A wise woman wishes to be no one’s enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone’s victim.
– Maya Angelou
My name is Layla. I am from a small country in the Caucasus region – Georgia, Tbilisi. This year I will be turning 30 years-old, and marking five full tears of uninterrupted travelling around the world, and I am still on the road.
As of now, I have been to 58 countries. I hitched my way to virtually all of them. Many of them I visited more than once and in a few of them I have spent a significant amount of time.
Me and my ride Zhang. He and his friend picked me up on my way to China.
As my friend once said:
’’Humans are little dipshits, and it is my responsibility to try to understand them because I am one of them”.
What Is The Blog About?
When I began travelling, I never contemplated sharing my stories through any medium of any sort. I had no interest in having a Youtube channel, an Instagram account, and so on. Furthermore, I had no wish in making money in such a way.
In five years I have not changed my mind in that regard. But I decided that the time to share my stories has come. I believe that by now I have accumulated sufficient enough understanding and experiences which, I hope, would be of value to some people.
This is not a classical travel blog. You will not find here tips on how to travel on 50$ per day; how to find cheap flights; how to pack your bag; where to eat; and which country to travel to on a Full Moon if you are Virgo.
In my blog I will reveal to you how to travel with no money at all for months straight; I will attempt to show what else is possible in this world; present my observations about people from different parts of the world; show ways how woman can travel alone without having to fear for her well-being; discuss gender roles.
Because, ultimately, travelling with no money is not just possible; it can be an immensely beneficial, rewarding and unique experience to have.
My Life Before I Began Travelling with No Money
Although, I believe that at this point in my life I am far more confident and capable individual than I ever was before, I still think of my early twenties with a pinch of nostalgia and as the pinnacle of my life.
Back then life was easy. I was studying on a faculty of veterinary science; I had a group of friends; a partner; and a job which provided me with decent financial stability. I was one of the best students in class, one the best employees at work, and I believe that my reputation among my close circle of people was rather favorable.
Georgia is quite a conservative and traditional country. The way gender roles are divided there, it would be safe to say that there is no woman in the country who did not experience substantial limitations at any point in her life. Thus, my upbringing was fairly devoid of much intellectual or emotional stimulation with various conservative ideas and restrictions in place. But it still did not suppress my innate curiosity and stubbornness to live my life as I please.
Most certainly I was not thinking about travelling with no money around the world for several years as a way of satisfying these needs of mine. But I believe that these qualities of my character were one of the leading factors of why I left my past life behind.
Only one component was missing in order to kick start the process of transformation.
I Met Mr. X in Early 2020
Covid pandemic without a doubt has irrevocably changed our lives.
Right before the madness began I had a lot of foreign friends and acquaintances. Some of them were just travelling through, and some were expats, working or studying in Georgia.
Once in a conversation an American friend of mine mentioned ‘’a guy’’, who apparently, has been travelling for three years with no money and no phone. ‘’He usually sits quietly in the corner of the room and does not talk much’’, – he added.
This short description of him intrigued me deeply. Just as many people I have met on my journey, back then I romanticized the idea of freedom that comes with such travels. Fortunately for me, an acquaintance of mine was hosting him at the time. So, one evening when I hosted a party in my new apartment, I invited a bunch of people, including her. He showed up, too. We had met before on other gatherings, but it was the first time that we actually spoke.
My immediate impression of him was that he was quite an opinionated, articulate and outspoken individual. His warm smile and deep thoughtful eyes mesmerized me to a point of no return.
From the get-go his unique ability to tell a story in an incredibly vivid and compelling way astonished me. He was not simply recalling the events of the past, he was able to recreate the mood of the moment and make his listener experience that moment through the words he uttered. Just listening to him speak was an experience in itself.
He was leading an exceptional, extraordinary life that I could not even to begin to imagine. But now that I had met him, things would never be the same.
And Then Covid-19 Started
Because of numerous restrictions that were put in place due to Covid-19 pandemic I was both working and studying from home. And slowly, but steadily life became as monotonous and dull as it has never been before.
The situation at work became ever more toxic, and I began losing interest in my studies as well. I grew somewhat depressed and despondent. It is clear to me now that I was feeling that way not as much because of the pandemic, but because I have learnt of a whole another world that I did not know existed. I developed an appetite for life. Because life that once was carefree and jolly was beginning to become unbearable to me.
I was craving changes!
The mysterious stranger had to stay in Georgia for the foreseeable future. We communicated throughout the year on regular basis.
Ultimately, around March 2021 he suggested that we leave Georgia together and travel around Europe.
It took me good three months to make all the necessary preparations. And in June 2021 we left for good.
Travelling with No Money Was a Scary Proposition
Changing one’s own life in such a qualitative way can never be easy. Those few months before my departure were filled with fear, stress and anxiety. The unknown was intimidating.
I knew if I left, there was no going back to the old ways. And I was fearful of the thought that I was too weak to handle all the pressure I would have to face. It had very little to with the fact that I am a woman. It was more so a disbelief that I had it in me to do this; I even wrote a letter to my future self, imploring to never go back.
I was not going on a vacation, or a Euro trip, mind you. It was a life changing journey, and the greater would be this change, the greater consequences would follow. Imagine a house that is somewhat solid and has almost all the necessary amenities, but leaves more to be desired. In order to make it more comfortable for living, one would have to partially destroy and rebuild it, adding, perhaps, another floor, more rooms and furniture.
In a similar way I would have to deconstruct what I had known before, and reconstruct my worldview from anew.
As much as I would like to say that I hit the road full of spirit of adventure and enthusiasm, I more so rolled on it. The truth is – I am not a very adventurous person. I can spend days indoors, just reading a book, or listening to some good album, or watching films.
But I was told once that sometimes not knowing what you want is not that necessary; knowing what you don’t want is a good enough start. And at that point I knew exactly what I did not want.
The First Months of My Journey
When we left Georgia, we had only 500$ in our pockets. Each of us had two backpacks – I had one 13-14 kilogram backpack on my back and another 5-7 kilogram backpack in front of me. My first big struggle was physical one. I was absolutely gassed after a few kilometre hike; the heat of summer in Turkey was killing me; my sleep was poor.
Soon the mental struggle kicked it. It was draining talking and being exposed to numerous strangers throughout the day; being in a new place on daily basis; having to improve my navigation skills.
Because of my low endurance levels, my companion had decided that we would stay in hospitality venues more often. Thus, 500$ finished within a month, and when we arrived in Serbia we had no money at all.
The first month in Serbia we struggled a lot. To make things easier for ourselves, my companion suggested that we volunteered in hostels. This way we would not have to think about accommodation. Thus, for three weeks we had a place to stay, but no food. He lost about ten kilograms during that period, and I eight.
Later I suggested that, perhaps, we could ask some restaurants if they could give us leftover food. He executed my plan successfully. One restaurant agreed to give us a portion of a meal they cooked for the employees.
But, ultimately, our fortunes changed when we moved to another hostel. The owner was quite satisfied with our dedication and work ethics and offered an allowance of 1000 Serbian dinar (≈ 10$) per person per day.
I remember, when we got our first allowance, the first thing we did was to rush to the store and buy a big bar of Milka chocolate.
My First Encounter with the Scandinavian Countries
Denmark was the first European country to lift all restrictions in winter 2022. As soon as we heard the news, our course was set. We left the Balkans in late March. The next couple months we spent in the Scandinavian countries. Primarily in Denmark, Sweden and Norway.
After a long and tiresome year in Serbia travelling there was almost like heaven! (Apart from the first night in Sweden when we had to sleep outside).
Our first few days in Denmark were very smooth and highly enjoyable: a man, our ride, invited us to stay with his family on our first day there; a couple days later a woman picked us up and also invited us to stay with her and her husband.
The next day we looked for a place to stay in Skagen by knocking on doors. A man from the second house that we knocked on invited us in. That evening he informed us that he was leaving in the morning and added that we could stay for the next four days until he would come back together with his family.
In Sweden a farmer picked us up and invited us to stay at his farm for the night, or stay longer and work a little bit if we wished to.
In Norway we stayed at the hotel that was closed for the season. The owners offered us to cook for their special guests who were coming over next week. They paid us equivalent of 600$ for four dinners.
Although, Denmark ranks the highest in my list of countries I enjoy the most, I have spent significant amount of my time in Norway in the subsequent years. And I speak some Norwegian, too.
Ultimately We Had to Part Ways
During the first two years or so of us travelling together we separated on a number of occasions for a few weeks. We competed to the North Cape from the south of Norway; I travelled through some parts of Russia for the first time; I stayed for month and a half in the Faroe Islands.
The difference between travelling together versus all by myself was tremendous. It was only then that I began to understand how much it mattered that I am a woman. And I enjoyed travelling alone, predominantly because of the fact that I did not have to struggle as much.
But, finally, the time has come when it was decided that we had to part ways. I did have sufficient experience by then and I knew I could manage on my own, but once again anxiety took over me. And again, the world began to seem too big and I too small.
I Exceeded My Own Expectations
I got a hang of my new situation rather quickly. Early on I began to understand the advantages of travelling alone soon (especially as a woman), and by now this is the only way I wish to travel.
I have travelled through most European countries; visited the Far East of Russia twice; travelled through Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asian countries, China, South East Asian countries, Latin America all by myself.
My first day in Iran. I met this woman (Mariam) and her husband while looking for a place to stay.
Being alone in some of these countries was an intimidating proposition, but I knew I had to do it in order to liberate myself from unnecessary fear and to learn how to navigate successfully this male dominated world.
But, apart from that, I am build new bonds of friendship and companionship. And meet new people who see value in having a new experiences.
This family hosted me over Easter holidays.
An experience I always think of with tenderness.
Would you like to know more?