I already told you what were the bad things about traveling alone but the most important thing was pending: encourage you to travel alone (at least) once in a lifetime. And you know why you should travel alone? There are a few reasons to do it and in this post I will tell you a few ...
I have divided the post into 2 parts: the first talks about the benefits of traveling alone, the second tries to answer (and demystify) some of the main questions when traveling alone. Ready? Come on!
| BENEFITS OF TRAVELING ONLY
YOU ARE MORE RECEPTIVE AND OPEN
By spending so much time you will only become more sociable and open, especially with the locals. They will often ask you if you are traveling alone and why you do it, if you have tried this food or that one, if you need help with something, if you are feeling well or simply want to know what your name is and where you come from.
Example: like that night in which, I don't know how, I ended up at the house of a Chinese-Malaysian woman with an Australian cooking croquettes, ravioli and nasi goereng.
YOU TRANSFORM IN A MAGNET
Traveling alone you will end up immersed in situations that you would hardly have lived traveling in company. By being alone you will get the attention of people who, in most cases, will want to help you. It was mostly traveling alone when I realized that the world is a much more hospitable place than we think…
Example: like that night that, just arrived at a deserted bus station, I asked a girl how to get to the center and she offered to take me in her car to the hostel, helped me to check in and invited me to a te tarik in the company of his sister, his mother and his friends. Or when waiting for a bus, an old man approached me selling fruit to chat, killing time. When my bus arrived, he gave me a few bags of pineapple, watermelon and melon to eat during the trip.
Thanks to him I stuck a binge of pineapple, melon and watermelon 🙂
YOU ARE AWARE OF YOUR STRENGTH, ABOVE ALL IF YOU ARE A WOMAN
Because let's say it without fear: women are strong. The "weak-sex" was anchored in the past: today we do not need anyone to accompany us to do what we want, if we want to travel ... well, we travel! We also have an advantage over men: the sixth sense (no, not that of Bruce Willis' movie), I speak of intuition, which he warns us about when something might not go so well ... learn to listen to your inner voice and make him case.
YOU HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD AND YOU ARE FREE ...
... to do what you want, when you want, how and when you want. Olé! Do you want to spend the entire afternoon in that museum that nobody else wants to see? Do it. Do you want to walk along the beach for hours? You may! Do you want to write, paint, dance? Go ahead! Are you going to visit, finally, that little island lost from the hand of God that you dreamed so much to know? Well, let me know I'm coming with you! In short: you have all the time in the world to invest as you want.
YOU KNOW BETTER
I know: you have been with you since the day you were born but ask yourself a question: are you sure you know yourself really well? Traveling alone you will learn so much about yourself that you will marvel, not counting that, possibly, you will learn something very important: to love yourself a little more. In my case I learned more about myself in 3 weeks alone than in 30 years of life. Very heavy huh!
| DOUBTS AND FEARS AT THE TIME OF TRAVELING ONLY
I am of the idea that we should all try to travel alone at least once in a lifetime, but I also know that there are many doubts. I will try to summarize the main ...
IT IS DANGEROUS?
With common sense you will not take any risks. In fact, depending on the places you are going to visit, traveling may be even less dangerous than walking through a large European city at night. In general, Asia is a VERY safe continent, so why not start there?
Anyway I insist again: use your instinct and common sense and nothing bad has to happen.
NO ONE WANTS TO TRAVEL WITH ME BUT I WANT TO TRAVEL
Well, travel! Book a plane ticket to your dream destination and enjoy your adventure. I tell you a secret: those who travel alone, unless they want to, will never be alone ... the world is full, full, full of lonely travelers who, arriving at destination, meet others like them who will soon become new Adventure companions If your fear is loneliness, I promise you that you will not suffer it.
If you still have doubts that you know that there are pages such as Singles Travelers who organize trips for people traveling alone, so they end up joining other lonely travelers and sharing a great vacation. This allows essentially two things: lower costs (say goodbye to the individual supplement) and make new friends with your same concerns 🙂
I WANT TO TRAVEL ONLY BUT I'M AFRAID
And who doesn't? We were all afraid of traveling alone ... it's normal, totally normal. But fear is not something negative, not necessarily: fear is the prelude to many opportunities, all major changes cause fear but also huge joys and experiences ... I think it's worth it, don't you think?
Also think about how many lonely travelers around the world, women and men, if they could ... Why not you?
You will look more at the details ... and learn to enjoy the little things
WHAT IF I DON'T LIKE IT?
If you don't like it, nothing happens: you get on the plane back with your head very high since, at least, you tried. But I tell you a secret: I don't know anyone who has done such an adventure and has repented. Are you going to have hard times? Clear. But you will have such wonderful moments that will erase all fears, doubts and difficulties at once. Traveling alone is something beastly ... don't let them tell you, live it yourself.
Have you ever traveled alone? How was the experience?
