Minh moved with his family from the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long to Saigon at a young age, and suffered spinal deformity at the age of 11. He was unable to walk normally and suffered chronic pain.

Phan Vu Minh poses for picture.

A failed surgery at the age of 18 left him bound to a wheelchair.

Depressed and desperate, he asked his parents to let he him move back to Vinh Long and live with his grandmother. Life took a new turn.

At first he rarely went out because he did not want strangers to ask him about his condition, but gradually, encouraged by his relatives, he began to venture out. He realized people were not looking at him with pity but with basic human sympathy and kindness.

Bored at home, he began to import Thai roses and sold them. From finding wholesale contacts and learning how to take care of the roses to setting up an advertising website, he did everything himself.

In 2017 Minh decided to make his first trip to the neighboring province of Bac Lieu to visit a friend with the same condition as him.

A week before the trip he came up with the idea of turning his motorbike into a three-wheel vehicle, and got a distant relative to do it for him. He rode to Bac Lieu on his "super vehicle," as he calls it.

In June 2019 Minh and his nephew went a trip to explore the provinces and cities between Vinh Long and Hue. What Minh had only seen on television unfolded in front of his eyes as the two began their series of discoveries.

Minh at the Hue Imperial Citadel, a UNESCO world heritage site, in central Vietnam.

He has traveled to more than 20 provinces and cities and wants to visit more places. Wherever he goes, he thinks to himself, "It turns out that real life is more beautiful than what is shown on television, and I've finally been able to make it here."

Before each trip, he carefully prepares items like pots, a gas cooker, shrimp noodles, dry foods, and weightlifting equipment.

Initially the long rides in summer tired him out, but discovering new lands and delicious foods and making friends along the way have been so rewarding that it no longer bothers him.

"In the past I used to be self-deprecating and afraid to express personal thoughts. But ever since I began traveling, I talk more and share stories with people I meet on the road."

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Source: VnExpress