How I Accidentally Became a Backpacker (and Could Never Go Back)
The Girl Who Loved Routine and Feared Hostel Kitchens
I wasn’t always like this.
There was a time I was the shy girl. The introvert. The one who overthought saying hi to a stranger.
I loved routine. I needed a plan.
Solo travel? That sounded like something other people did — the girls on TikTok with perfect buns and matching packing cubes.
But then I did something totally out of character.
I replied to a random post in a Facebook group.
Three Strangers, One Facebook Post, and My Plot Twist
It was my first solo trip, but not really.
Because thanks to that Facebook post, I ended up planning it with two other girls — strangers from the internet. Totally safe and not chaotic at all (lol).
One of them?
She turned out to be my soul sister.
We instantly clicked, shared snacks, SIM cards, secrets… and three years later?
We’re still backpacking the world together.
She’s the barefoot-dancing, mosquito-bitten, “this is the plot” screaming friend I never knew I needed.
Backpacking Turned Me Into Someone I Never Knew I Could Be
Somewhere between the $1 noodles, 26-hour buses, and hostel game nights… I cracked open.
I became louder.
Funnier.
More open. More free.
Less scared of people and way more down for chaos.
I started saying yes to things I would’ve run from before:
Late-night tuk tuk rides, strangers turning into besties, jungle hikes with no plan.
I broke my routines, my comfort zone, and my inner control freak.
Backpacking didn’t just change my life — it changed ME.
I found the girl I didn’t know was hiding under all that fear.
Why I Can Never Go Back to Normal Life (and Honestly, I Don’t Want To)
After that first trip, I came back to “normal life.”
Back to my bed. My job. My routines.
And I hated it.
Now I take longer breaks.
3 months became 4.
Next year? 6–7.
And if my job won’t let me go — I’ll quit.
Because I’ve felt real freedom now, and I can’t unfeel it.
I want a life where every day feels like a movie scene.
I don’t want to save up for two weeks off once a year — I want the plot every damn day.
Strangers Become Family (and I’d Choose Them Again Every Time)
What no one tells you is this:
You go for the places, but you stay for the people.
Travel friends aren’t just friends — they’re the weirdest, wildest, most soul-connected humans you’ll ever meet.
They see you at your worst (in hostel bunks with food poisoning) and your best (dancing barefoot in Bali at sunset).
They become family.
And they make every country feel like home.
So If You’re Scared… Good. That Means You’re About to Grow.
You don’t have to be fearless.
You just have to go.
You just have to say yes — to the ticket, to the bunk bed, to the “wanna get lost together?”
Because somewhere out there, your soul sister is waiting in a hostel bunk.
Your favorite stranger is one bus ride away.
And you — the real, unfiltered, delulu version of you — is ready to show up.
So pack your bag. Romanticize the chaos.
And I’ll see you on the road.
With love (and sand in my shoes),
Ines, your delulu sister
🎒✨