For some, travelling alone may not be as fun as travelling with friends or family, but it does have certain perks
Decisions, decisions:
The best part about travelling alone is that you’re the decision-maker. This includes everything from your destination, to how you’re going to get there, what you’re going to pack and even the size of your bed. The only one who gets to decide on every aspect of your holiday plans, from trekking in Nepal to backpacking in Rome, is good ‘ole you. Ooh la la, what fun!
Backpack across Italy
Sweet escape:
Often, friends and family crowd our space and make it impossible to escape. Even on holiday. Either you’re forced to share a cramped hotel room with your cousins, or share a minuscule Airbnb studio with your friends. Granted, this is comforting and you feel safe knowing they are around even in the dead of the night, but sometimes you just need alone time. And what better way to enjoy this freedom than walking through the colourful alleyways of the Plaka in Athens, lost in thought?
Colourful Athens
Solivagant: n: a lone wanderer adj: characterized by lone wandering
When you’re travelling alone, the focus shifts to you. The entire focus. You don’t have to please anyone by tagging along to the Natural History Museum in Copenhagen when you’d rather be taking pictures of boats docked along the waterfront in Nyhavn. Similarly, if you’d prefer to have a hot dog for dinner, nobody is forcing you to eat escargot covered in garlic just because you are in Paris.You’re free to explore at your own pace, eat what you crave and sleep all day. Yes, please!
Stroll along Copenhagen’s waterfront
Out the comfy zone:
Travelling alone can be a little daunting, especially if you’re roaming certain streets of Mexico past midnight, for example. But on the bright side, it also makes you more ‘street saavy’, and a whole lot braver. You realize that you don’t have to depend on anyone but yourself to stay safe, warm and happy.
Make friends with the musicians
Bonding:
Exploring or wandering alone also gives you a chance to form new bonds. Some which you might not make otherwise, because you are too busy carrying bags for shopaholic Aunt Doris. Remember that saying ‘stop and smell the roses’? Well, from the handsome souvenir seller to the street musicians and jugglers, travelling alone not only lets you stop, it also gives you a chance to mingle .
One last thing to remember – if you like to travel by yourself, you are never really alone!
