Traveling on one’s own is fantastic. And scary. And boring. And exciting. And amazing. And harder than travelling with others. And easier than travelling with others. Etc.
I suspect that many people who haven’t done much (or any) solo travelling might think it’s hard because you get a bit lonely. Or because there’s only you to make decisions and have tricky conversations in languages you don’t speak. Or because if you forget the directions they gave you in the hostel then you’re stuck because there isn’t someone else who remembers that you need to turn right at the café with the pink flowers in the window.
In reality, this is partly true. I actually meet more people travelling alone than when I travel with someone else. Sure, I have my friend to talk to, but I then don’t usually talk to many other people. Travelling alone means I’m more likely to chat to other solo travellers. I’ve also had couples and small groups ask me to join them when they’ve realised I was on my own. I don’t mind my own company, and I love to read, or listen to an audio book or music, or to just stare out the window of a bus or train, so I rarely get bored when I travel alone.
Travelling alone can also be nice because if I don’t want to go to see a particular museum or church or shopping precinct, etc then I just don’t have to go. And that’s quite nice.
However, traveling alone is annoying when you are the person who has to ask for directions / order food / buy train tickets / etc. Especially when you have just got off a long flight or bus journey and you’re very tired (and possibly jetlagged too).
A less annoying (but still important) aspect of traveling solo is always having to pay for a single room, or paying a single supplement. And a single room is not half the price of a double room. If I get a taxi, I’m paying full price for it, I don’t get to halve it with someone. And I also have to carry one of everything: if you travel with a friend then one of you can carry shampoo and the other can carry mosquito repellent, etc. In my case, it all goes on my back!
But, by far the most annoying thing about travelling alone is bag and bathroom management.
Yep. Not glamorous. Not exciting. But essential.
If I’m in a café working on my laptop and I’m with a friend, I can just get up and go to the bathroom whenever I want to. It’s very nice. When I’m on my own, I can’t. I have to make sure all the food and drink on my table is finished (one should not leave food and drink unattended in public spaces). I have to pack up my laptop, chargers, cables, etc. I have to take my entire bag with me to the bathroom (which might be a bathroom with no hooks and no dry surfaces, so I may be squatting with said bag on my back). And I then have to hope my table is still available when I return so I can unpack and carry on from where I left off.
This is even worse when travelling with everything I own. Where do I leave my big rucksack when I need to use the bathroom at a train station? I certainly can’t squat carrying both bags. I can potentially leave the big rucksack in a cloakroom or by a reception desk or just at my table in a café etc or I can ask someone who looks friendly (what does that mean) to watch my bag for me. But these things feel a little risky. Once on the train, I really have no other choice than to leave my big bag by my seat and take just the smaller one with me, but everyone else does this too so it feels a bit better.
So next time you’re travelling, and you see someone travelling alone, feel free to say hi and ask them if you can watch their stuff while they go to the ticket office / restaurant counter / bathroom / etc / etc. Though, don’t take it personally if they say no.
Leave a Reply