Most of us travel to escape stress. Nicholas Joel Leong, 31, travels to find himself, often in places where no one can reach him.
For the past four years, the Singaporean solo adventure traveller has been exploring the world entirely on his own: driving through remote mountain regions, chasing cloud inversions in the dark, camping above the clouds and sometimes going up to 10 days without speaking to another human being.
It wasn’t always the plan.
Leong does travel with friends, but trip after trip made him realise something: he didn’t need company to enjoy the journey. “I don’t mind travelling with people,” he says, “but the more I realised I can travel alone, I can do things very fast and efficiently, then the more I fell in love with it.”
That efficiency turned into freedom. That freedom turned into obsession.
What Adventure Really Means
Leong’s version of travel isn’t about cafés, shopping streets or pub crawls. He chooses places where there are no crowds, no tour guides, often not even phone reception.
When asked what adventure travel means, he doesn’t hesitate: “It’s getting out of my comfort zone and doing things most people usually won’t do.”
That includes silence. On some trips, he has gone nearly two weeks without hearing his own voice spoken to another person.
“The longest I’ve gone without talking to anyone was around 10 days and it was very liberating,” he said. “To be able to survive out in the wild… it’s something we are not used to as Singaporeans.”
The Places He Picks and Why
His destination list reads like any adventurer’s dream board: Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, Bhutan, Madeira, Madagascar, Norway.
But none of these were random.
Leong keeps an ongoing list of “interesting places” he sees online then cross-checks seasons, conditions and accessibility. “Every time I see an interesting post, I save it. Then I check the season, the weather, the time I have before I go,” he explained.
And if everyone goes left, he goes right.
“I try to avoid the touristy spots and explore similar areas nearby. I research places people don’t usually go to, it challenges me.”
The Moments That Changed Him
Not every adventure is pretty.
Once in New Zealand, he misjudged the terrain, drove onto the remote Pebble Beach and got stuck. There was no reception. No nearby villages. He was alone. “Thankfully I happened to spot a local in the distance and waved to him, and he managed to tow my van out,” Leong recalled.
Other times, the danger is beautiful.
He has hiked from 2am in complete darkness just to catch sunrise above the clouds — the kind of cloud inversions that only appear when you climb through the night. He’s cooked meals alone near frozen lakes, showered in real glacier rivers — “the true ice bath,” he laughed.
And sometimes, standing alone on a mountain, he realises how tiny everything else is.
“You’re the only tent within a 20 to 50 kilometre radius. You feel like the whole world is yours.”
What Being Alone Teaches You
Silence is not emptiness. It’s clarity.
Leong says the biggest gift of travelling alone is thinking space: “You are able to think properly, ask yourself questions you wouldn’t in Singapore. It gives you clarity and self-reflection.”
And when every decision feels like life or death?
“You realise many of our problems aren’t really problems.”
Tips From Someone Who’s Done It Properly
Leong doesn’t glorify risk. He is methodical, almost clinical about safety.
His biggest advice?
Start with a buddy, but still plan everything yourself.
“You can plan your own trips even with a buddy. Once you’re more comfortable, then go alone.”
Know your actual limits.
“Be aware of your fitness and navigation skills. Safety first. You can push a bit more, but not too much.”
And never disappear without a trace.
“Always tell someone where you’re going, be it a local, your family, your friends.”
So Why Keep Doing This?
Because when you stand alone above a sea of clouds,
when the mountains are silent,
when you carry your life in a backpack and realise you are capable of more than you thought — you return home changed.
And that, for Nicholas Joel Leong, is the whole point.
