A young man from Vietnam has completed his single-handed trip that lasted more than half a year to seven other Southeast Asian nations on a bicycle, an experience he described as completely worthwhile.

Le Van Hien left behind his job as a quality assurance engineer at a Japanese firm, as well as disapproval from his family, to embark on a journey through Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Cambodia.

“I decided to temporarily stop my work commitments to begin the trip because I’m young. If I fall down, I can stand back up. Being 25 is neither too old nor too young, but is enough to enable me to get my own life lessons,” Hien said.

After broaching the plan, Hien initially encountered strong disagreement from his parents, who felt unhappy about his departure in late January taking place at a time when the Vietnamese New Year – a major traditional national event for family reunion – was nearing.

The parents also had a sense of misgiving about their son’s traveling abroad alone but his months-long persuasion relieved their worry.

Hien set out on the plan in Ho Chi Minh City and pedaled with three friends through several areas in Vietnam, handing over New Year presents to orphans and children with physical disabilities along the way.

He crossed the foreign countries unaccompanied and did not change into another means of transportation from his bicycle.

He explained that a bicycle requires no fuel expense, generating health benefits and providing him opportunities to enjoy scenic views.

But this means of transport is not without its problems, as the man had to ascend mountain slopes in the heat that might reach 50 degrees Celsius in the tropical countries.

While taking a short cut, Hien once found himself lost and the bicycle stuck on a muddy jungle path and managed to escape the situation with great difficulty.

He also faced the language barrier especially when traveling in the countryside and decreased appetite for food due to culinary differences between the foreign areas and his hometown.

Kindness from locals left a deep impression on Hien.

He recalled being given expensive shoes for free by a Thai seller shortly after walking away in sadness from a failure to bargain with him over them.

Many locals arranged accommodation for Hien when he could not find a place to sleep during the night.

The man stayed in southern Thailand with an extended family, with whom he savored meals and repaired boats on a beach.

“The family had a coconut plantation, that’s why I drank coconut milk many days in a row to my heart’s content,” Hien recollected.

He developed his own conception about travel following the trip.

Would-be bicycle tourists should first realize that their purpose is to widen their horizons and learn, not to simply derive enjoyment from the journey, Hien said.

They also need to have a curious mind about what they see and find the answer by themselves and join native people for work to obtain first-hand experience.

“I was really happy about the trip, in which I did everything I like, saw everything I had never seen, including beautiful scenery, and met numerous kind-hearted people,” Hieu said.

“I overcame myself and did things I had thought I was unable to do.

“I have no regrets about it.”

Hien has returned to his engineer job, making money and hatching a plan for another journey.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!