Several articles of mine have the same theme – travel. I remember years before, I wrote an article about flashpacking in relation to learning; this one is about solo travel. By “solo travel”, I mean travelling alone planning on my own (Wow, they rhyme!) Maybe it’s nothing special for those who had a lot of experience doing so, but I experienced it only last year, and just love it and am going to do so this year too.
Maybe it’s hard for someone to believe that a married woman still have the chance to travel alone. Yes, I should thank my spouse for trusting me (trusting my ability and loyalty), training me to be brave and independent (much more than I was simply as a daughter of my parents) and allowing me to see the world for myself.
I remember last year, my friends said, even if you’re travelling alone, you shouldn’t start with a scam city, but I did, and thank God I came back safe. This year, I’m going by myself to another scam city, and I’ll again pray for God’s blessings.
The best enjoyment of travelling solo is the freedom and the complete retreat from stress. You just have to care about what you want to do; you don’t have to worry if your travel buddies like it or dare to do so. You are responsible just for yourself. You only have yourself to blame, but no one will blame you just because you go the wrong way or make a bad choice. You can switch off your mobile phone or even not take it because you don’t have to stay in contact with anybody, so no one will find you for work or whatever trivial matters.
I soon realise the source of stress in life is mainly meeting others’ expectations. You have your goal(s) to achieve, you have your target(s) to meet, which is fine, but there are so many voices from others, which can create pressure, especially if you care about them and all of them.
Another good thing about getting around by yourself is expanding your network, really getting to see the world, and improving your communication skills. Yes, I mean it! If you’re sticking with your travel buddies, it sort of limits your chance to interact with locals and strangers. I used to be quiet; it’s not until my solo travel could I realise that I can talk with complete strangers for hours. Maybe it’s an unfamiliar place, maybe it’s a different language (not my first, second or third), maybe it’s a complete stranger; anyway, I could turn myself to be a different person; or to be more exact, I could discover another “me”. With local people or other travellers from different parts of the world, we could share our interesting travel experiences, we could talk about our home towns, we could talk about life, family, politics, romance, and any topics you can think of. We spoke in our common language; if not, we used body language, drew pictures, or played music.
There is no border at all. With the advanced technology, we can still keep in touch by adding each other on Facebook or whatsapping each other. If we’d like to learn each other’s language, we can practise face-to-face using Skype.
Lastly, travelling alone in a scam city, you know how to protect yourself. The number-one item to worry about is not reading maps and finding directions (as there are road signs and one can ask others for help too) but about money and personal safety. I wore a money belt under my clothes and put just enough money in my purse. To move easily around, I decided to wear a backpack. It’s not uncommon to hear that one’s luggage got stolen when one was buying a travel pass from a ticket vending machine. By wearing a backpack with straps and the hip belt wrapped around my body, it’s hard for people to steal my backpack. As the backpack is like one third of my weight, it even added difficulty for someone to drag my body.
One has to be extremely alert when travelling alone, paying extra attention to one’s surroundings. Sad but true, it’s sometimes hard to distinguish hospitality and kindness from cheats and other bad intentions, and you can trust no one but yourself.
All in all, solo travel is an experience one should never miss in life. It tells how far one can go without others’ company (especially when one is so well taken care of or even spoilt by one’s beloved), how different one can be, and how different one can view life and the world. I’ll surely recommend this to all, including students, teachers and parents, to explore on their own or let go of others who may excel.