IMAGINE having almost a month of leave days? To a working man, that would sound like a far away dream.
But not for this adventurous university student from China who decided to travel all the way from Shanghai to Singapore by bus and train.
According to South China Morning Post, 23-year-old Jiang Xia seized the opportunity to explore the countries, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand by bus as they were offering visa-free entry to Chinese citizens.
He arrived on May 27, spending a total of 29 days on the road and forking out about 3,000 yuan (RM1,944).
His journey began by taking the bus, metro and train to reach Kunming in southwestern Yunnan province.
Once he arrived at there, he continued his journey by train and light rail through Laos, Thailand, and Malaysia, before reaching Singapore.
Jiang shared that he encountered many kind locals who were more than happy to show him around, solidifying his belief that ground transport is a better way to see more and make more friends.
“I feel very happy and excited. I really like it here.
“There are many Chinese people in Singapore, and I made a lot of friends. They are really nice,” Jiang was quoted as saying.
However, the Chinese netizens opinions on his adventure were mixed, some commenting that such an endeavour is a waste of time and money for a university student.
One netizen commented that a round-trip flight ticket from Shanghai to Singapore on Singapore Airlines only costs 1,700 yuan (RM1,101) and that Jiang had just too much free time on hand.
Meanwhile others questioned the feasibility of 3,000 yuan budget, inquiring if the money included the costs for food and accomodation.
But some were netizens supported his efforts to travel by bus and train, and couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy as they wished it was them on the adventure.
“Sometimes I really envy people who have the time.
“Money does not matter, but having more than 20 days to travel is really rare,” one person said.
