Just like to relax in a clean and beautiful place, but during the trip of more than 1,400 km, Chuc Linh had 3 days without changing clothes and eating instant noodles on the roadside.
One day in November 2021, Truong Chuc Linh (30 years old, Ho Chi Minh City) carried a backpack full of T-shirts and shorts, got on a motorbike to “escape” from the stuffy and boring city. As a female-to-male transgender, he is often pressured to comment on how feminine and soft he is. At this time, his lover also said that he broke up, making him even more depressed.
Being a person who is afraid of riding a motorbike far away, Linh drove all the way from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Lat (Lam Dong) and stayed here for a while. Negative thoughts have not stopped haunting him, even though he has moved to another city. So after 2 months, he decided to do something he had never done before, which was to travel across Vietnam, both to discover the beauty of the country and to see his limitations.
Near Tet, Linh drove along National Highway 1A from Da Lat to Ninh Van Bay (Khanh Hoa), Tuy Hoa (Phu Yen), Quy Nhon (Binh Dinh), Quang Ngai, Hoi An (Quang Nam), Hue City (Thua Thien). Hue), Dong Hoi (Quang Binh), Thanh Hoa, Hanoi. He didn’t plan or book hotels in advance. At each point, he stayed at least one day to visit scenic spots such as Ninh Van bay, Dai Lanh electric cape, Ninh Van Bay, Ly Son island… In, Quang Ngai was the place where he stayed the longest. , up to 7 days because of delicious food, many beautiful attractions.
Also because he did not book the hotel in advance, many times he encountered a situation of “bad crying and laughing”. Linh went from Ghenh Da Dia to Song Cau town (Phu Yen) when it was dark, no hotel accepted foreigners for fear of Covid-19. On the day near Tet, there are no people on the road, but all trees, no restaurants, no accommodation. Asking people, he decided to drive straight to Quy Nhon (Binh Dinh). Fortunately, at 8 pm, he found a hotel to stay in and ate the best dinner when his stomach was raging.
Previously, Linh did not like to drive long distances because he was tired and dangerous, he often took a plane or a bus to his destination and stayed in a hotel. On the road through Vietnam, in the early days of driving, he only dared to go at a speed of 50 km/h. Every time the truck passed by honking, his heart stopped, sometimes when he saw the car passing at high speed, he actively stopped the car close to the side of the road.
Being a person who likes to clean, Linh used to spend 3 days without changing new clothes when running from Vinh City to Hanoi. Or another time from Ninh Van Bay (Khanh Hoa) to Phu Yen, it was raining heavily, he did not have a backpack. On the road, trucks from the opposite direction passed through a puddle, making him covered in mud from head to toe. he drove 30 km to the hotel to stay without clothes so that instead of his belongings, they were all wet.
Previously, Linh was closed-minded, often did not like to share with others about the difficulties she encountered. But on the way through Vietnam in the days near Tet, all services were lacking, so he had to ask people for food and accommodation.
“When leaving, I imagine the trip will be very pink, to welcome warm sunny days, admire the beautiful scenery along the way, but after walking, I will see that every difficulty must go through, most importantly, I accept it like that. come on,” he laughed and said. Every kilometer of the road is a lesson for him. From someone who is always worried about dangers, he confidently rides a motorbike alone, one day reaching 200 km without fear of the rumbling of cars next to him. Having learned from the time he couldn’t rent a hotel in Song Cau, he will now book a room a day in advance wherever he goes.
He also found that when he opened up more, he would always meet good things, like the help of people he had never met. On February 3 (the 3rd day of the Lunar New Year), when going from Nghe An to Thanh Hoa, all the food stalls along the way were closed, so he went to a grocery store that was still open to buying cakes and temporary milk. The shop owner saw him and asked where he was going, had eaten yet, and then cooked him beef noodles, brought more duck meat and vegetables. He ate a lot and was delicious because he was hungry, but when he paid, the owner refused to accept money, saying it was for him on New Year’s Day. Another time from Hue to Quang Binh, he found a restaurant with lights on, so he went in and ordered food. The old woman at the bar brought out a full tray of chicken, rice, and vegetables. At this time, he hesitated, because he entered the shop without asking the price, afraid of being “chopped off” but when he paid all 70,000 VND, he was surprised that he had heard wrong.
From a young age, Linh often heard adults say that the food of the North and the Central region is difficult to eat, or that if the Southerners come here, they will easily be “chopped off” and treated poorly. “But after I went, I saw that these were just rumors, Central Vietnam’s food was even so good that I stayed for a long time and met all kind and friendly people,” he said.
More specifically on the road, no one knew he was transgender, they accepted him as a son, no one commented or criticized his personality. Like the time he experienced the best homestay at Nha Ba Homestay (Binh Dinh). Here guests can stay with family, eat together, go to the sea to play. “The uncle and aunt were as welcoming as family, getting up early to cook vermicelli for me to eat, waiting for me to drink coffee in the morning, telling stories about life at sea. These things remind me forever,” he recalled.
He shared that after 17 days of traveling through Vietnam, his biggest change was that he was no longer pressured and self-deprecating about other people’s comments. “From now on, I live as myself, without changing according to the words of the people around me, even if they think I’m weak or soft. When I accept myself, the people who really love me will come,” he said. speak.
Currently, Linh is staying at a friend’s house in Hanoi, because he is not used to the cold weather, so his hands and feet are freezing and he cannot drive. He said he will go to Hai Phong this week or next week. Further, he wants to conquer the high peaks of the North, including Fansipan (Sa Pa, Lao Cai), to overcome another fear of himself, that is fear of cold.
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