A Thousand New Beginnings: Tales of Solo Female Travel Through Southeast Asia

by Kristin Addis

This is the story of a 26-year-old girl who left her old life with a steady job and boyfriend behind in order to travel through Southeast Asia completely on her own.

Over the course of the next year and thousands of miles, hundreds of new beginnings and new friendships, she found that more than traveling the world outside, she traveled the world within. This book is a collection of excerpts from her diary and blog during that time in which she found that traveling alone made all the difference in the world.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Memoir, Adventure, Asia, Nature

262 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 24, 2016

About the author

Kristin Addis is the solo female traveler behind BeMyTravelMuse.com, a website for off the beaten path adventures. For the past three years, she’s traveled the world alone, hitchhiking in China, sleeping in a tent for over a month in Africa, and learning how to say ‘I love you’ in 12 Asian languages. She just authored the guidebook for solo female travelers, Conquering Mountains: How to Solo Travel the World Fearlessly. She was selected by USA Today as a top vagabonding blogger and has been featured in Trip Advisor for Business, Lonely Planet, and BuzzFeed, among others.

Reviews

[Holly Burton · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit bland

Amazon suggested this title to me. The description gave me the impression the author would share a bit more, or be a little more vulnerable in story-telling about her life during this book. It did get a more interesting about half way though when she enters a relationship with another traveler. The author opens up briefly and shares her personal feelings about it. However, mostly one is just reading an itinerary of her travels & the book lacks any "characters" or plot or storyline. Same type of situations just happen on repeat in different locations without any particular meaning. If her goal was to write a book that ticks off short descriptions of places she traveled, it succeeded. However, she seems like an interesting gal, and I would have liked to learn more about her, her personal feelings, and her life prior to the trip. I can just pick up a lonely planet book to read itineraries.

[Taryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

This provided some good ideas for my solo trip planning. It gave me insight into destinations and made me think about what I want from my journey. However, it kind of falls between travel guide and memoir. At times I wanted more of her emotions and story, then others I wanted to know more about the location. It falls between the two but also falls short in some ways. It does offer honest insights into the ups and downs of traveling alone as a female which I think is useful for all travelers to understand.

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a big fan of Kristin's blog and I just came back from SEA so I expected a lot from this book. Even though it was many of the things I wanted it and expected it to be, at some points narration was a bit dry.

...oh and she loooves the world "elect/ed" and uses it overly in this book.

[Bree Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun

This held my attention a lot more than I expected it to. How bold and brave of the author. Incredible journey!

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honest

I really enjoyed the honesty and non-fluffy writing, I think this was the most inspiring part. The individual stories were quick but were stilled packed with the details of the adventures. A dreamy year floating from one adventure to the next.

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading this book, I genuinely like Kristin and admire her independence and courage. But for a non-fiction book with such an exciting premise as her's (leaving a steady career and boldly buying a one-way ticket across the world), this diary was kind of....bland. Many chapters read more like a guidebook than a novel about self-discovery. The most interesting part was her love affair in Australia. A lot of the chapters afterward just went from comparing one beach town to another, and how she liked some better than others. It was okay.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

quite good, got a bit samey towards the end and i got a bit fed up with her saying how authetically she did everything compared to everyone else. However the book was interesting and nice to read.

[zamalek9 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Its more of a diary or journal that actually a book or memoir.
Little reflections.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read which I read in a few hours. Nothing profound really though and in terms of “lessons”, the epilogue probably said it all.

[James King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't be afraid

I quick overview is all I have managed so far but was enough to encourage me to write something. Having lived in Thailand for around nine years it's easy to either take it for granted or become cynical. It depends on your viewpoint of course. How delightful it is to see a young person on a great adventure, with eyes wide open, sharing the experience with the world. Never mind the literary quality feel the enjoyment in her writing and gratitude for giving herself a chance to see the world on her terms. This is an excellent book for anyone who is nervous about taking the chance. Don't be, just do it and you'll never regret it.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. But I think Addis may be a better short-format blog writer than novel writer. I wasn't invested in her story. She managed to visit all these places and never gave us any detailed or memorable descriptions. She just tells you about her travels, she doesn't show them to you, so you never feel like you join her on any of it. I managed to finish it, but I couldn't tell you any memorable moments. It is a quick read though, so don't take my word for it. You can easily finish it in a weekend.

[Christine Babic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book was fine. Quick read but I felt the chapters got repetitive. I skimmed through a few chapters. I got the sense that she felt she was better than others as she felt she was being more authentic. She’s a privileged white woman with an American passport. Would have been nice to see her dig more into the inequality of the Regions she was travelling in. Some beautiful descriptions of where of she went . And some lovely pictures. I will say she is braver than me. I will definitely give her that.

[Wendy Naylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Vicarious Adventures

I did not want to put this book down but I also didn’t want it to end. I’m a single senior citizen now with a modest disposable income. So, books like this one in particular feed that long standing dream of experiencing other cultures, other geographic areas and meeting people beyond my limited world. This author also described some very real challenges and disappointments which added much to the authenticity. I can’t wait to read more of Ms Addis’ travels!

[Allie Craswell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hesitant picking up this book, prepared to be annoyed by a white girl’s eyes being opened by traveling around SE Asia. I quickly began to appreciate the book for what it was, an honest and authentic collection of a travelers experiences. I felt like I was talking to a friend hearing about her travels. And reading it during lockdown in the middle of a pandemic gave me an escape to the world of solo traveling that I love so much.

[Tatum Hamernik · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lovely, honest book about traveling through Southeast Asia. I love how Kristin takes the local path throughout and avoids the touristy areas. I lived in Thailand for 6 months and reading this brought me back. When I return to Southeast Asia I will definitely use the places she went as a guide.

[Amber Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book when I was 27.. Kristin Addis showed me that there is more to the world than working a meaningless job. This book inspired me to do more with my life. It helped me get over heartbreak and helped me realize that it is okay to be independent and that seeing the world is better than being stuck. This book has a magic about it that pulls you in and makes you want to go see the world.

[TatumReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lovely, honest book about traveling through Southeast Asia. I love how Kristin takes the local path throughout and avoids the touristy areas. I lived in Thailand for 6 months and reading this brought me back. When I return to Southeast Asia I will definitely use the places she went as a guide.

[Rondel babooram · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant for anyone who loves travel

I love travelling. This book made me want to travel even more. Wonderful experiences about adventures around the world. I loved every moment of this. I cannot wait to start my own adventure

[Lucy Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing book about a young woman who decides to pack up her things and go travelling across the world.
This book has brought my travel bug right back and has given me so much excitement to see the world

[anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous

If you can only see Asia through another person's adventure this is the book for you Go if you can

[Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was always a great escape whenever I picked it up to read. What a pleasure.

[Dana Moroz · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I’m planning to vagabond around Southeast Asia in the future I found this book very inspiring. I didn’t take me long to finish it, but left me with a lot of places saved for my future travels :)

[Kate Harfield · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read 60%, by that time, I couldn’t care less what the author did! Gave up

[Anna Mog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy, lighthearted read. Made me ache for travel and helped me relive some of my memories from Thailand. Wished it had some deeper, introspective passages.

[Piper Winchester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick and fun read.
Makes me wanna travel too!

[Kerry Faoro · Rating 4 out of 5]

can get slow at times but worth it to hear about all the new places/experiences in different countries/continents

[truenorth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as interesting as some travel books.

[stephen cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very much an existential journey, I enjoyed this book very much. The writer has an adventurous heart.

[Janis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a lighthearted, easy read that makes you feel like you’re listening to a friend share their travel experiences. I found all the places she visited sounded very interesting and enjoyed her way of writing.
The parts about her Australian boyfriend weren’t my favorite to read about, but I did like how in the end it helped her to grow and find out what is really important to her.

Kristen’s honesty within her diaries will make anyone catch the travel bug and certainly want to give solo traveling a try!

[Booktart · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't impressed with the writing in this book but I still enjoyed reading about somewhat undiscovered places in Southeast Asia. I think this would be a really valuable read for backpackers looking for off the beaten track places in SE Asia.