Luo Bin returns from his "naked trip"
On November 4, the post-80s young man Luo Bin finished his "naked trip" and returned to Nanjing. These past few days, he has been selling travel souvenirs on the street. He plans to sell these items and donate the money to underprivileged students. Over these six months, he traveled through nine provinces in China and visited 12 mountainous elementary schools. Like Luo Bin,...
Similar to Luo Bin, more and more young people talk about "quitting their jobs to travel." But HR experts point out that while "naked trips" aren't wrong and doing good is commendable, the cost is high, and not everyone can be so carefree.
Engineer quits to cycle 10,000 miles
Luo Bin, a 28-year-old, was originally a weak current engineer at a private company in Gaochun, Nanjing, with an average monthly income of 7,000 yuan and a stable job. In the eyes of his friends, he was an ambitious white-collar worker—upright and capable. To his parents, their son should get married, buy a house, and start a family before turning 30. But Luo Bin didn’t choose to buy a house, car, or find a wife. In April this year, he quit his job to “relive his youth.”
He spent 8,000 yuan assembling a bicycle, gathered three teammates online, and set off from Nanjing, cycling toward the northwest. Before setting off, he didn’t dare tell his family the truth, only saying he was “going out to play for a few days.” It wasn’t until he was on the road that he informed his parents of his real plan. Over six months, Luo Bin and his teammates cycled all the way west, headed south after reaching Xinjiang, then went to Tibet, and finally traveled to Yunnan, covering a distance of 10,000 kilometers. For Luo Bin and his team, this wasn’t just a leisure trip but more like an ascetic journey.
“The journey was wonderful but also tough. The road from Xinjiang to Tibet was the hardest—like washboards, with winds strong enough to knock you down. There was no supply, so we could only eat naan bread every day.” On the Xinjiang-Tibet Highway, the sun was scorching. They brought dozens of packs of pickled vegetables to soak in water and replenish salt lost through sweat. A pack of pickles would be put in a 1.5-liter plastic bottle, soaked twice, and only eaten when it had no flavor left. By the later stages, they ran out of pickles and had to beg half a pack of salt from road workers to mix with water. Without salt replenishment, they’d have no strength and couldn’t pedal.
After more than ten days, they finally saw a small town. Each ordered a bowl of noodles at a shop, and the four teammates looked at each other and cried as they held their bowls. Luo Bin said, “I don’t know why I cried—tears just streamed down. Maybe it was because it felt too hard.”
Spent 50,000 yuan in savings, still owe 10,000
Luo Bin said he was pretty “frugal” on the road—hardly ever bought bottled mineral water, rarely stayed in places over 30 yuan a night, and either skipped paid scenic spots or snuck in.
Yet, these “budget travelers” who wouldn’t even buy bottled water would always ask around for struggling schools nearby. In total, they visited 12 mountainous elementary schools. He greeted volunteer teachers, spent nearly 10,000 yuan buying school supplies for impoverished children, and helped connect the kids with caring individuals.
Before quitting to set off, Luo Bin had saved 50,000 yuan. Part went to gear before departure, and part served as travel expenses. When he returned to Nanjing, he was 10,000 yuan in debt—the money borrowed from friends. “I’ll start working soon and earn money to pay it back,” Luo Bin believes that money comes and goes, and since he did something meaningful and felt happy, that’s enough.
“My heart’s been wildened”—plans to earn money and hit the road again
On November 4, Luo Bin returned to Nanjing by train. The chubby guy who weighed 158 jin (79 kg) before departure now weighed only 130 jin (65 kg), looking more spirited. He had spent all his savings but wasn’t in a rush to find work. He promised to help a friend prepare for a charity concert and would look for a job after that. In his free time, he set up a small stall to sell travel souvenirs, with the proceeds going to underprivileged students in the mountains. He admitted that not working for a long time brings pressure, but he believes that with his skills, finding another job won’t be hard.
Different from before, Luo Bin no longer thinks about long-term career development. For him, work is just a means to earn money, and once he saves up, he’ll hit the road again. He jokes, “My heart’s been wildened—I probably can’t go back to a normal office life.” He plans to save up enough to take two more long trips—one through eastern and southern provinces, and another through northern and northeastern provinces. Luo Bin says, while he’s still young, he wants to be a little reckless for a few more years.
Commentary
“Naked trips” come at a high cost
Quitting to travel is something many young people talk about. Being tired of work, having unsatisfactory income, breakups—all can become excuses for a “naked trip.” However, experts warn that the cost of a “naked trip” isn’t something everyone can bear.
Ling Lei, a senior headhunter at Nanjing Borun Human Resources Co., Ltd., believes that enjoying the present isn’t a bad thing—as long as it’s not “living off parents.” For young people, traveling is a form of wealth that adds depth to life and broadens horizons. But for most, travel also comes with a high cost—not something you can just do once you’ve saved enough.
After travel, when “naked trippers” look for new jobs, HR will definitely frown upon seeing several months of blank employment history. Whether you answer “went traveling” or “did charity work,” it won’t help. Even returning to work, that gap will require extra effort to gain a leader’s trust.
He analyzes that for technical talent, returning to work after a “naked trip” is still possible. Quitting to travel for half a year might not hinder finding a new job. Take Luo Bin, for example—weak current engineers are in high demand, and as long as he doesn’t say “the job is to make money for more travel,” finding work shouldn’t be too hard.
For non-technical roles, finding a new job will be harder. For instance, management or marketing professionals with a two-month or longer employment gap will likely be seen by HR as lacking resilience or responsibility.