BackPackTrack

In this episode, I’m comparing Japan and Korea after living in Tokyo for one year and travelling through Korea for three weeks. Everyone online says Korea is the cheaper, cooler, better Japan, but honestly… I disagree. I talk about Tokyo vs Seoul, personal space, politeness, friendliness, public behaviour, vegetarian food, and why Korea surprised me in some ways but still wasn’t fully my cup of te...

I traveled through South Korea for 3 weeks and in this episode of BackPackTrack, I am sharing my honest Korea travel tips, route, mistakes and things I wish I knew before going. My Korea route was Sokcho si, Busan, Suncheon si, Iksan si, Jeonju and Seoul. I talk about how long you really need in Korea, why 2 to 3 weeks is enough for a first trip, what to book in advance, why you should always have...

Solo travel looks exciting from the outside, but the reality is a lot messier. After three big solo journeys, I started noticing the same emotional pattern every time. In this episode, I talk about the 5 phases of solo travel, why traveling alone does not magically fix your life, and how solo travel slowly changes the way you see yourself, your problems, and your freedom. For everyone who loves so...

I am back on the road again after leaving Japan, and honestly, it feels more complicated than I expected. In this episode, I talk about solo travel, leaving behind friends and routines, arriving in Korea, travel burnout, freedom, stability, and the weird feeling when your dream life suddenly starts feeling normal. Very peaceful. Very emotionally stable. Obviously.

After living in Japan for over a year, I made the decision to leave. Not because Japan was bad. Actually, I still love Japan. The food, the culture, Tokyo life, the tiny daily routines, all of it became a huge part of my life. But at some point I had to be honest with myself: my need to travel, explore new countries, and try new things became stronger than my need to stay comfortable in one place....

🇯🇵 Starting a new life in Japan sounds terrifying… until you actually do it. Before moving here, I had every horror scenario in my head:What if I do not get my visa? What if I cannot find housing? What if the paperwork is impossible? What if I completely fail? 🤡And honestly? The hardest part was overthinking it. Once I got my visa, things became way more manageable than I expected. In this video...

Japan is one of the most loved countries in the world, but what is it actually like after living here for a year? In this episode, I share my honest opinion about Japan, the good, the bad, and the things people often romanticize too much. I talk about the cons like the weather, work culture, and how overtourism is hitting big cities while smaller places get left out. But I also talk about why I st...

Making friends while traveling solo can feel scary at first, but it honestly gets way easier once you know where to look. In this episode, I talk about some of the best apps to meet people while traveling and what they are actually good for. I go through Hostelworld, Couchsurfing, Bumble, Going Solo, and Meetup, and talk about which ones are best for travelers, which ones are better for locals and...

Making friends while traveling sounds exciting, and it is!!Solo travel can bring some of the best connections, the funniest memories, and those random moments with people you met one day ago but somehow click with instantly. But there is also a harder side to it. In this episode, I talk about what it really feels like to make friends while solo traveling, why it is often easier than people think,...

At 28, I realized life is basically a video game 🎮You get a random spawn point, stats you did not choose, unexpected side quests, and a lot of grinding. But travel showed me something huge 🌍 if you do not choose your own path, life will choose one for you. In this episode, I talk about how solo travel changed the way I see life, freedom, growth, and success. Leaving home, starting over, getting...

When people ask me hey Mel when is the best season to come to Japan I can't really answer this right away. The only thing I can say is....don't come during summer unless you love sweating. There are a lot of pros and cons for every season but what is actually the best one? I will talk about it in this season but you might be surprised what I think is the best time to come to Japan!

Moving abroad sounds exciting, romantic, and like the start of a whole new life. But the reality is also loneliness, confusion, identity crisis, and realizing that solo travel and actually building a life somewhere are two very different things. In this episode, I talk about moving to Tokyo, what made it hard, what got better with time, and why starting over can change you in ways travel never doe...

This is the first time I’ve ever recorded a podcast episode with someone else, and honestly, it was such a fun experience. In this co-hosted episode with Hekaya Haven, we talk about how I first got into travel, solo travel safety, mini retirement, and what traveling can really change in your life. It’s a very casual, funny, and genuinely entertaining conversation that feels more like two people ch...

In this episode I share 5 things I do now that old me would never have done, and why solo travel is not scary because you might get lost, but because you change. Going places alone, talking to strangers, setting boundaries, being braver, and finally not caring so much about other people’s opinions. If you’ve ever come home after traveling and felt like you do not fit into your old life the same wa...

When people think about solo travel, they assume the scary part is getting lost, missing flights, eating alone, or not finding friends. I thought that too. But the truth hit me after I came home. The scariest part is how much you change, and you do not even notice it while it is happening. You come back and everything looks the same, same streets, same friends, same routines, but you are not the s...

Kyoto in winter hits different, cozy, calm, and seriously underrated. During our January break from language school, I took the shinkansen from Tokyo and spent a few days in Kyoto with a friend. Temples, traditional streets, way too much matcha, a super weird cat museum in the countryside, and of course a mandatory Pokémon Center stop. I’ve been to Kyoto three times and this was the calmest experi...

Travel is not free. Unless you were born into the “my parents own property” club, you will work. In this episode I break down the three real ways I have funded long term travel: volunteer work for a bed and food, an online job that paid well but bored me to death, and chaotic underpaid part time jobs in Japan. I talk about what to expect, what not to romanticize, and how to make working abroad fee...

Is traveling multiple times a mistake or just a bad look on paper? In this episode, I talk honestly about CV gaps, career anxiety, and why choosing travel over stability feels both freeing and terrifying. From leaving a “safe path” to living in different countries, this is a real conversation about fear, fulfillment, and why a perfect CV doesn’t always mean a fulfilled life.

Last week I complained about Japan. A lot. So this week I am doing the adult thing and admitting where it absolutely wins. Toilets that feel like luxury, convenience stores that solve all life problems, people being kind without making it weird, and rules that actually work.

Japan is amazing 🇯🇵✨ I love living here. But once the honeymoon phase is over and you actually live in the country, reality hits hard. In this episode I talk about the one thing that genuinely bothers me the most about living in Japan and why it is one of the reasons I could never stay here forever.

I used to hate matcha 🤢🍵Like actually hate it. It made me gag during my first tea ceremony in Japan 🇯🇵 and I was fully convinced the hype was ridiculous. Fast forward a few years ⏳ and somehow I became that person who drinks bitter matcha with just water and no sugar 🍃🍵In this episode I talk about why my opinion flipped, why I do not care about fancy matcha lattes 🥛✨, and why sometimes the...

Sometimes the best advice isn’t complicated. It’s uncomfortable. It’s scary. And it’s simple: LEAVE! In this episode, I talk about why leaving home, routines, and comfort zones changes you and why every powerful lesson I’ve ever learned started with walking away. ✈️🌍No life-coaching. Just honest thoughts from the road. 🎒✨

This is the end of this podcast...foooooor 2025! I am joking 🤡Thank you so much for your support and I hope I will see you see you next year ✨🫶

Last Christmas I gave you my heart…Yeah. Same songs, same chaos, every single year. This year is my third Christmas away from home and this time I’m spending it in Japan. No family dinners, no days off, no big traditions. Christmas here is more about couples, fancy dates, KFC buckets and then… going to work on the 25th like it’s any other day. In this episode I talk about what Christmas in Japan a...

Everyone thinks solo travel is expensive. Everyone also thinks I’m rich. Spoiler: I’m not. I worked my ass off for years and then learned how to travel cheap without hating my life . No fancy hotels, no aesthetic brunches, no “Eat Pray Love” nonsense. Just hostels, street food, volunteering, questionable dinners made of cookies and instant noodles, and a very honest look at what budget travel actu...