you sail. Explore. Dream. Discover.

                                                                                                                    Mark Twain

Premise

I met Elena on the 26th of February, nearly 2 months ago, in the Moon’s Rock monastery in the Anuradhapura district, Sri Lanka. She was the second person I met there after Chandu, the monk who ran the place. Elena immediately made a great impression on me and I felt a force attracting me to her, to find out who this girl was. She was shiny and sparkling in her big white smile, the long curly brown hair fading into blond, deep big brown eyes, a simple white t-shirt, chestnut color loose trousers, a white and tight shell necklace and an ankle bracelet of the same type, no makeup, intense red nail lacquer partially gone, her cute strong Spanish accent, the joy in her limpid voice, the calmness and sweetness in all her being. I liked her at first sight. Within the 10 days we spent together in the monastery, I had the opportunity to know her better, observe her, and appreciate her company every day a little more. 

I found out that we had so much in common that I could recognize myself in her. Sometimes it was like looking at a mirror. I saw the same hunger for experiences, the same thirst for discovering the world, the same unconsciousness and recklessness, the same sparkle, the same depth, the same restlessness. Also, for the first time in my life, I came across another person who spends hours almost every day writing in her diary. We used to sit together at the wooden table in the middle of the little nymph lake with our wrinkled messy agendas and, for hours, we wrote compulsively, making a pause, sometimes, just to sip some of the iced lime drink that Chandu would bring us during the scalding afternoon. She told me she had a lot of things to write down, about the past days of traveling in the South of Sri Lanka, about all the people she met, the things she did, the places she saw, and the feelings she felt. It was like listening to myself. I couldn’t believe it. She terminated the ink in her pen and asked me for one from my well-furnished colorful pencil case. She kept writing even after I had finished and passed to reading a book. She had piles of diaries with all of her life written in it back home. Like me, again. Not only this, she also had a strong relationship with her mother, like me, and, like me, she was going to meet her in Asia soon. Her mama was coming to Sri Lanka very soon and then, they would go back to Spain together. 

She was always so calm. I remember, one morning, the third in the monastery, we had planned a trip all together with the other girls to Anuradhapura. Breakfast was being served late and I, impatient as I was to go and see the first place ever of my Asian backpacking journey, acted with blind rudeness. Elena, instead -and I realized it quite immediately- had assimilated the calmness of the Asian lifestyle, nothing was so important to rush, and nothing so important to be unpleasant for. Now it’s been 2 months since that day, 2 months since I last saw her and since I’m backpacking in Asia and now, honestly, I’m not rushing anything, if so, the contrary… 

At the time she was traveling for 7 months through Asia, backpacking. She told me she started in Thailand with a group of friends for 1 month, then headed to Cambodia for 2 weeks, then 1 month in Vietnam, 3 weeks in Laos, 1 month in Malaysia, 2 in Indonesia, and, lastly, 2 more months in Sri Lanka, her last stop. Meeting a girl of my age who was doing exactly what I craved for so long and started on that same day triggered in me an unrestrainable desire to ask her one thousand questions. So, nearly every day -and especially on the last evening we spent together, the 5th of March- I did it. And this is the account of her story.

Hi Elena, could you please present yourself?

Hola everyone. My name is Elena Martinez Salgado and I was born in 1999. I come from Madrid, Spain. I studied journalism at University, and, after graduating, I worked as a PR for Disney for one year and a half. I love traveling and going on small trips even within my country, I love nature and animals, spending time with family and friends, hiking, engaging in outdoor activities, and writing.

Talking about your Asian journey, when did you decide to do it?

I knew that I wanted to do this for a long time. It was one of my biggest dreams since always. But it took me some time and other experiences to finally be ready for this. 5 years ago, I volunteered in Palawan, Philippines, for one month and a half. On the island, I made many new friends and started traveling with them. There I also met so many backpackers, people traveling in Asia for 6 months or even more… and I thought that I also needed to do it. I promised myself that as soon as I finished University I’d take a gap year and start backpacking through Asia. But, unfortunately, when I graduated Covid was dominating the world, it was 2021, and it was impossible to travel. Since I desperately wanted to go outside of Spain and the faraway and exotic destinations that I fancied were off-limits, I went to Italy. Through the European Solidarity Corps, I found a job in Bologna, where I worked and lived for 7 months. The Corps is an NGO that funds social programs for young people. They don’t give you a salary but they pay for everything so I had no expenses: it was a good occasion to save up some money for my incoming backpacking. I loved it. I loved Italy and the Italians so much. I even learned some Italian. I always thought I wanted to go there and, years ago, I remember demanding to go on Erasmus there, it was my first choice, but then I opted for my year abroad in California, USA. I also did a school exchange in Finland, one in Scotland, and one in France. Before my Asian trip, I had also traveled to quite a few more countries: I’ve been to Morocco, Tunisia, Kenya, the Philippines, China, the USA, Mexico, Portugal,  Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and the UK.

Why did you decide to leave Spain? 

I’ve always loved traveling, this is one of the few constants of my life. It’s funny because it’s not something I’ve learned from my family: they have never been fond of traveling. When I went to the Philippines I fell in love with Asia, and back then I heard many amazing stories about the other Asian countries. I also wanted to go to Latin America but safety was concerning me so I eventually opted for Asia. For most people, if they can do it, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but in my case… I’ll keep backpacking for long periods. Before leaving I thought I had to make the most of it because maybe it was the first and last time. Now I know for sure it will not be the last time. I know that I want to live in a lot of places and have many jobs, visit as many countries as I can, and try as many experiences as I can. I want to travel a lot. Now I’m going back to Spain, but, after some time to relax and enjoy my family, friends, home, and city, I’ll go to work and travel in other countries. I strongly feel that my life will be like this. A nomad’s life. A restless life. Now it’s time to go home, but soon it will be time to leave, again. And then to go back home, and again, and again… I will not stop, not at all. I like to do a lot of things and I can’t think of saving money to buy an apartment and settle down, or engage in a relationship -I’ve never had one- with a boy that would stop me from living the free life I was born for. I’d rather not have savings, a boyfriend, a house, a car, expensive objects, a career, and just… travel a lot. 

So, you told me that you have a degree in journalism. Do you want to become a journalist?

I will not become a journalist even if I like the communication area. I’ve always been into volunteering and I think that I’d prefer to work in an NGO someday, something social or in public relations, as the experiences I had in the Philippines or Italy. I like it and I’m good at it. I love helping people and being in contact with them: I feel that’s what I want to do in my life. Also, I’m super adaptable and, since I want to live in a lot of places, whenever and wherever I’ll find opportunities to go abroad, I’ll take them all.

Could you tell me more about your work and volunteer experiences in the Philippines and Italy?

In the Philippines, I was in a very small village, next to the beach. In the morning I was in a kindergarten taking care of the children, and in the afternoon I was an assistant teacher of English and Math for primary school children. In Italy, instead, it was a small NGO with small projects. The main task was looking for Italian volunteers to send to work on other projects in Europe. The projects were such as helping older people with computers. So mainly what we did was search for volunteers, and we used social media for this: we selected the volunteers, accompanied, trained, and supported them. We also created a newsletter for the NGO. I had the opportunity to choose the country: for example, I decided to look for social projects in Greece and search for volunteers to send there. I found out about the European Solidarity Corps on Google. It’s so sad that no one knows. People are surprised when I tell them about this NGO. I believe it’s this kind of thing people should talk about in schools, and at University. It’s such a great opportunity. You don’t even need a degree. I wanted something related to communications for my CV, and there are so many projects: with kids, the environment, school projects…

How did your family react when you told them you would leave for Asia with a one-way ticket and no date to come back?

My parents were expecting it. They are curados de espanto. How to explain it in English…? They’re used to it because they know how I am. How I always wanted to travel more than anything else. They knew it was going to happen. If it had been my brother or sister it would have been difficult to accept it, but with me… they knew it was going to happen someday. I talked about it for so many years. They were not happy, they were worried of course… so many months traveling in another continent alone… But at the same time my mum queria apoyarme, she wanted to support me. She was proud of me, she was always there for me even if it was difficult for her, she understood me. With my friends, same story. They always told me things like: “Elena, I know you’re crazy enough to tell me that tomorrow you’ll go to Mozambique to live there for one year. Estàs loca, crazy, but I envy you.” I started traveling with 3 friends in Thailand and, before, they used to say “You’re insane, how will you survive all alone when we’ll be gone?” But, eventually, one was about to quit her job to keep traveling with me and the other one said that she’ll do the same one day. They were scared but then they experienced how funny and safe it is to travel in Asia. Traveling changed their mentality.

How did you prepare for it?

I don’t think much about it until I’m already there. I prepare myself more for my physical stuff, I’m never really scared and don’t need to mentally prepare myself for it.. but then, it hits me when I arrive. So, it was not hard preparing to leave but it was sad to say goodbye again to my family, friends, and home… also because I didn’t know when I would return. I had no idea. Yeah…. to leave everything behind is kinda sad… but also, really exciting.

What was your money budget?

Around 600 euros per month.

What was your plan?

I had no plan at all. All I knew was that I was starting with Thailand and that I wanted to go to Vietnam and Indonesia. But I had no plan at all. Before leaving Spain I even bought a flight from Thailand to Cambodia. I thought I needed a flight out of the country. Then I found out that I could just decide on the moment when to book the next flight. I loved Thailand so much but I didn’t want to get stuck there so, eventually, I was glad to go to another place. I decided on the moment, day by day, where to go next. I would ask for recommendations to all the people I met, the fellow backpackers. For example, Laos: I didn’t expect to go there, I didn’t even think of this country, and I loved it. I didn’t expect to travel for so long. 7 months now. Wow. And I’ll leave in one month, so 8 months in total. I thought I would have been so tired after 2 months and crave to go back but that’s definitely not what happened. I always knew I was going to be back for sure for Christmas. That was my matter of fact. It would have been enough. But I didn’t go.

Did you do any workaway or couchsurfing experience?

Couchsurfing no, because in my opinion food and accommodation in Asia is so cheap that it’s not worth it. Workaway, at the beginning my idea was to try it but then the places were so cheap that it was not worth it as well. In Vietnam, I would stay 3 days in each place, which made it impossible to commit to a job. Eventually, I became tired of traveling fast, so I started slowing down in Indonesia and here in Sri Lanka, the two countries where I stayed -I’m staying- for 2 months, and where I started to volunteer. I worked in some hostels and did some beach cleaning. 

Are you a slow or fast traveler?

I enjoyed both a lot. However slow traveling is better to get more into the culture of the place, to create relationships, and to integrate. But I’m not gonna lie, I also enjoyed moving from one place to another: it was very ethnic and exciting, and I met so many interesting people. If I had to do it again, I’d do more volunteering and more slow traveling. Sometimes it’s a necessity for the body and the mind to stay in places that feel like home.

Best memories of these past 7 months?

Impossible to name just a few, because they are so many… but I’ll try. For Thailand, traveling with my friends. We wanted to do it for 6 years, they are my best friends from University, and since the first year, we said we wanted to go to Thailand. Then Covid smashed our plans and we had to wait. This trip was always there to wait for us. It was unbelievable to finally be able to do it after so long. It was our first time to travel together outside of Europe, making it so special. There was a small enchanting island, Koh Tao… it felt so magical. Everyone was so happy. The vibe, this beach place… Then, in Vietnam, one of the highlights was that my cousin came to visit me. Just 10 days before arriving he called me and said he found a cheap flight. I would have never imagined to travel with him. He’s only 20 years old, he’s like a little brother to me and I love him so much. Another big highlight was that loop that you do in 4 days on a motorbike. I had a wonderful group. The local driver I hired was so fun… I spent time with him and created a real connection. The landscapes are the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. Then… my favorite: Laos. Laos was amazing with so many highlights. If I had to pick only one I’d say when we went on that hike… there were 10 people. It was so special. We saw the greatest sunset ever, we cooked dinner together, we played cards, the stars were amazing, and we saw so many shooting stars. So beautiful. My friend and I didn’t sleep at all, we spent the whole night outside talking all the time and, the next morning, we were blessed by a breathtaking sunrise. Then Borneo is the highlight of Malaysia. I loved it so much. I needed to spend some weeks in nature, to stay in non-touristic places because in Thailand it was always too crowded, full of people on vacation. But not Borneo. There I met the best backpackers ever, traveling the world insanely. Then, in Indonesia, I did slow traveling. I focused on writing, and changing my mindset, and I was super at peace with myself. Writing helped me to understand myself more and realize what I lived. I’ve never really been alone until that moment. So I finally had time for myself, to just think, and feel grateful for life. I have a unique connection with Indonesia. A friend joined me and we went to Lombok for 2 weeks, one of the places I stayed the longest. This place felt like home, we had our group of friends. It’s so nice to stay longer in a place and make many connections. We did the Komodo tour and it was tremendous. I lived the most amazing Christmas of my life: I had some super random noodles with my friends there… we did amazing things, we went to stunning viewpoints, and we were like a family. Now, the highlight of Sri Lanka is what’s to come: my mum arriving here to travel together. She’s never been to Asia.

Worst memories and difficulties?

I rented a scooter in Vietnam and one day a little girl me atropelló, knocked me down. It was raining so much. There were always scooters coming. And then, in a matter of a second… she hit me. I remember seeing my shoes flying far away. It was funny because my cousin didn’t do anything, he was in shock. The girl driving the motorbike was 10 years old. She was more scared than me. Another bad experience: I left my passport in a hostel and realized it only when I was on a 10-hour bus to reach a place near the airport since the very next day I had the flight. Luckily a friend was coming in the same direction and was able to bring me the passport. In Indonesia, I was driving a scooter and my mobile phone fell and I ran over it by accident. I stayed 10 days without it. Then that time I took a 27-hour bus. I thought we were going to die, it was raining so much, crossing from Vietnam to Laos. I was the only foreigner, none spoke English and I didn’t know what to do, I had no internet, they had my bags, I didn’t know where to go, no battery on my phone, it was so dark… that day I wondered: “what am I doing with my life…?” Then I was eaten by everything, I had leeches, bedbugs, mosquitos of course…  

Most interesting backpackers you’ve met?

I remember a French couple who was traveling for 2 years, had a baby on the way, and kept traveling with the newborn.

Is it dangerous? Did you feel unsafe? Did you have problems with local people? 

Super safe. I had no problem with people. Of course, I met some creepy people – who never met one?- but I never had a really bad experience. Southeast Asian people are generally very friendly, welcoming, generous, and kind.

Where would you go back?

To Laos and Indonesia for sure. They are huge, beautiful and there’s so much to see. Sri Lanka and Thailand too. Cambogia, Malaysia, and Vietnam not necessarily.

What would you tell to people who complain because they say they don’t have enough money or time to travel?

This is one of the biggest excuses. You can travel in such a cheap way. It’s about willingness, not money. You can do everything on a low budget. You can go to the 3 euros hostels and buy the super cheap local food, you can do volunteering experiences, apply for workaway jobs, or go Couchsurfing. Of course, it’s not always comfortable and you have to adapt and be flexible, but saying that you don’t have enough money or time or opportunities… It’s an excuse. Comfortable travel is expensive. Instead, backpacking, economically, is within easy reach.

What did you learn during these months? 

The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that it’s never too late to do things. I met so many people backpacking also at 35. It’s okay to do it also at older ages. It’s never too late. For anything. Even, though I thought it was not attainable to do it at 40, I was wrong. I’ve grown in so many senses. I feel like, even though I still have many insecurities, I’ve come to the point of realizing that I will always do with my life what I want to do, no matter what other people say. I know that I am capable of doing all of it on my own. Now I know I can do whatever I want to do.

Will you backpack again? 

For sure.

Where would you like to go and why? 

Central America. Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica… These are places that I’ve always dreamt of.

And now, what will you do? 

After going back home, I have no idea what I’ll do with my life… if I’ll stay in Madrid, in Europe or not. Probably I will stay some months in Madrid and then go again. I’ll see what happens.

What do you miss the most?

My family, my friends and my dogs. These were the months I appreciated them the most. Distance made me understand the importance of these people who love me and whom I love. And I’m so grateful to have them, and my health, everything I have back home, all the opportunities, the gift of life. 

A person that you met whose story impacted you?

All the families who had so many kids and nothing and still were all so kind and generous, so grateful for even a little help. I remember a lady in Indonesia, who lost her husband and was terribly sick but always so joyful, animaba todo el mundo, she cheered everyone.

New things that you tried?

A lot of food. Even though I’m vegetarian and sometimes it is hard to find something I can eat, I try to taste as much as possible. Moreover, before this trip, I hated every sport, but now I discovered a passion for hiking. 

We’ve spoken for a long time. Muchas gracias Elena, I truly appreciated our conversation.

Thanks to you. And buena suerte con tus viajes amiga! Good luck with your travels my friend!

Post scriptum. 17th of April. 

Elena came back home at the end of March. The traveling with her mum went great. Now she is back in Madrid, having a joyful time with her beloved family, friends, and dogs, looking for a job in her city and outside. Still not knowing where to go and what to do next, she’s enjoying her Spain, going on day trips with the family. Coming back brought weird feelings in her as she couldn’t assimilate the change at the beginning. She wrote me: “Es como si no hubiese pasado nada en este tiempo. Como que vuelves y todo está igual que cuando te fuiste y parece que lo que has vivido sea otra vida. No sé bien cómo explicarlo…” (It’s like if nothing really happened during these months. You come back and everything is exactly the same as before and it seems to you that all of what you lived was another life. I don’t know how to explain this feeling…) 

Well, Elena, I know exactly how you feel. All the times I lived abroad were like parallel lives to me, because when I came back home I was so different, so much richer was my inside world and so changed my view on everything surrounding me, so much had I grown… while everything and everyone around me was just the same. I grew and did and saw and experienced things my family and friends and boyfriend couldn’t even imagine and this created a distance between us, the distance between a new understanding of things and the understanding of the only things people usually know in their life: their town, their family, their house, their job, they gym, their spot on the sofa, their comfortable cup of tea. When I came back from 2 months in India I was not the same while everything back in Italy was, and the same story when I came back from 8 months in France, 3 in Ireland, 3 in Scotland, 3 in Brazil, and Costa Rica and all the other traveling I did. You have to adjust to a world that is not walking at your same pace, you go back, after learning so much, after touching with your own hands the realities most people know -if they know- only through books or documentaries, and the people back there, they’re just the same, they’ve seen the same faces, done the same things, learned little new. While you, you have changed so much. You left everything that was safe and comfortable to jump into the unknown, and you did it all by yourself, without anyone else to help you or make decisions for you. For each country you went to, you started a brand new each time, learning a new language, a new code, a new culture, new habits, new way of living and thinking.

Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s OK. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.

Anthony Bourdain

Anyway, Elena will definitely not stop traveling and discovering the world and herself. (and me neither).

¡Hasta luego! See you soon!