“Traveling solo does not always mean you’re alone. Most often, you meet marvelous people along the way and make connections that last a lifetime.” – Jacqueline Boone
Am about to take a 13 hour bus travel to the mountains to go on a solo travel for about 4 days…am going to be a ‘wander woman’. I’ve solo travelled decent enough in my 38 years of being dependent and independent. In college, my parents allowed me to travel alone to places that had our family friends staying. As a working woman, I traveled a large part of the south and the west coast of India. I used to have my own little list of exotic places.
I liked packing my bag, taking off with some plans, and walking was always my thing. I do it lesser and lesser now…But 2018 is putting me on a flow that am not resisting…
Am going solo after a while. And maybe this is the first and last of the year 2018, but at least I have my chance again! Here are some of my reasons why we all should travel alone at least once in our lives…
- All solo trips are – transformational
Unintentionally, something in you, changes. You always like whom you come back as. I can promise you, you’ll experience a change that is simply indescribable. Maybe that’s why you took the plunge in the first place.
- Your faith in human kindness comes back
As a woman, am aware of all that can go wrong being alone! A lot has gone wrong with me too. But I have been offered help many more times. On the streets of Barcelona – I’ve borrowed people’s phones to make calls. In Hampi, an old lady took me to her house for dinner as I bruised my knee falling right outside her house on one of my walks. In Rishikesh, on my first day, I lost my way to my ashram at 8 pm (the city is almost dead by then). I entered a Gurudwara and someone there had me dropped back to my ashram. Use your sixth sense and ask around. More often than not, you will find people more than happy to help you. Because most people are good at heart.
- You have to figure things out on your own
Multidimensional thinking is the name of this game. A 1000 questions will weigh on you. Your every action will have a reaction and that’s what I am always conscious about. What do you want your day to look like, where do you want to go, where will you eat, how will you come back, what time will you come back, is it safe to go there alone. You will have to find answers to all these questions before you set out to have a good time by yourself.
- You will develop a 6th sense
It’s when you are alone, you pay attention to your intuition. You talk to yourself before you really go out and do something, you again talk to yourself before you trust a stranger. That 6th sense sits back when you have friends and family to rely on. Comfort zone is warm and friendly, but you don’t grow there – as they say
- A long lasting sense of independence will stay with you
This I love. Because now, am a champ at being on my own. Even though there is so much to do – you ask – What am I going to do all these days of being alone? I ask myself this question only on day 1. After that you enjoy the decision making process that comes from being self-reliant.
Solo Travel is mostly about taking the plunge. You never know what that extraordinary experience is going to be all about! Every time I have traveled alone, I have felt like am carrying my own little secret.
Dream. Breathe. Go……..Don’t listen to what they Say. Go. See
….and here are a few of my solo trip essentials…My Go Pro..nothing covers landscapes as beautifully as this!
My Yoga beads…They always travel with me…In unfamiliar places, such things of familiarity give me warmth..
The blogger will write …sometimes a word…sometimes a whole line…and sometimes a full page!
My Quechuas. They’ve lasted me 3 treks and are still in very good shape!
