This is an extraordinary journey. A Luoyang-born post-90s boy with the online nickname "Lollipop" spent three months hiking through Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Tibet (China), Nepal, and other regions and countries. An avid traveler and photography enthusiast, he captured the beautiful foreign landscapes through his lens and gained insights into unique cultural vibes. This boy, who began long-distance domestic travel at the age of 11, has so far visited all provincial-level administrative regions in China except Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, the three northeastern provinces, and Xinjiang, and has cycled the Shangri-La Loop. His photography works and the bits of text he recorded during his journeys have touched the hearts of every reader.
[Travel Stop 1] Sa Pa, the French-style mountain town in northern Vietnam
Lollipop's quotes:
I once enjoyed the strong French vibe in Sa Pa, the French-style mountain town in northern Vietnam.
I also felt in the foggy city,
that life is like walking in the fog,
you never know what beautiful scenery the next moment holds,
but only by moving forward can you witness and experience it !
[Travel Stop 2] Hoi An, Vietnam
Lollipop's quotes:
As a former Chinatown,
Hoi An is famous for its lanterns,
which are probably slightly modified to form their own unique style.
[Travel Stop 3] Nha Trang, Vietnam
Lollipop's quotes:
Heading south along the coast from Hoi An, you’ll reach Nha Trang.
Nha Trang has beautiful beaches,
but what fascinated me the most were the seafood and the church here.
[Travel Stop 4] Da Lat, Vietnam
Lollipop's quotes:
I rode a bike to the old railway station in Da Lat,
where they still keep the steam locomotive from those days,
and there’s a train that heads to surrounding mountain villages every afternoon.
[Travel Stop 5] Mui Ne, Vietnam
Lollipop's quotes:
If Nha Trang is a seafood paradise,
then Mui Ne is the paradise of paradises,
where the huge lobsters are mouthwatering.
[Travel Stop 6] Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Lollipop’s musings:
The famous Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica,
but compared to that, I prefer Saigon’s St. John the Baptist Cathedral,
with no constant stream of tourist buses,
where kids play soccer and hang out in the open space after school.
[Travel Stop 7] Cambodia
Lollipop’s musings:
I don’t usually like really massive things,
but Angkor is an exception,
it’s huge yet exquisitely detailed,
some of the stone carvings showcase that beauty to perfection.
Every temple here speaks of the weight of history,
all are heritage sites left by our ancestors.
[Travel Stop 9] Tibet, China
Lollipop’s musings:
The first sight of Yamdrok Lake didn’t exactly take my breath away,
though the wind did give me a headache,
after all, the altitude rose too quickly.
[Travel Stop 8] Chiang Mai, Thailand
Lollipop’s musings:
After returning, I watched Thai V V,
and it all felt very familiar,
turns out this temple was the first one they visited,
at first I was a bit skeptical,
but seeing that Donald Duck in the bottom left corner clinched it.
[Travel Stop 10] Annapurna Peak, Nepal
Lollipop’s musings:
Having travel companions means you can take photos,
I should really take a few good shots with the snow mountains.
Slowly, I grew fond of this feeling,
of admiring these sights alone,
as if they were memories that belonged solely to me.
[Travel Stop #11] Chitwan, Nepal
Lollipop’s Words:
The most famous activity in Chitwan is riding an elephant to see rhinos.
On the first night I arrived, I saw elephants drinking by the river.
Here, elephants are either privately owned or government-managed.
Every day, people take them out for walks.
[Travel Stop #12] Patan, Nepal
Lollipop’s Words:
Whether it’s Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, or Patan,
the world heritage sites here are not isolated from local life.
No one has been relocated just because of these heritage sites.
Epilogue
Time goes in cycles, the scenery remains, only the traveler’s footsteps change. When the journey ends, the photos stay, but what remains unchanged are the tumultuous emotions. A reporter asked Lollipop: What is your biggest takeaway from traveling?
Lollipop said:
Over 13 years, I’ve tried every way of being on the road—cycling, hitchhiking, driving, and hiking. During outdoor trips, I once got stuck in a wetland at Namtso Lake and was rescued at 2 a.m. by the muzzles of four or five wild Tibetan mastiffs; I camped by the Nalin River in Xilingol and faced off against a pack of wolves; cycling the Shangri-La Loop, I encountered a landslide and nearly died—but I gained even more happiness. To this day, I still long for the snow-capped peaks of Nyenchen Tanglha, the wooden carts on the Xilingol grasslands, and the last rays of sun over the Three Sacred Mountains of Daocheng.
I want to travel by hitchhiking like Gu Yue and Liu Chang, immerse myself in local cultures like Zhang Xiaoyan, and challenge myself in outdoor activities like Jimmy Chin. Outdoor adventures give me that feeling of being on the road. As long as I have food to eat and a roof over my head, I will continue “on the road” with a humble and passionate heart.