If the thought of travelling solo scares you, take a deep breath and think about the last bravest thing you did. I spent two weeks travelling alone from Brussels (Belgium) to Glasgow (Scotland) to Birmingham and then Liverpool. While I managed to keep this a secret from my paranoid-Asian parents, I learned that their warnings about people wanting to take advantage of you all the time weren’t exactly true.
There are countries so safe you could drop your wallet in a park and still find it there untouched the next day and there are those that require to be fully armed with pepper sprays and a black belt in karate. If you’re a single lass, nobody’s going to stop you from booking a flight to Egypt on a whim, but when you’re attached to someone, it’s never that easy. For starters you have to explain to them why you need to this for yourself and chances are they may take it the wrong way and feel that you are not happy with the relationship. Sometimes its not something easily explained. For a lot of women, we always feel the need to sort some loose ends in our head before getting tied down for good. For others, its to rethink their lives. Think Julia Roberts in Eat, Pray, Love.
When we travel in pairs or as a group, we tend to stick to one another instead of socializing with the locals which is a pity really because you’re missing out on so much! It’s easier to meet people and experience things with a local because people feel obliged to ‘protect’ and bring a lady around. Of course do make sure your ‘guide’ is legit!
Solo travel can be addictive. I quickly learned how liberating it was to just hop off the bus if I saw something attractive, I could stay at the same vintage shop and dig for hidden gems for as long as I wanted and I could sit by the sidewalk for hours just observing people and no one would complain! Travelling solo is liberating and it gives you a sense of confidence that you can’t find anywhere else. Despite the stares that sometimes reek of pity from passerbys especially when I go, “Table for 1”, I would do all of it again in a heartbeat.
