Nguyen Thi Khanh Huyen, the young woman known for her backpack trip to more than 20 countries during the last two years, had a meeting and book signing with her fans to introduce her latest book in Ho Chi Minh City last weekend.

“I traveled for experiencing new things, and wrote the book telling things that truly happened in my trip. I wrote it firstly for myself,” the 22-year-old shared with around 200 local youths who came to see the girl who started her trip around the world with only US$700.

At the meeting, Khanh Huyen, who is better known as Huyen Chip, explained that she had to save money as well as work at places she visited to earn money for the next destination. The girl also received help from local residents.

“A tip to find a job is proving to local residents how dynamic you are. They will trust you and give you a job,” Huyen shared.

Huyen also recounted the moment she decided to make the trip. “I didn’t make any schedule. In May 2010, I was bored with my job in Malaysia so I decided to make a three-day trip to Brunei. And then the journey prolonged randomly.”

In the book “Xach Ba Lo Len Va Di – Tap 1: Chau A La Nha. Dung Khoc!” (Pack Your Bag and Go – First Episode: Asia is Home. Don’t Cry!), which has become the September best-seller of local Lazada Books online book selling site, the girl who traveled from Asia to Africa explains why she chose to go alone.

“When you travel with your friends, you have to spend time with them and make decisions together. On the contrary, on my own I have chances to talk and make friends with natives, and I could spend time for myself,” she said.

Huyen gives autographs at the book signing. Photo: Tuoi Tre

The young woman, who founded the Free Hugs Foundation in 2007, which focuses on helping disadvantaged children across Vietnam, also talked about her habit of travelling without a map.

“So I was forced to asked natives and they would show me interesting places which are not on the map.”

Experiences in backpacking were also shared at the meeting. “Many people said it’s hard to get visas to some countries so they didn’t even try. But to me, we’ll never know until we try. If I failed for the first time, I’ll try for the second and third time and find help to get the visa.”

The girl from Nam Dinh concluded the meeting by sharing that she is going to go to Taiwan, and 2013 will be a year to experience South American countries.

“I don’t care how many countries I’ve been through, how much money I’ve spent, what’s important to me is what I’ve learned and how many good friends I’ve met.”

The English version of “Xach Ba Lo Len Va Di – Tap 1: Chau A La Nha. Dung Khoc!” is scheduled to be released in November.

The book's cover