THE SOLO TRAVELLER
Your world. Your way.
Plus one …
Brian and his partner watching the sunrise from the back of their jeep. Photo: Brian Wong.
Somewhere in between
A Q&A with Brian Wong
Briefly …
Brian Wong left Australia intending to travel alone, but an unexpected encounter changed the course of his journey. More than a year later, he reflects on the rewards, compromises and challenges of sharing an adventure he originally planned for himself.
When he left Australia in June 2025, travelling with someone else was not part of Brian’s plan. He had recently come out of a long relationship and wanted the freedom to decide where to go, whom to meet and how to spend his time. Travelling independently offered an opportunity to rediscover his interests and make decisions without having to consider anyone else’s preferences.
A chance encounter at a budget hostel in Incheon, South Korea, changed that. What followed was the beginning of a relationship that would take Brian and his new companion across Asia together. The experience has challenged some of his assumptions about independence. Sharing the journey has introduced new experiences and perspectives, but also disagreements, difficult adjustments and occasions when travelling alone has seemed the easier option. For someone who had always preferred solo travel, the question of what that means now is not easily answered.
In this Q&A, Brian reflects on the unexpected transition from travelling alone to travelling together, the realities of spending months on the road with another person, and whether he still considers himself a solo traveller.
You left Australia intending to travel alone but met someone along the way and have travelled together ever since. How did that happen, and at what point did you realise your solo journey had become something different?
We met at a cheap hostel in Incheon that I was actually planning to leave. I’m the one who chats to everyone in the common room and makes friends. She was quiet and hung back from most conversations, but she still joined in, and that’s what caught my eye.
We barely spoke, so on my last night, while I was saying my goodbyes, I left a note on her bunk in case I didn’t see her. She came back just as I was about to sleep, and we ended up talking for a couple of hours. We laughed a lot. We kept messaging after that. She was planning to move to Vietnam, and I wanted to go to Europe. After a lot of back and forth, we agreed to meet in Bali. It was awkward at the start, but we’ve made it all the way to Mongolia.
The moment it changed was when I invited her onto my trip. Instead of going straight to Mongolia, I changed my plans and went back through Southeast Asia, nearly my tenth visit, so we could travel across Asia together towards Europe. That’s when it stopped being my trip and became ours.
What did you value most about travelling solo, and how has travelling with someone else changed the way you experience a destination?
I left Australia to find myself. I’d come out of a long relationship and needed to work out who I was and what I enjoyed. Australia is beautiful, but after years of camping, hiking and bushwalking, I felt limited. Travelling solo, I valued being able to meet whoever I wanted and do whatever I felt like. I didn’t have to think about anyone else, so I could take chances, like backpacking through China or staying out late with strangers from the hostel.
(Left) A lantern night walk in Shanghai, China; and sharing time with fellow travellers in Guangdong, China. Photography Brian Wong.
Now, most days, I enjoy the shared experience, which is something different altogether. Having someone to try strange dishes with, or to ride horses across a valley with, makes the scary things less scary. On my own I would have skipped Thailand and Vietnam, because I’d been a few times. With her, they felt like my first visit: she gives me freedom, and she encourages me to be creative and try new things.
You spend around a month in each country. How does travelling at that pace influence the decisions you make together, and have you found that sharing the journey changes your experience of slow travel?
It’s a tough process. The hardest part is the exit: most countries want to see an onward flight, and onward ticket services have been a lifesaver. We sleep wherever fits the budget – trains, buses, hostels and apartments. A month in each place means we’re not racing between sights. We use Suna, the app I’m building, to find things to do nearby that don’t cost anything, and we save to splurge a little on the big tourist sites. Deciding where to go next is easy, as long as we keep heading towards Spain. I’m the planner, and she’s the go-getter who doesn’t worry about what we eat or where we sleep.
How do you negotiate different interests, routines and the need for time alone while spending so much time on the road?
Honestly, it’s been hard. Talking doesn’t always help, and we’ve had plenty of fights. We nearly broke up and ditched the plan four times. What changed is that we learned to adjust to each other’s needs, and that it’s okay to say, “I need space”.
Looking back on the journey you originally planned, do you still think of yourself as a solo traveller? And what would you say to someone who loves travelling independently but unexpectedly finds themselves wanting to share the experience?
Probably somewhere in between. Some days I think it would be easier to travel alone. Then I remember the times I felt lonely, wishing I had someone to share the memories with. I made plenty of friends along the way, but it doesn’t feel as special.
To anyone in that spot: travelling together is more of a commitment than living together. I’d say do it once in your life, but only with someone who shares the same enthusiasm for travel and the same commitment to the journey. It’s not easy.