After quitting her corporate job, a 30-year-old found a way to make a living by travelling the world

Business owner creates plan to make hobby into lifestyle

Next on her itinerary is to visit family in California (Instagram)

Amy Truong, 30, is many things.

She’s a traveller, based in Hawaii a few months out of the year but steadily making her way across the globe. She’s a blogger, sharing stories, photos, musings and helpful hints on her website, Generic Dreams. And she’s an entrepreneur who founded her own travel agency called Up and Explore while continuing to work remotely in software testing as a “digital nomad”.

One thing she is not, though, is timid. She’s up for anything on her trips, whether it’s scaling mountains via closed-off hikes or bribing guards to explore abandoned buildings.

“The thing about travelling,” she told INSIDER, “is that you don’t want to say no to what could be a great adventure.”

Ms Truong got the travel bug on vacation time from her corporate job in tech and hasn’t looked back since.

She is gradually travelling the whole world (Instagram)

“I figured there’s got to be a way to make this a lifestyle ... to do it more and make it a part of my life, not just a few weeks out of the year,” she told INSIDER.

So she found a job where she could work remotely as a “digital nomad” and began travelling the world, blogging about her adventures on her site, Generic Dreams.

Ms Truong also founded her own travel agency called Up and Explore, where she plans other people’s trips.

Her travel philosophy involves balancing tourist attractions and little-known spots she discovers by befriending locals.

Ms Truong isn’t one to shy away from adventures that are off the beaten path – she’s quite the daredevil.

In Hawaii, she hiked the Stairway to Heaven through a back path down the mountain, a route that’s closed off because of how dangerous it is.

“I went with my friend who is an avid, expert hiker,” she said. “I had no idea what I was doing.”

The perilous hike ended at a gated neighbourhood, forcing them to climb over a barbed wire fence to the finish.

“As soon as we’re climbing over, search and rescue pulls up, and they’re like, ‘well well well, look what we found,” Ms Truong recalled.

The Stairway to Heaven consists of 3,922 steel steps (Instagram)

Another time, she bribed some guards into letting her into an abandoned skyscraper in Bangkok, Thailand.

The crumbling structure was off-limits for good reason, with holes in the floors and exposed wires everywhere.

“I kept asking my friends, ‘You guys have your tetanus shots, right?’”

Still, it made for a great photo-op.

When it comes to other people’s trips, though, Ms Truong knows that these kinds of heart-pounding adventures aren’t for everyone.

She tries to gauge people’s personalities and preferences when designing their itineraries. (Up and Explore trips for two range between $5,000-$10,000.)

“If they don’t want to do any hiking or anything strenuous, I’m not going to suggest for them to climb an abandoned skyscraper,” she said.

Next on her own itinerary is visiting family in California.

“It’s a one way ticket though,” she said, leaving the future open.

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