Meet Zoe Lai, travel content creator and one half of the duo behind Gone Offline, a stunning travel Instagram account that serves the latest travel inspiration. We were thrilled to interview Zoe to discover what motivated her to make travel a priority, the valuable lessons she has learned on her journeys, and her top tips for solo female travellers.
Hi Zoe! Tell us a bit about yourself and what inspired you to start prioritising travelling.
I grew up in Brisbane and moved to Melbourne at the beginning of 2020 – yes, unfortunate timing, but I don’t regret it at all because it’s such a great city. Currently, I work a 9-5 and my passion right now is creating inspiring travel content!
Growing up, my family always loved taking day trips – the kind where you would fall asleep in the car ride home after a big adventure and get carried inside, which I loved so much. When I was 14, my mum spontaneously took me on a detour to Thailand from Hong Kong. I fell in love with travelling on that trip – constantly being on the move, seeing new things, trying new food and importantly, I had so much fun with my mum – she was open to anything!
I started developing this fear of not being able to see every corner of the world before I died and I wanted to get out of the country every chance I could. Then I realised travelling isn’t always about how far you can go, but what you can discover even if it’s in your own city, state, or country.
Zoe exploring Dolomites and Sicily
Solo travel for a female can be both exciting and daunting; how did you feel after your first solo trip?
Yes, solo travelling can be very daunting! When I was living in England, there were so many cultural shocks, too many lonely and ugly moments, days when I ate only eggs and kebabs, and moments when I realised I hadn’t spoken to a single person for two days except to order a coffee. I also did some solo travelling along the west coast of California and another time in Hong Kong. The deep self-connection with myself during these solo trips was really just loving the time spent with myself, walking around a new place in my thoughts, doing whatever I wished, and being surprised at my own spontaneity! I will never forget the time when I walked past a bike shop in San Francisco and thought “Go on, let’s chase the sunset across the Golden State Bridge and find that photo location!” – and that’s exactly what I did.
Looking back on these trips, I would tell myself to be braver and talk to more strangers – I was so comfortable with myself, but I wish I made more of an effort to meet new people!
What’s the first destination that comes to mind for The Modern Muse Magazine reader’s first solo overseas trip?
Seoul! We had a stopover there last year for only three days and I fell in love with the city. It was one of those places where I thought I would love to be left alone here for a week – cafe hopping (their cafe culture is insane), madly shopping and browsing every boutique store. Plus taking public transport is so easy. I would’ve loved to take a day trip to Incheon or Jeju Island too. I also felt so safe there and remember the kind ajumma (“auntie”) at a restaurant who gave us an umbrella as we were leaving in the rain. Fashion in Korea is just next level as well.
Zoe at Bukchon Hanok Village, Seoul
Do you have any tips for staying within the baggage allowance when travelling overseas? With endless outfit planning and more shopping inevitable, this can be quite a task.
I don’t think I’ve nailed this at all and I am still a serial overpacker. But the thought of dragging heavy luggage along cobblestones in the heat for my Euro summer trip last year sounded like torture, so I followed this plan:
First, I went on Pinterest, IG or TikTok and screenshot ten outfits that I liked the most. Then, I put these screenshots into Google Sheets and further broke down each outfit into two options: 1. if I owned a similar piece or 2. had to buy it. After that, on a separate tab, I rearranged the pieces to see if I could create different outfits for day-to-day and maybe further cut down on any unnecessary pieces. Lastly, when I was happy with my outfits, I ordered any pieces that I didn’t have and voila – it made packing 25kgs pretty easy! I definitely found light dresses the easiest way to travel light and have a great outfit.
Is there still a current stigma surrounding solo female travel? If so, how do you see this dissipating with time?
My best friend is truly the best person I look up to when it comes to solo travelling and she is very much my definition of a Modern Muse. I admire her fearless outlook on solo travel. She shows me that it’s possible to have fun, meet great people, and stay safe at the same time. Even though I travel mostly with my partner now, she constantly inspires me to book another solo trip one day. Most Importantly, any stigma can be dissipated through more female solo travel stories. There are some amazing girls on TikTok who share their travel encounters, warning signs that women should look out for, and how they handled situations, which is very informative. Doing your own research is very important too. The more knowledge and experiences that we can share between us, the more confident other women become to take that solo trip!
What budget-friendly destinations around Australia would you recommend for those dipping their toes into solo travel?
Anywhere in Australia is amazing however I believe Melbourne and Victoria are fantastic places to explore for all types of travellers. There is a wide variety of landscapes, amazing food, and activities, and you can easily access many destinations within 2-3 hours from the CBD even without a car. From Melbourne, you can take public transport to the Great Ocean Road, Geelong, Macedon Ranges, Ballarat, Bendigo, Yarra Valley, and Gippsland.
Another great destination is South Australia. I recommend getting out of Adelaide and exploring the peninsulas and national parks by car. I also recently travelled to Kangaroo Island which is considered one of the cheapest and most beautiful places you can travel to in SA. It was also my first time camping which was very affordable and most of our days were spent beach hopping, being offline and enjoying nature.
Zoe at the Bridestowe Lavender Estate in Tasmania
What challenges did you overcome while solo travelling?
As an introvert, there have been many times when I wished I was brave enough to walk down to my hostel’s restaurant and strike up a conversation with a stranger. Most of the time, I was too comfortable being by myself, but I should have pushed myself a little more to see what could have happened or to bounce ideas off others.
Where’s your next stop in 2024?
I don’t have any set plans right now, but I do have a mini wish list of destinations to manifest and plan including winter in Tasmania, a summer road trip in Western Australia, winter and snowboarding in Japan, a 30th birthday trip with my friends and of course all the little escapes exploring Victoria in between the madness!
Read more of our inspiring profiles here.
Explore Zoe’s bucket-list worthy Instagram below.
