How does it feel to travel alone boy my real time experiences 2018
Sometimes I was on cloud 9, and sometimes I was lonely, miserable and felt like shit ! I have traveled alone within India and outside India, so I feel I am qualified to answer this question.
You are free. Your itinerary is your own and it is okay if you don't have one. No changing plans because your friend got sick. No forcing yourself to go a attraction you don’t want to.
It’s liberating. You do what the heart wants. You don’t give a damn about what people will say. Too tired to walk - sit on the sidewalk, nobody cares. Prices too high - walk out of the restaurant, nobody to judge you.
It takes courage. I was scared as hell before booking tickets for my first ever solo trip for 10 days. Booking ticket is the scariest part, there are lot of uncertainties. I takes a lot of courage to click that Pay button. But believe me, once you book the tickets rest all falls into place automatically.
You conquer your fears. I had never ridden a motorbike on the mountain roads and I was very scared by the idea itself. In hills of Munnar, I was forced to rent a motorbike for site seeing. I rode 190 kilometers in two days on the tortuous roads. I do not have that fear anymore.
You get ready for the unexpected. You don’t know what the next day will bring and after some time you stop thinking about it. There are days when I have flipped the coin, while sitting at railway station, to decide where to go next. And when I think about it, those days were one the best experiences of my trips.
You learn to take responsibility of your decisions/mistakes. Once I had to walk 8 kilometers on hot burning sand without a drop of water, only because I read on internet that it would be a pleasant walk. Other time, I had sleep in open at a German railway station, because I though ‘Hey, it’s Germany, they must have waiting rooms’. Temperature was -4C that night.
You will be miserable. There will be days when things will not go your way. Once I was stuck in a small village with seemingly no possible transportation out. I didn’t speak the local language, I couldn’t read the signboards. I was miserable.
You will be scared. I was dumped by a bus on a Highway surrounded by dense forest late at night . I could hear the elephants trumpeting. I had to walk 14 kilometers in complete darkness with all my luggage to reach my destination.
You make friends. You meet a lot of other travelers and people. You will forget most of them soon, but will remember some. I have made a few good friends while traveling solo. Even after a year or so, I am in contact with them.
You will be lonely and feel like shit. I don’t make friends easily. Many times I had to explore cities/places alone. Initially it felt great, I loved the freedom. After some days I was yearning to a have a meaningful conversation with another human. Those were the times when I felt extremely lonely.
You learn. A lot. About taking care of yourself, your finances and your luggage! About different nations, cultures, customs, ideas and people. You realize that there is good and bad everywhere. It's not all black and white, world is grey. It opens your mind, toughens you up and develop you as a human.
Experiences and Stories. Did I tell you about the time I got lost in Budapest, or the time I got lost in Munich Train station, or the day I tried to climb a coconut tree and failed spectacularly, or when I was booted out of a temple because I had too many clothes on, or the time I decided to learn surfing, or the time I almost hiked in 3 feet of fresh snow without proper equipment in Switzerland. Too many stories to tell.
You will know the type of a traveler you are. Last, you will find out whether the solo travel is for you or not. I have realized that I am enjoy short solo trips. I am not really sure about long term solo travel.
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