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🌍 Type 1 diabetic backpacking the world solo
đŸ„œ Travelling with severe food allergies
đŸŽ„ documenting it all along the way
❀ Helping show people that adventure is still possible with chronic illness
🎒 Grab my FREE Type 1 & Allergy Travel Checklist âŹ‡ïž

I don’t think I’ve ever really explained how I felt when my insulin froze in Vietnam.I’d spent years telling myself that...
05/09/2026

I don’t think I’ve ever really explained how I felt when my insulin froze in Vietnam.

I’d spent years telling myself that Type 1 diabetes wasn’t going to decide what I could and couldn’t do.

Then I went backpacking around Southeast Asia alone.

And for the most part, I felt like I’d proved that to myself.

Until I opened the fridge in a hostel in northern Vietnam and realised my insulin had frozen.

I remember just sitting there staring at it.

Months’ worth of insulin. The thing that literally keeps me alive. And I had absolutely no idea if any of it was usable anymore.

I was a long way from home, on my own, in a country where I didn’t speak the language.

And for the first time on that trip, I genuinely thought:

Maybe I’ve pushed this too far.

That feeling scared me more than I admitted at the time.

Because this trip meant more to me than just travelling.

When I was diagnosed with Type 1 at 20, I was terrified that my life was going to become smaller. That every decision from then on would have this extra question attached to it:

Can I actually do that with diabetes?

Travelling alone was almost my way of fighting back against that.

So sitting on that hostel bed looking at frozen insulin felt like diabetes had finally caught up with me.

I felt stupid.

I felt scared.

And if I’m completely truthful, there was a part of me that just wanted to be at home.

But I wasn’t.

So I had to work it out.

A few days later I was back in Hanoi, speaking to doctors, pharmacies and my travel insurer, trying to get enough replacement insulin to continue.

Eventually, I did.

And I carried on travelling.

I don’t tell this story because I think everyone with Type 1 should throw themselves into situations that scare them.

I tell it because I spent a long time thinking being brave meant not being scared.

I don’t think that anymore.

Sometimes you’re thousands of miles from home, absolutely sh****ng yourself, wondering whether you’ve made a massive mistake


and you carry on anyway.

Type 1 diabetes has made travelling harder.

It has scared the s**t out of me at times.

But I refuse to let fear have the deciding vote.

I had ONE WEEK of insulin left in Vietnam.Nearly two months of my insulin had accidentally been frozen in a hostel freez...
04/09/2026

I had ONE WEEK of insulin left in Vietnam.

Nearly two months of my insulin had accidentally been frozen in a hostel freezer, and I still had another two months of travelling ahead of me. đŸ« 

I finished the HĂ  Giang Loop with two pens left, headed straight back to Hanoi, and somehow managed to get a full replacement supply.

Thankfully, my travel insurance covered the cost — otherwise this could’ve ended my trip completely.

Probably one of the biggest “oh s**t” moments of the whole four months 😂

Type 1s — what’s the worst diabetes problem you’ve had while travelling?

I had ONE WEEK of insulin left in Vietnam. (My last pen) Nearly two months worth of my insulin had accidentally been fro...
03/09/2026

I had ONE WEEK of insulin left in Vietnam. (My last pen)

Nearly two months worth of my insulin had accidentally been frozen in a hostel freezer and was now unusable.

And I still had another two months of travelling ahead of me. 😂

I finished the HĂ  Giang Loop with two pens left, had a hypo halfway up a mountain for good measure, then headed straight back to Hanoi to work out what the hell I was going to do.

Thankfully, my travel insurance came through.

I was able to get a replacement supply of insulin in Hanoi and the cost was covered, so I could carry on travelling rather than having to fly home.

It was probably the moment on the whole trip that made me realise how important it is to actually plan for the “what if everything goes wrong?” part of travelling with Type 1.

Because I definitely hadn’t planned for somebody putting my insulin in a freezer. 😂

Type 1s, what’s the biggest diabetes disaster you’ve had while travelling?

Also what do people use to keep their insulin cool, I’m open to any ideas?

My insulin freezing on the Ha giang was definitely the most eventful thing that happened on my trip lol. However, after ...
01/09/2026

My insulin freezing on the Ha giang was definitely the most eventful thing that happened on my trip lol. However, after realising I had enough insulin to survive a few more days I decided to do the Cao bang loop. Even though I had to cut it down to 2 days it was probably the highlight of my time in Vietnam đŸ‡»đŸ‡ł and probably my favourite region. Luckily my insurance sorted me out which was very much appreciated.

28/08/2026

This was from my time in Cambodia where I realised that the type 1 diabetes situation is really tough.

My biggest barrier to booking a flight to south east Asia was definitely the fear of the worst case scenario happening w...
27/08/2026

My biggest barrier to booking a flight to south east Asia was definitely the fear of the worst case scenario happening while I was out there. Things will definetly go wrong, but if you prepare as much as you can, you’ll be surprised how much you can just figure out once you’re out there.

27/08/2026

If you could have one day without type 1 diabetes what would you do? I coulda done with a few days off while travelling haha.

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