Filmmaker Celesty Lee took a year off to travel while backpacking from Europe to Asia with a 2-man team over 10 months in 14 countries across 40+ cities. In addition to having fun, she conducted a social experiment with her friend. Even with all the joys and freedom, they faced many challenges from lack of information and lack of connections. In various locations around the world, she held a sign seeking help, while her cinematographer friend shot what transpired. They traveled with a very limited amount of money while staying in cheap hostels, traveling by low cost modes of transportation (night bus, night ferry without room, night train seat,etc). They even cooked by themselves with discount groceries from markets.Are people in various cities willing to help a stranger in need?

The kindness they received from strangers inspired them to to work on an app to connect people and increase kindness between travelers and locals. Look for the Ciao Vela app in the future.

Ciao traveler