I still get emotional when I think about sitting at Angkor Wat, watching the sun come up with seven new friends. I couldn’t quite believe I was there. I’d wanted and waited for this for years, and now here I was, on the other side of the world, sitting with people I hadn’t known before the trip and watching the sun rise.
When I thought about solo travel, I pictured young people on gap years, hopping from island to island. I’d hardly seen anything about women my age doing it. I was fifty, Vietnam and Cambodia had been on my bucket list for years, and I wanted to go, I also knew I didn’t fancy doing the whole thing by myself. There is a compromise and that is group travel.
I looked at loads of group holidays before choosing Flash Pack. What swung it for me was the chance to travel with people around my age. Flash Pack has a whole section for travellers aged 50 to 65. Clearly there are quite a few of us with places we’re dying to see.
It was my first Flash Pack trip, some of the others had done one before, and the first time we all met was really relaxed. We’d come from all over the world to do the same trip.
We travelled from the north of Vietnam to the south and then on to Cambodia. In my photo there are green cliffs rising straight out of turquoise water, the sun just touching the mountains beyond a balcony, and two women in conical hats talking beside a bicycle. That last one is somebody else’s ordinary day. I’m so glad I took it.
Our guides were fantastic and really knew their stuff. I learnt so much about both countries in those eleven days, and they didn’t shy away from the hard parts. We saw a lot and the activities were really varied, from riding bikes to making our own dinner in a traditional restaurant. It was a fast-paced tour, but I never felt rushed and there was plenty of downtime and it was fine to sit out an activity if you wanted to and we did.
Booking, costs and hotels
I went in 2025. Booking was incredibly easy, and I could check the itinerary in the app. I paid for the trip, my airfare and the upgrade to have my own room. Flash Pack organised the flights we took during the tour, and we had our own bus as a group.
The four- and five-star hotels we stayed in were stunning, and every meal I had on the trip was delicious, and very affordable.
My advice is to pack less than you think you’ll need. It was easy to get clothes washed and cleaned overnight and it costs hardly anything, and you’ll want to save some room for everything you want to bring back. Take a good day pack, I found cash handy and kept my cards with me too.
Would I do it again?
It was worth every penny. It was one of the best trips of my life, some of the people I met on that trip are friends I still see regularly. and there’s something lovely about sitting down with them now and remembering that we once watched the sun come up together at Angkor Wat.
I went across the world on my own and did something pretty amazing. I’m proud of myself for going, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
Actually, I am. Costa Rica 2027, here I come.
