Holistic Travel
The Holistic Approach to travel that’s rooted in curiosity and Connection
We never set out to name a philosophy but I just felt that something about how most people travel today did not sit right to me.
It seems a bit silly because before social media told us what we are missing out on, our elders heard stories from their friends and family and neighbours and followed their curiosity around the world. They went in without any pretence or expectations and dived deep into an immersive cultural experience.
It wasn’t just about the destinations—it was the disconnection. The rush to tick things off. The copy-paste itineraries. The selfies in front of places noone took the time to understand. I saw more and more people seeing the world without really meeting it. Without noticing the small details. Without asking who built this road, who was the first to discover the place, and what this view looked like before it was a social media post.
That’s when it finally hit me that what we do isn’t just what other people are doing— it’s not just sustainable travel, not just ethical travel, not even just conscious travel anymore—because all those terms have been watered down and overused. What we’re doing at Chicken Feet Travels is something more layered. More human. More whole.
So none of the above truly resonated with me until I labeled it a holistic approach to travel. Mostly because a lot of it comes down to each person’s individual connection to the people and places they visit and to themselves. It is about raising self-awareness, understanding what you actually like and want to do in the world, and following through.
To travel holistically means looking at the entire ecosystem of a trip—not just where you’re going but how you’re arriving. It’s considering your time, your energy, your money, your impact, and your intentions. It’s asking what this trip will give to the people and places you meet—and what it will eventually give back to you, not just in photos but in perspective and stories.
It’s not about going to places to take the perfect photo to humble brag to your mates. It’s about presence. And these five principles are what guide everything we do:
Forge, Do Not Follow
Nature Heals
Cultivate Curiosity
Slower Travel, Deeper Impact
Conservation
Forge, Do not Follow
Instagram and influencer culture have made it normal to travel on autopilot—just follow, just copy, just show up where everyone else is going. But the more we do that, the more we lose the essence of what travel could be.
Yes, the most popular destinations are often stunning. There is a reason people return again and again. But when 90% of global tourism is concentrated in just the same 100 destination—and 94 out of the 100 top destinations have not changed in years—we have to ask: is this really exploration or is this replication? Is there a better way ? Are there other places away from mass tourism?
At Chicken Feet Travels, we invite you to forge a different path.
We’ve spent years scouring Southeast Asia not for the most famous places but for the most transformative ones—places that surprised us, welcomes us, and changed us. These are the kind of places that don’t show up on the first page of a search result because the best stories aren’t tagged or geo-located. They’re passed along from person to person, often by random chance or over a shared meal in someone’s home.
Forging a new path doesn’t always mean going remote or only using squatty toilets. But it does mean leaving room for surprise and staying long enough to be invited deeper in, and asking better questions—not just “What is there to see?” but “Who is there to meet?”
We know that going off The Banana Pancake Trail is daunting. It takes effort. It takes time to wait for the right moments. It takes money to get where fewer go. It takes grit to navigate discomfort when roads close or plans change. That’s why we design experiences that strike a balance.
We go to epic locations but support small locally-owned guesthouses. We work with who we believe are the best guides, but keep group sizes small. Our trips range from long weekends to months on the road—but all of them are rooted in the relationships we have built over the last 2 decades, not just checklist commercialised tourism.
Jin (our co-founder) is a backpacker at heart. Every location we offer has been visited firsthand—often multiple times—because to more trust we earn from the guides, the more secrets we learn about the "undiscovered”. Most of our trips weren’t recommended by Instagram, but by the local and international friends who are deep within all the communities they live in. We connect with and listen to seasoned guides, fisherman, and drivers who share our values and thirst for adventure.
This is what it means to forge, not follow.
Because when we carve out new paths, we not only create better experiences— we help protect what is still wild and worth preserving.
Nature heals
Because magic only takes three days.
Most of us don’t need a vacation—we need to feel alive again. And the fastest way to do that is to step into nature. Even a short time in wild places helps us reset. This isn’t just a nice idea—it’s backed by science. Researchers call it the Three Day Effect: the shift that happens when we unplug, slow down, and ground ourselves in the natural world to recalibrate.
At Chicken Feet Travels, we design experiences around that effect. We believe three days int he right place, with the right people, can change everything. These aren’t quick getaways just to tick off a list—these are invitations to breathe again. To surf at sunrise, to climb through clouds, to eat food that taste like where it came from, and to feel what it’s like to belong in the world again.
Nature is the main event. Every weekend or long trip is rooted in years of exploring, riding, diving and listening. We partner with the people who call these places their home which gives them all the reason to protect their corner of nature. We’ve created nature-based escapes who need them most—busy professionals living daily life on repeat, seekers and retired wanderers. You don’t need a sabbatical to come alive. You just need a few days where the air is clean, the wifi signal is weak, and the land and animals are still wild enough to remind you who you are.
And when we remember that nature heals, we remember how to protect. We are nature.
Cultivate Curiosity
“How we spend every day is how we spend our lives.” Read that again. Think about it. So, when was the last time you tried something new—just because. Fast forward 50 years, when you look back, what did you actually do?
We believe it’s never too late to try something different, especially in Southeast Asia where curiosity is always rewarded. Whether it’s summiting a volcano, diving in the Coral triangle, eating something unfamiliar, or simple doing nothing in a UNESCO heritage site—this region has a way of expanding your world if you let it. And another great part is that getting a surf guide or doing a yoga retreat is very affordable.
You don’t need to be an “outdoorsy type” to get started. Do you like elephants? Then go meet one and learn how to protect them. Love to eat? Try cooking what you taste. Prefer to sit and observe? Sit in a rice field and just notice. The magic is in the doing.
It’s empowering to work with your hands. It feels good to sweat it out in nature. And it’s deeply enriching to explore new places and meet new people.
Adventure is a mindset. It isn’t about cliffs or climbs—it’s a willingness to try something different, to fumble a little, to stay curious and bold when Google Maps loses connection. The real adventure starts when you stop needing it to look a certain way.
You start by going.
And if you don’t try, you don’t know.
We believe in you because we were also adult learners too.
Slower Travel, deeper Impact
We’ve been hearing about companies offerings three months a year for remote work “from anywhere”. Truth is, we’ve been building Chicken Feet Travels from a laptop, hotspot data, and slow travel since 2012—before 3G was even a thing in parts of Southeast Asia.
We know this lifestyle works. And we believe you can create your most meaningful memories when you slow down long enough to notice what matters—and to matter to the places you visit.
You manage your work. We help you fill the rest of your days with meaning—surfing and diving before you start your workday, scootering into a village for lunch, trekking with elephants or orangutans, learning a new recipe with the host of your homestay. These moments leave an imprint—on you, and on the people who welcomed you in. Because when you travel slower, you don’t just pass through—you connect, you contribute, you start to realise that your presence, your choices, your pace—you make a difference.
Travel still comes down to time, money and grit. Fly too fast and you miss the soul of a place. Move too slow and it might cost you more than you planned. But when you find your rhythm and have the courage to listen instead of consume, you will feel a shift. That’s the deeper impact.
Conservation
We prioritise the planet and the people and by engaging with the local communities we can reduce tourism leakage.
When we travel better, we give more than we take. At Chicken Feet Travels, conservation means more than protecting nature—it means empowering the people who live the closet to it.
In the remote corners we travel to, tourism can be a lifeline. Jin has seen it firsthand,: responsible travel funds children’s education, puts food on tables, and saved lives by providing more cash and access to healthcare.
And no, it’s not about volunteering. It’s not about planting trees for a day and flying home. it’s about the small decisions we make. Choosing the cafe that supports remote villages to grow shade grown coffee. Choosing to go where most don’t to support small communities trying to rise above subsistence farming or fishing. Choosing truly sustainable hotels taking responsibility of the neighbourhood and land they moved into.
If we had to sum up Chicken Feet Travels in one word, it would be this: conservation.
Conserving biodiversity on land and underwater.
Conserving culture, language, and heritage.
Conserving a thriving future for all of us.
Travel is our tool. Through careful partnerships in Southeast Asia, we show you the people the places worth protecting—and remind you why they’re worth fighting for.
