As
Globalisation makes our world smaller, and the economic downturn makes travel
partners harder to find, solo travel is becoming more and more popular.
Alexandra Hansen explores the ups and downs, and why in the end, solo travel is
more worthwhile than any other kind.
“This is as far as I can take you,”
he said, the tassles hanging from his crooked rear-view mirror swinging
menacingly. “What do you mean?” I asked; first time setting foot in Africa,
11pm, no French or Arabic to speak of other than your average ‘merci’ and ‘habib’.
As I wandered the streets of
Marrakech, 18 kilogram backpack in tow, I cursed whatever (now long-gone) courage
led me to tackle this alien city alone, and prayed to a God I don’t believe in
that providence would get me safely where I needed to go since apparently the
taxi driver couldn’t. ‘Never trust anyone whose pants match their shoes which
match their shirt which matches their fez,’ I thought, but in Marrakech, I soon
found out, that would leave very few to trust.
I had spent four months backpacking
Europe, making friends along the way, and thought all cities were equally
combatable, but Marrakesh was something I hadn’t banked on. I’d travelled
alone, I’d been to Islamic and impoverished countries, but there was something
about the souks and bazaars of Morocco that made one feel, well, overwhelmed.
I was seriously questioning my
desire to travel alone, when one day while overlooking Djemaa El-Fna (the main
market square), I realised what I loved about it.
I’d had my hand in both,
travelled in a group large and small, travelled in a threesome, travelled in a
pair. Aside from the unlikelihood of finding people who want to go to the same
countries, cities, hostels, monuments, cafes, paintings at the same time as you
for the same amount of time and with a temperament not too disparate from your
own, travelling accompanied is somewhat like being on anti-depressants. The
lows aren’t as low (being lost is not so stressful, being followed home by
drunk Athenians is funny, and needing to go to the toilet when you’ve just
picked your luggage off of the carousel is no inconvenience) but the highs are
also not quite so high.
Leaning over the railing, pint in
hand, screaming ‘Don’t worry, be happy’ with a couple of Germans, making the
charismatic Dublin guitarist laugh; gave a feeling that this is what life is
about, that no high could ever be this high, especially not with
people I’d known for years, conversations with whom had been exhausted, arguments
from the day before still raw.
While travelling with pals is
fun, it’s rarely an adventure, everything new is not so shiny-and, and it still
sits snugly in your comfort zone, perhaps with a blanky and a pack of arrowroot
biscuits. The triumphs of solo travel, while seemingly small, are things that
will stay with you, and do you service, forever.
The route to the hostel that
seemed so lengthy, treacherous, and unknown fills you with a confidence that if
you can arrive in a city you’ve never seen, a culture you’ve never experienced,
a language you’ve never heard; and find your way, then you can do anything.
Your parents haven’t done it, and probably couldn’t, and your friends haven’t
had the guts.
The making of a new friend in the
hostel that sat eating his/her breakfast while you wondered if he/she 1) spoke
English 2) wanted a friend, and 3) wasn’t mental, fills you with the belief
that you can approach anyone and never again will you be nervous or awkward in
social situations. You can’t wait to get home and show everyone how much you’ve
changed, matured, come out of your shell.
The successful excursion into the
wilderness that led to the best ice-cream you’ve ever tasted, the scariest bus
ride you’ve ever been on, the closest you’ve come to crying during a play, and
the only time you’ve actually cried
while looking at a structure made of metal reminds you that you are capable of
many things you wouldn’t have thought you could do while sitting at home
watching Getaway.
All of the travels-with-friends
experiences I’ve had have been, don’t get me wrong, fantastic, but also somehow
safer and a bit more standardised. That knot in your stomach is nowhere to be
seen and that ‘no-one else has ever had these experiences I’ve had’ cannot
exist.
The solo journey is becoming more
popular according to ebookers.com and solotravel.org; which they
say may be due to the GFC and the inability to find a suitable travel partner.
However globalisation and the convenience of feedback-driven sites such as Trip
Advisor, and interactive accommodation booking sites such as HostelWorld and
HostelBookers mean the world is no longer as big and scary as it once was.
Such forums make the unknown seem
a little less scary, and ensure others have too traveled the road less traveled, and you shan’t be entirely
alone.
If you’re considering solo
travel, or if you want to see the world and none of your friends can get time
off work/family/commitments/their arse, I’ve compiled a list of dos and don’ts
from a seasoned solo traveler.
Don’t:
..Forget to write down the
address/directions/phone number to your accommodation. Being homeless isn’t all
it’s cracked up to be.
..Be too nervous to say ‘do you
mind if I join you for a drink?’ what’s the worst that could happen? They say
no? You’re NEVER going to see them again.
..Be afraid to spend your money
on day trips, bus excursions and other touristy stuff to that effect, it’s
often really worth it. Use the money you’ve saved not buying a souvenir from every place you go to.
..Take pictures of absolutely
every building you see. With every picture think about what it will remind you
of, and what story you will have to tell about it. If the story is ‘That’s in
Vienna’, then delete it.
Do:
.. Cull photographs often.
..Leave your map behind and just
wander around aimlessly, you tend to find way cooler stuff that way.
..Keep a diary. Even if your
writing skills possess not the wit and eloquence of my own, simple points of
where you’ve been, what you’ve done and how it was will suffice, and write down
those little moments that thrilled you.
..The Sound of Music tour in
Salzburg and sing ‘I am sixteen going on seventeen’ at the top of your lungs
with the 66 year-old American lady beside you.
..Get into lengthy conversations
with other solo travelers that you’ll never forget; i.e. ‘Dance if that’s what you
want to do with your life!’, ‘I’m actually in love with my best friend’, ‘I
once did a poo in my pants during aeroplane turbulence’*
..Be nervous, afraid, scared of
what the next city holds in store, you’ll never forget that feeling!
*The
orators of these quotes shall remain anonymous.
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