Slow travel leaves space for unexpected encounters, time to think, and a bigger appreciation for the journey. We caught up with Anissa Maille, a conservation photographer and creator who happens to be a pro when it comes to travelling any which way, as long as it doesn't involve a plane...
Hear from Anissa in her own words about her experiences travelling the world by train and boat, and how she chooses to live life in the slow lane.
Written by Anissa Maille
“But is it really possible to travel like that, without taking a plane?”
This is often the first question I get asked when I talk about my various adventures without flying. However, I am Anissa, and slow travel is not just an experience, it has become a way of life.
Over the years, I have chosen to take my time and travel differently, leaving more room for freedom, unexpected encounters and the present moment. Whether through my train or boat journeys, I have been travelling the world for several years, building a daily life that blends work, discovery and freedom.
I want to share my thoughts with you, made up of doubts and questioning, but also of choices and small personal revelations. Behind each of my journeys, there is above all one main desire: to live more simply, more intensely, and more in accordance with my ecological and social values.
"You slow down. You stop when you feel like it. You leave room for the unexpected, and it is often in these moments that the most beautiful encounters happen."
It all started with a slightly crazy idea: to travel around the world without flying...
Since September 2024, I have travelled through 20 countries by train. I learned to slow down, to observe, and above all to redefine what really matters to me. Slow travel has not only offered me breathtaking landscapes but also a new way of seeing and inhabiting the world. I hope that through my story, you will find some inspiration, whether it be in the desire to slow down, to get out of the daily grind of commuting, working, and sleeping, or simply to allow yourself to dream more.
How did my adventure around the world begin?
This voyage arose after an urgent need, after a major burnout, to realize a long-held dream: to leave Paris, travel around the world and devote myself fully to photography. This project of living on the road with a backpack didn't happen overnight. It was built slowly and over years. Even as a child, then as a teenager, I dreamed of a life different from what those around me dreamed of for me: I imagined travelling the world, but above all living more simply, with the bare minimum, and making freedom a priority.
Over time and after having a life "like everyone else", including six years of law studies, my dream took a more concrete direction: to travel differently, without flying, respecting my environmental values and choosing slowness rather than ease.
It is my love for nature, for the species that inhabit it, and for the people who depend on it that made me decide to travel without flying.
I couldn't embark on a journey to the four corners of the world while contributing to the destruction of what I love most. It would be inconsistent, disrespectful, and even deeply selfish. So I chose not to, and when I reflected on my favourite way to travel, my choice naturally fell to the train.
Trains have always been my preferred mode of transport. I love the slower pace, which allows time to watch the landscapes unfold and to experience unexpected moments. And above all, I love the idea that the journey begins at the start, not just at the finish.
10 months of train travel across Europe and Asia
I left France in September 2024. I began with a long train journey to Laos, passing through Switzerland, Hungary, Romania, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, the Caspian Sea, Kazakhstan, and China. This train journey took me a month and a half in total, with my arrival in Laos on November 10, 2024. It was this first train journey that completely changed my view of travel and especially the encounters I had on the road.
Just four days after leaving France, I found myself on a train travelling from Bucharest to Istanbul. There I met a couple of fellow travellers, Lizzie and Cristiano, who, like me, were heading to Istanbul — but with a final destination of a small village in southern Turkey called Destin.
While talking with them, I discovered that this village was at the heart of an environmental struggle: its inhabitants have been fighting for years against a cement industry and the ravages of deforestation to protect their land. I found it so inspiring that, on a whim, I told them I was going to join them. They laughed, thinking I was joking, but I was totally serious!
That's how I ended up spending a whole week in this village nestled in the mountains, surrounded by an incredible Turkish community. The bonds we forged in just a few days became invaluable. It was also there that I completed my very first photo report for a local environmental event, a powerful experience that left a lasting impression on me.
We've stayed in touch ever since, and if I had to relive one moment of my trip over and over again, it would be this one.
Travelling by train, making slow travel a way of life, also allows you to experience these kinds of encounters because you are fully present, open to what is happening here and now. You no longer rush to travel across an entire country at breakneck speed. You slow down. You stop when you feel like it. You leave room for the unexpected, and it is often in these moments that the most beautiful encounters happen.
"Slow travel has transformed my relationship with time. I've learned to slow down, to stop trying to optimize every moment, and to experience it fully by being as present as possible."
What slow travel has taught me
Travelling by train, slowly, around the world, taught me much more than freedom. Not just the freedom to move, to forge my own path or to answer to no one, but a deeper freedom: the freedom to live differently from what society dictates.
Slow travel has transformed my relationship with time. I've learned to slow down, to stop trying to optimize every moment, and to experience it fully by being as present as possible. I've learned to accept that everything takes longer, and to understand that this time is never wasted.
It also changed my perception of distances. Crossing a country or continent without flying gives meaning back to kilometers, allows you to feel the transitions between each culture, and truly understand the immensity of the world.
Over time, I've also learned to live with less. Since leaving Paris, I only carry a backpack with the essentials, yet I feel much richer than before. This minimalism has allowed me to free up space in my mind and focus on the present moment rather than material possessions.
My lifestyle today
It's been two years now since I left France to travel around the world at my own pace. This first round trip by train (since I travelled back from Malaysia to France via Mongolia, Russia, etc.) completely changed my view of the world and of travel.
No longer taking a plane on a whim, without thinking about what it implies, both environmentally and in terms of the human experience, has given me the impression of stepping into a new universe.
For example, in June 2025, after several months in Southeast Asia, I received a last-minute invitation to the UNOC (United Nations Ocean Conference). Flying back was out of the question. I had experienced so much through slow travel, and above all, I had realized that it was possible to cross continents by train and that it was a thousand times more enriching. I couldn't imagine doing it any other way. In just one month, I travelled thousands of kilometers between Malaysia and France, entirely by train, to reach the UNOC on time.
Travelling without flying means becoming aware of your environmental impact, but also of the true distances between places. It means forging a much stronger connection with the regions you visit, and ultimately, experiencing travel in a completely different way. Your perception of time changes entirely when it takes you a month and a half to reach a destination that's only a few hours away by plane.
It was this slowness and this taste for adventure that pushed me to travel to South America by boat after my return to France. I then discovered another mode of transport: hitchhiking on boats.
I found a first vessel that took me from Barcelona to Tenerife, where I discovered the profession of skipper and life at sea, a completely new world for me. After a few days on the Spanish islands, I boarded a second sailboat, on which I sailed from Tenerife to Cape Verde. It was one of my most beautiful experiences: sailing at night, under an endless starry sky, without any lights around, guided only by the moon and the sound of the waves.
Finally, after a few days in Cape Verde, I crossed the Atlantic over 13 days with a lovely family, before arriving in the Caribbean last November. These journeys have profoundly transformed my lifestyle, refocusing it on the present moment, my ecological values, and a quest for freedom and adventure on a daily basis.
My message for those who dream of another life
While I currently make a living doing odd jobs on the road, as well as a lot of volunteer work with families or on projects in exchange for a bed and food, it's not all perfect. Living on the road also has many downsides: financial instability, sometimes dangerous situations as a woman, and often feeling very lonely.
But this is the life I've chosen to lead. And above all, it's the one that makes me happy, so that's what matters most. By documenting my journey and travels on social media, I hope to inspire my followers to break free from the mold they've been confined to since childhood. To refocus their dreams and passions, whether by completely changing their lives, setting off with a backpack, or simply deciding to dedicate more time to passions that have been put aside because of work.
Although the saying "you only live once" may seem cliché or redundant to some, it remains profoundly true. That's why I don't want to spend a single second of my life without pursuing my dreams or listening to what others expect of me.
At the end of the day, it's your life and your happiness that matter, so ask yourself the question: Are you really living for yourself?
About Anissa
Anissa is a Conservation Photographer & Content Creator with a curiosity for other cultures and a passion for protecting our planet. Follow her slow travels below:
Website: anissamaille.com
Instagram: @6nissa
TikTok: @6nissa
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