Is backpacking in Asia a good idea?
Backpacking is a growing phenomenon that finds its peak in young adults; the possibility of experiencing a new culture for months, and being able to do it on a budget it’s appealing for a lot of people, but what are the risks?
Zilla Van den Born had a different story to tell, no one expected this to happen when she wanted to travel alone in Asia.
Zilla’s modeling career
Zilla Van den Born was born in the Netherlands, in her teenage years she enjoyed the work of amazing photography artists that worked in the model industry capturing beautiful models in their work.
This interest became a passion for her and as young as 16 years old, she took the chance to become a model herself and started posing for the photographers that she once admired, but something seemed strange...
Zilla wasn't her
When Zilla looked at the retouched pictures she could notice some changes in her pose, skin, and even face that made her look different from the reality.
In that moment she discovers a new passion: the designing and retouching part of the photography process, what she did after was completely unexpected.
She found her passion!
The girl became a woman and her passion became her work: she was now a graphic designer, with a wish to know the world.
When she was 25 years old, she decided to backpack to South- East Asia and told her parents! They were clueless regarding the outcome that came with her decision…
Her dream was coming true
Her dream to travel and know the world was never a secret to her closest, so when she announced a solo trip to Asia, her friends and family weren’t surprised at all!
She was already a woman that lived by herself, and they had to be supportive of her. Little did they know that Zilla’s trip would bring such a big controversy with it.
The plan was almost ready
The plan was simple: she wanted to do a 5-week trip to South-Asia, take a bunch of pictures, and enjoy an unknown culture.
She was thinking of visiting: Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand, among other paradisiac destinies. But the plan made a twist that no-one but Zilla expected.
She is leaving again
For parents, it's really hard to let their kids go, for them is always as if they still are little kids.
Zilla’s parents felt something similar when they had to let their daughter go on a solo trip for 5 weeks, this time, not only sad of being alone but afraid of the dangers that she may encounter on the trip, what they never expect was the deception that was implicated in the seeds of this travel.
Leaving Home once again
Zilla left on April 23rd of 2014, her scared parents dropped her in the airport, and she said goodbye with the promise that she was going to keep in touch and be in contact ASAP.
Of course, they left her believing she was off to see these incredible and paradisiac places, but they surely didn’t imagine what was really about to happen to their daughter.
Lots of comments
The first pictures were posted, when Zilla shows the landing of the aircraft she was in.
Her parents were really happy that the flight went safe, while her friends and followers left her a lot of comments with their best wishes in this lifetime adventure that she was getting into… everyone was clueless of what was going on
Enviousness
Social media is a place where our post and life get exposed to good and bad vibes.
Zilla’s amazing pictures were causing a stir in the media. Everyone wanted to see more closely about the experiences she was living, and despite the little clues hidden in her pictures, no one noticed anything strange at first.
The land of smiles
When she was visiting some of the countries she created a Facebook album called “Thailand, the land of smiles”
Lots of pictures of the beautiful country were shown; no one expected to be part of something much bigger than just a young lady’s trip.
Stunning beaches
Zilla also showed in her snapshots stunning Asian beaches, her silhouette in the front, and a purple skyline with a blue ocean in the background.
At first glance the picture looked pretty innocent, what she didn’t know was that she would receive a ton of backlash for it when the truth came out.
Something wasn’t right
This was the picture that made her mom suspect that something was going on...She knew her daughter and something was just off
It was now pretty clear for the family that something potentially dangerous was going on, but the next one surely convinced them!
Long-distance affection
Despite the feeling that something wasn’t ok, Zilla continued communicating regularly with her family via Skype. Showing everyone her hotel rooms and the beautiful paradisiac places she was visiting...
They were clueless about what was really happening to her on this trip.
The food was amazing
Zilla never stopped documenting everything she did on her journey in the Asian countries.
One of the most relevant aspects for her was trying new foods and tasting the rich Asian gastronomy. Everyone was shocked when she revealed the crazy truth about the yummy food she posted.
Seemingly Normal
While on her trip, Zilla kept her social media updated, also showing all the new friends she was making in Southeast Asia.
Not only that, but they also seemed to enjoy their time with their new friend, interacting in her pictures and posts. You’ll be shocked to find out the true nature of her new “friends”.
The Trip Continues
As time passed and Zilla “enjoyed” her trip, her family grew calmer and calmer believing she was following her itinerary just as she said she would, going from Thailand to Laos and Cambodia.
Little did they know about what was really going on and never expected what Zilla was about to tell them
Zilla’s return home
Time went on and Zilla’s 5-week trip through Southeast Asia was done. While her family and friends were thinking she was scuba diving in crystal clear water, enjoying exotic cuisine, and living her best life while enjoying amazing adventures.
Of course, Zilla was able to keep them up-to-date on her trip, but the truth certainly shocked her family when they found out about the reality of her trip.
An elaborate ploy
Her friends and family were astounded when they found out that Zilla hadn’t spent the last 5 weeks in south-east Asia but actually she spent them in her apartment in Amsterdam, making everyone believe she was on the other side of the world.
If you’re shocked now, you’ll never believe why and how she did it.
Setting the stage
During the 42 days, Zilla was “away” she was locked up in her apartment, duping all of her friends and family, only going out of the apartment only to get specific pictures for her ploy or getting essentials.
Even then, she’d go out disguised in order for her not to get recognized. All the tricks she employed to trick everyone will leave you amazed.
A ton of work
While everyone thought Zilla was relaxing and enjoying the beach, she actually was hard at work editing pictures and setting the stage for all of her trickery. This, in order to achieve the results she wanted.
Waking up in the middle of the night to chat with her family or spending countless hours editing pictures to make it seem as she was actually there. She even went to unbelievable extremes to make it believable.
The flawless con
Zilla knew what she wanted, and she didn’t cut any corners to do so. Zilla went through the process of learning and mastering Asian cuisines from her own home in order to make her posts as realistic and possible.
Even changing her surroundings before Skype calls with her family, so they wouldn’t suspect anything. The reason why she did this will shake you to the core.
Thorough process
Even the friends she “made” and kept interacting with her on social media were her! She had created multiple fake accounts using fictional identities and staged multiple conversations to make the situation as credible as possible.
She even had to visit places around Amsterdam to get some shots for her social media. You won’t believe where she had to go.
Undercover around town
Zilla had to visit some places to get a few shots for her social media. She went to a community pool to get an underwater picture, in order for her to edit in some exotic fish and the ocean floor!
She also went to visit a local temple to get a picture with a Buddhist monk for her profile as well. But after all of her relatives knew what she had done, they only had one question, why? Why would she lie and betray them like that?
Why?
After she had successfully done her ploy, Zilla quickly answered everyone’s question. "The inspiration for this project came from combining my two passions together: photo manipulation and traveling," Zilla said.
She also added, "I wanted to prove how easily reality gets distorted." Not only that, she went on further.
Further explaining
Zilla went into further detail on her reasons why she conned everyone, “I did this to show people that we filter and manipulate what we show on social media,”
“Thereby we create an online ideal world which reality can no longer meet. My goal was to prove how common and easy it is to distort reality… The only thing Zilla wasn’t expecting the results of her actions
Backlash?
Zilla didn’t really expect the results all of her actions had. While many people praised her for her “conning” and editing skills, her closest friends and family felt hurt and betrayed by her lies and actions.
“If I had the chance to do it again, I don’t think I would,” Zilla confessed to BuzzFeed. “I really underestimated the impact of the project on myself and the people around me.”
Social Experiment
The experiment was a project for her college course. Zilla has demonstrated that social media is a strong medium that many people use to manipulate the understanding of their lives of others.
She wanted to show how easy it is in social media to present herself in a certain manner.
One last word
What do you think of the social phenomenon of Zilla? Do we really think that our mates lead idyllic lives because of social media?
Is it true, because of the warped truth we see every day on the television and our own Facebook accounts, that we do not feel happy with our lives? Zilla has put together a book to give readers the opportunity to see before and after pictures.