Hello! My name is 10 (like the number). I’m a solo female traveler from the Philippines who has a mission: to touch lives through travel. 👍🏻🌎

NEXT BIG TRIP ➡️ Overlanding the world solo in the most adventurous ways!

Here’s some ideas on how I plan to do it:
👍🏽 Hitchhiking from one country to another (it’s still my favorite way to travel ❤️)
🐎 Riding a horse across Mongolia
🛺 Driving a tuktuk across South Asia
🎒 Walking the Lycian Way
🏍️ Completing motorbike loops in Southeast Asia
🚐 Van life in Europe
⛵️ Learning how to sail a boat so I can finally cross to South America 👀

I’m currently laying the ground for one of the boldest journeys I will ever take in my life, a journey I’ve dubbed as EXPEDITION NOW OR NEVER.

Right after university, I did a hiking and hitchhiking trip from Asia to Europe, taking the northern route. This time, I’m about to take the southern route and documenting my adventures so I can build my social impact travel blog that touches lives through travel by uplifting the communities I meet a long the way and inspiring people to seek immersive and sustainable travel experiences!

Expedition Now or Never is motivated by three main goals:

1. To live boldly and seize life’s now or never moments by traveling the world in the most adventurous ways!

2. To grow my social media presence so that I can:

- Inspire and influence travel enthusiasts to seek out immersive, sustainable travel experiences
- Take up space as a woman of color with a weak passport in the travel industry and call for more accessible travel
- Impact decision-makers’ perception of travelers from developing nations

3. To cement the social impact we will be making in every country I visit on this trip.

How will I do it?
🤝 By volunteering in local grassroots organizations in the countries I visit
💻 By raising funds for various causes through my travel blog @krystenkaladkarin 📸

If you believe in this mission, help me to grow on Instagram @krystenkaladkarin and together, let’s use travel to create the change we wish to see in the world we live in. ❤️🌍

This trip is a BUCKET LIST TRIP. I’m set to tick off as much as I can on the items on my long list because if not now, then when?

This is a whole new chapter for me, and I’m so excited for all the adventures that lie ahead.

Here’s to new beginnings and to seizing all the now or never moments in life!

My story:

I’m on an amazing adventure woven by the openness and uniqueness of different cultures, the kindness of strangers, a deep understanding of human experience, and eye-opening social realities.

As I’ve mentioned, I travel to every country mostly by walking and hitchhiking. Next up, I’ll be doing more overland to add unique diverse experiences in my travel story.

This travel style allows me to immerse deeply in a country, learn more about its culture, language, history and see it the way locals do.

I also travel very slowly. I’m very conscious about the experiences I have in every country I set foot on. I enjoy sustainable travel, from hiking and camping for days in the wild to taking folk art courses and living amongst local communities.

I love gaining a good understanding of the places I visit and looking for ways to uplift local communities, whether it’s through volunteer work or preserving cultural heritage.

🇺🇦 I used to live in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, where I taught English in an alternative learning school and distributed humanitarian aid.

🇰🇿/🇰🇬 I taught English and eco-art (art with sustainable materials) in a language school in Osh, Kyrgyzstan.

🇵🇸 I volunteered for an arts centre in Nablus, Palestine.

I know plenty of these trips have been done before, but usually these unique ways to travel (cycling, overlanding, thru-hiking, even record-breaking country counting) have been done by privileged adventurers with strong passports or travelers who are from Western white backgrounds. I know I am an easy target for bureaucracies, immigration desks, and border guards. Because of this, I want to surface the struggles I face as a third world traveler because travel is not a bubble. It’s a mirror of the inequalities surrounding us. In my own way, I want to change this inequality and be part of a movement that introduces freer and more accessible travel for all. Because travel shouldn’t be only for me or the privileged few. This eye-opening experience and world education that I’ve had must be open to everyone. 

Here is a link to my old CS profile, which I’ve been locked out of: https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/krystenkaladkarin

(I think I forgot my password lol)

PLEASE BE AWARE:

👍🏽 Because I’m hitchhiking, I CANNOT predict the time or sometimes day I’ll arrive, but I’m very communicative and will update you constantly if my travel plans change or if there are any delays.

Hitchhiking is based on luck. You have good days where you get a direct ride and bad days where you wait longer. You also get some spontaneous invites and speed bumps along the way! So please, please, be aware of this.

📸Because I work as a travel content creator, my plans can also change, especially if I have an urgent brand deal.

You can find my references here. I’ve been active in CS for quite a few years now. ❤️

Here are links to my travel story:

www.facebook.com/krystenkaladkarin
www.instagram.com/krystenkaladkarin
www.youtube.com/krystenkaladkarin

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I love immersive travel. I love staying with local people and seeing the country through their eyes. I believe that’s the best way to experience a country.

Interests

Travel, outdoors, camping, books, arts, film, music

• arts
• books
• cooking
• comics
• traveling
• blogging
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• camping
• surfing
• hitchhiking
• adventure travel
• cinema
• film
• diving
• social media

Music, Movies, and Books

A playlist that describes my life:
1. Me and Bobby McGee - Janis Joplin
“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” is my life’s mantra
2. Cactus Tree - Joni Mitchell
3. Sleep on the Floor - The Lumineers
4. Rhiannon - Fleetwood Mac
5. California Dreaming - The Mamas & The Papas
6. Go Your Own Way - Fleetwood Mac

Books
I love magic surrealism and I am currently writing my own novel about my travels in a fictionalized way! It’s about the magic of meeting souls!

- Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
- 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Other books:
- The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
- Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami
- The Little Prince by Antoine Saint Exupery

Poems by Mahmoud Darwish, Nizar Qabbani speak to my soul

I collect books from the countries I’ve been to, so please give me recommendations! I also collect traditional clothes / accessories, so anything you can teach me about that, I would appreciate!

Movies

I love travel films like:
- Into the Wild
- The Darjeeling Limited
- Before Sunset
- The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
- The Motorcycle Diaries
- Mamma Mia

Movie that made me cry: Coco

I’m more of a reader! I don’t watch too many films and series. I’ve stuck with Game of Thrones, The Queen’s Gambit, and Stranger Things though!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

This trip. Making travel the very core of my life and never backing down despite the odds.

I hiked and hitchhiked from Asia to Europe. I was able to
cross continents for free while stepping down from my traveler’s ivory tower and gaining a deeper understanding of every country I go to. I’m also doing it alone and with a third world passport and taking up space as a person of color in the travel community.

Best of all, I was able to pass on the kindness by getting involved in NGO and charity work.

Most epic moments during my hiking and hitchhiking journey:

1. Hitchhiking a random truck and ending up in an annual festival in the mountains of Myanmar! I got to meet the surrounding mountain tribes, take part in the festivities, and also, perform with a rock band!

2. Hiked and camped for days on the Great Wall of China for my first travel anniversary

3. Hitchhiked another random car in Tibet and ended up in a monastic village, where I lived in a Buddhist monastery for two weeks, learning about meditation and the teachings of the Buddha.

4. Another Tibetan moment: I lived amongst the drokpa (Tibetan nomads) and learned how to herd yaks and make yak cheese.

5. Crossed Kyrgyzstan- Kazakhstan on foot! Passed through 3 lakes, foraged, and lived boldly and wildly!

6. Trekked the Wakhan Corridor between Tajikistan and Afghanistan, and met the most amazing, hospitable people. I had friends in every village!

7. Crossing Indonesia by hitchhike, even the boat ride to Java and Bali! I rode with truck drivers for three days, and became good friends with the boat captain.

8. Spontaneously meeting and getting hosted by a Romani family in the Romanian countryside before I went for my annual spring tradition: hiking to see wild crocuses.

9. Skinny dipping in the Jordan River, Palestine, and losing my dress to the water. Nothing has ever felt more freeing. Also, camping in a broken tent that we had to prop up with rocks. That was hilarious!

Spoiler: We never found the dress, it could be in the Dead Sea now idk

10. Toploading through Hunza Valley, Pakistan! It was truly one of the moments I felt so, so alive.

11. Catching my first wave in Weligama, Sri Lanka! Fell in love with surfing on this spontaneous trip to the island!

12. Enduring so many hardships just to be able to travel—starting out with unfair wages as a remote worker from a developing country, discrimination from bureaucracies and border guards, and a weak passport that requires me to have a visa almost everywhere I go and puts me in the box for “illegal immigration” or “marrying out of poverty.”

13. Learning one skill in every country I go to! It makes me feel as if I belong to the world, and it gives me a unique perspective on every place I visit.

14. Discovered my true purpose: to travel and to uplift communities through travel. After surviving thus far the war in Ukraine, I’ve made it my mission to use both my adventure and my online platform to help the communities that welcome me along this amazing journey, whether that’s through volunteer work or by supporting noteworthy grassroots NGOs. Beyond those, I believe an act of kindness goes a long, long way.

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach
-English, Filipino languages
-Playing the guitar and the ukulele
-Arts (watercolor, multimedia art)
-Social media (I can set up an FB page, IG account, YT for your business / personal stuff. I can also share authentic growth tips.)
-Cooking recipes from all the countries I’ve been to!
- Travel tips!

Learn
-I would like to learn as much as I can from every country I’m in, so please teach me anything!

Share
-My tent has one more space for someone who wants to join this epic trip. I also have a hammock! So I can take 2 extra folks with me!
-Amazing stories about my home and my adventure
-Cultural exchange. I can help you experience Filipino culture even if you’re not in the Philippines!

What I Can Share with Hosts

Filipino culture
Filipino language
You can also practice English with me
How to play the guitar and the ukulele
Arts and crafts
Recipes from the countries I’ve been to
Stories of my trip
Social media hacks

Countries I’ve Visited

Afghanistan, Belarus, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, China, Cyprus, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Macao, Malaysia, Moldova, Morocco, Myanmar, Pakistan, Palestine, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Palestine, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Ukraine