“Did you travel alone for 13 months? Wow, you are brave!” – that is what I heard a lot of times. My name is Julia, I come from Russia and yes, I did have a solo trip for over a year around Europe and South America.
Do I like solo travelling?
I have not regretted even once the moment I decided to go on this journey. I love travelling alone because it gives me a sense of freedom, an opportunity to go with the flow and to make decisions on the spot without aligning it with my partner. However, every cloud has a silver lining. Let’s put it straight, solo travelling is not one fit all kind of activity. Let me give you some reasons and you will decide if you want to try it (or not)
1. You have nobody to blame
If you travel with a boyfriend or a friend or a tour operator, complaining is like a piece of cake. Bad route, bad restaurant, bad city. Bad weather, after all. And yes, it is their fault because they took you here!
When you travel alone, you have to take responsibility for every single thing. Itinerary, timing, seasons, budget. You will get some hints and maybe some people will invite you to join their plan (uff, for a day you will have somebody to blame again 🙂
But it will be YOUR final decision on what to do next.
Basically, you will have to decide on something every moment.
And sometimes your decisions will be wrong or painful.
Some of my epic fails:
Financial fail. I was going to South America (south = warm, right?) so just before that I decided to send all of my warm clothes back home to Russia – that is where they need warm clothes. I somehow was not aware of the fact that it was freezing cold in the mountains. I ended up buying thermo clothes, jackets, hiking boots and everything to make myself comfortable
Bolivia, Laguna Verde, altitude 4300 m. Always cold, despite it is South America
Itinerary fail. One of the places on my Colombian bucket list was lake Guatavita. I studied a ton of blogs and websites on how to get there on my own, including three connecting buses and a jeep. Of course, I didn’t pay attention that I went there on Monday – the only day when it was closed. And it was my fault. Nobody else’s
2. No one to share pizza with
They say “Sharing is caring”. Caring is the nice part of sharing.
The truth is that when you eat alone, you will either get fat or get poor.
The portions in South America, in Asia, even in Europe are often huge. “Menu del dia” which was supposed to be just lunch for one person in Peru, was a good meal for two people. As I am not a fan of putting food into the bin, I took it away and had it for the next meal (seldom) or gave it to poor people (often).
When you are two people, you can try more dishes. And that’s what I love about sharing – especially when you are in a new country and you wanna try it all!
Enormous portions of mixed ceviche on Holbox island in Mexico. Perfect for sharing 🙂
3. You will have to get to know your real self
It is what people look for and it is what they are afraid of. Most of the time at home you spend with somebody or doing routines. Working, taking the kids to school etc. Meeting your friends a lot, talking about their problems. Always living in a buzz.
Forget it. Now it is time for yourself. Silence time. Sooner or later you will start asking yourself questions like
What’s wrong with me?
What makes me happy?
Am I going the right way?
What don’t I like about myself?
These are not easy, fundamental questions. You might get vulnerable opening your inner self and actually discovering it somewhere inside, hidden under the layers of routines and social role. You might discover something about you that you don’t like. But it will be you.
Peru, December 2016. 3 days trip down the Amazon river.
Perfect place for self-discovery
Now I realize that when I just quit the office four years ago, I was a zombie. I could talk about business, about the weather, about society but not about myself and my feelings. Four years after, I note the changes inside. I am much more conscious about what I feel and what to do with it. Bored? Change activity. Angry? Breathe out. In love? Enjoy!
4. It is dangerous.
Honestly, I never managed to understand this prejudice. Why is it more dangerous? If you travel with your female friend, do you tend less to be scammed? No. Things can happen even if you are in a big group… The fact that you are alone, doesn’t change much
However, during the solo trips the safety measures became a part of my DNA:
– multiple debit cards in different places and never too much cash in the wallet
– no walking at night, especially in dark narrow streets
– always watch your stuff
I was especially afraid to travel on night buses in South America – I had read soo many stories.., But I always kept my most important belongings next to me and was on the alert. Nothing has ever happened. I met only good people on the road.
I avoided Colombia for a long time because it looked “dangerous” from outside. But look at the people who live inside! I fell in love with the country on Day 1. Feb 2017.
5. Yes, you will have to talk
Even if you are the most sociopathic person in the world, you will have to get food and accommodation and talk to your neighbours on the bus (no, the book won’t help). After all, it is not a bad thing to talk to a stranger. First you will feel really awkward, but the more you travel, the more you get used to that.
I do remember my first ever time at the hostel in 2011. I was alone for the first time during my trips abroad and didn’t really know how to approach people. Five minutes after I entered a hostel in Cali in 2018, alone again, I knew the name of everybody in the room, and in another five minutes I organized us a common dinner.
6. You have no credits from the past.
It is at home where they know you. You are fun or kind or you can dance. You are a big boss or a nerd. Or maybe everyone knows that you are a princess and you cannot bear loud music or don’t drink coffee without milk or you have “connections” in the town so no one has the right to touch you.
When you travel, you are a stranger. Nobody is aware about your past, your likes or dislikes. Every day you will meet new people and you will have to tell the same story again and again. “ I am from… I am .. years old. I have been on the road for… months. Yes, I am Russian but I don’t drink vodka…” At some point you will start to hate answering the FAQs 🙂
But there is an absolutely awesome part in it. The people who you meet see a personality in you. Not the old friend whom they have known for years or their boss or their ex. They will take you for who you are. Or who you want to be.
I found a great benefit in this. I was given feedback on my strengths or my weaknesses by somebody who hadn’t known me for years. It was so precious, because sometimes they pointed out what I was not able to see in myself or what I forgot had once existed.
7. You will have nobody close to share your emotions with
“Look!” – you say and turn around. There is no one behind. Sad.
That’s one of the things I really do not like in solo travelling. Like after reading a good book, when you see something spectacular you badly want to discuss your feelings with someone and say “how cool it is, right”?
I often came to magnificent places. Stunning. Incredible.
And what did I think? “Why am I the only to see this beauty?”
This is one of the main reasons I decided to turn my passion into my profession. I became a travel-designer and a tour leader to bring people to unique places, to see their emotions, to live the small lives with them.
May 2019, Machu Picchu, Peru. Me in the role of a tour leader. Not alone this time
It is indeed a rewarding job. It lets me travel, it lets me show the world to people and I still have enough time to be with myself between the group trips. And yes, to do solo travelling.
Despite all the “inconveniences” of solo trips, this is the time when the magic happens. I had such a good time during my travels that I cannot recommend enough to try it if you still hesitate. You go with the flow, you are not depending on anybody and rule your life yourself.
You are free as the wind.
Travel.
Solo.
Written for Jeffrey Navarro by Julia Azulejo
https://www.instagram.com/julia_azulejo/
