This is why we travel
Why we travel this way—and why it matters.
Chicken Feet Travels wasn’t born out of a business plan. It started with a night out—like all good things—and a casual conversation about travel, adventure, and freedom.
Simon and I first met on a dive trip to the Philippines in 2012, searching for whale sharks and mantas. A year later, we reconnected in Singapore and realised how aligned we are, despite how different we move through the world. He is all about human-powered challenges—summiting peaks and long distance road cycling—while I am focused on the ocean, offbeat travel, and exploring cultures and local folklore through slow movement.
At the time, I was already helping friends and their visiting families plan their trips—not for money, just because I wanted to share where I had just been and who I travelled with. I had spent years collecting local contacts, building relationships with guides, and curating meaningful experience for people who were overwhelmed with options and skeptical of online noise. I never thought of it as a business. I just wanted people to feel that right kind of travel—the kind that stays with you long after you return home.
Simon, meanwhile was deep in the corporate grind. As much as he loved his job, he did not have the bandwidth to research and plan something that was not commercialised. “I have this many days to travel—where can I go?” That’s when we started dreaming.
We came up with the concept. Next came the name.
Over lunch one day, he ordered some chicken pho and I ordered the vegetarian option. He pauses for a moment, poking around at the bottom of his bowl—some bones or organs. “What is it?” I asked, “At least it’s not chicken feet”. Then he got a little bit serious and said “what if it was?”
And somehow, it stuck: Chicken Feet Travels.
In Singapore, chicken feet is also a Singlish slang phrase meaning “easy.” That was the original idea—to make travel planning feel effortless, even when the destination was wild, remote, or unfamiliar. But it also reflected something deeper: the best travel experiences aren’t always the polished ones. Sometimes they’re strange and overlooked. Like chicken feet, we are also a little bit gross to some—but for those who can appreciate it, we are a delicacy.
Shortly after this, I hit a wall, I felt stuck. So I left—and what followed became a 495 day journey through South America, Asia and the Pacific. I travelled on foot, on sailboats, by motorbike, train and buses. I didn’t just visit places—I studied them. I didn’t just pass through. I asked questions—a lot of questions. I experienced how tourism transformed places for better—and sometimes for worse. That journey changed everything we do now.
Today, Simon helps me zoom out and stay grounded in the reality of running a business. And I lead the rest—planning every itinerary, refining every route, checking in with our guides, and making sure the small details reflect a bigger purpose.
We don’t just send people places. We help them travel differently.
This is the art of travel.
This is holistic travel.
This is Chicken Feet Travels.
Meet The Founders
If you’re wondering who’s behind all of this—I’m Jin.
I have been travelling slowly and intentionally since 2006. Not as a digital nomad and not to collect passport stamps or tick boxes. I travel slowly to understand places and to take in traditional and local wisdom. I’ve crossed Southeast Asia by motorbike, worked as a divemaster in Mozambique, sailed around French Polynesia and listened to elders in mountain villages most people will never hear about.
For years, I helped friends and their families plan their holidays. I had a notebook full of names, local secrets and insights. Through a series of fortunate events and good people, I met Simon and eventually, Chicken Feet Travels grew out of that curiosity and care.
I still design every trip. I choose every partner. I visit every destination and check in often—because things change and I believe our responsibility to communities does not end when the itinerary is set.
And last but not least without Simon, Chicken Feet Travels would not exist. He adds his flair of human-powered adventures and keeps us focused on the not so fun parts of running a business.
This isn’t a business built on scale.
It's built on trust, stories, shared values and chance meetings.
The people behind the places
Every Chicken Feet Travels trip behind with one thing: trust.
We don’t pick our guides based on Google reviews or polished websites—some of worst websites have the best brain behind them. We choose them because we’ve travelled with them, shared meals with them, met their families, and gotten wonderfully lost with them. These are our friends.
It always starts with a place. Sometimes it’s a whispers of a remote village or a person with a unique story. Other times, it’s found by zooming in on Google Maps, tracing rivers and coastline, looking for a hint of something exciting. From there, we keep pulling at the thread—not to chase what’s already popular, but to meet the people who know the land best.
Sometimes there is already an operation doing really good things. In that case, we go quietly as travellers. We listen and observe. If something resonates, we start building a relationship. Other times, it takes time—deep conservations, return visits, and shared experiences—until we find the people who feel right. We never rush it.
Because there is a difference between a driver and a guide. Drivers get you from A to B. But a guide makes you care about where you are. They’re storytellers. They know the names of trees and the stories behind every little things you might pass along the way. They turn travel days into tour days. The guides we work with are often pioneers in their region—local leaders who aren’t just moving you from place to place safely, they‘re shaping the future of travel in their communities by giving people reasons to start a cafe or homestay in offbeat yet stunning places.
They care deeply about where they come from. And they care about you experiencing it in the right way. They fight for their home, for their land, and for our guests. They advocate for better tourism practices. They bring their lived experience, their deep hospitality, their curiosity, and their humour. Some of them can cook a feast with whatever’s int he forest. Others will keep you up until 2am with takes of adventure and local folklore. These are the people we return to.
When you travel with Chicken Feet, you’re not joining a tour. You’re stepping into a relationship—into stories, into places held with love, and a shared responsibility to grow it with tourism in a way that protects nature and uplifts everyone involved.
Without them, we are just another “sustainable” travel company adding to the noise—and the problem—of over-tourism.
They are what make Chicken Feet, Chicken Feet.