Man travels south east Asia using beer as his only currency
Justin Bratton managed to travel 5,200 km from Shangdu, Inner Mongolia to Bangkok, Thailand, exchanging beer for lifts and food
There are many ways to fund a south east Asia travelling adventure; you could get a job and save up, ask your parents to help out or sell a few unwanted possessions on eBay.
But one traveller has found a whole new method of paying for his trip - using beer as his only currency.
Without taking a single penny with him, American Justin Bratton managed to travel 5,200 km from Shangdu, Inner Mongolia to Bangkok, Thailand over a two-week journey, reports Yahoo.com.
As part of a social experiment, the seasoned traveller followed the 12th century explorer Marco Polo's Spice Route, travelling through Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Hanoi, using only bottles of Heineken beer to exchange for rides and meals from locals.
His ultimate destination was the dance and music festival, Sensation Thailand.
Those on overland adventure trips to south east Asia or any other region will not have to worry about funding their transport or food while on their trip, as this will be taken care of beforehand.
But the experience of discovering new destinations and meeting interesting and friendly locals is something all travellers can look forward to.
"You learn so much by travelling. You learn just how incredible absolute strangers can be. You learn how friendly and engaging people can be. These are things that you can't learn in university or school," said Bratton.
"When you're sort of developing this rhythm of coming into contact with certain individuals and interesting people, inevitably you find yourself in really interesting situations," he said.
One of his most interesting travel experiences was when he met a group of wrestlers in Mongolia who he challenged to a showdown in exchange for a lift.
"I told them that if I win, they give me a ride and if they win, I'll give them some beer. In my mind, when I said that, I thought that there was a chance that I wouldn't win … and yeah, the match was sort of quick," he told Yahoo.
"But they're super friendly guys and they ended up giving me a ride anyway," he said.
