Traveling Solo
Today more and more women are traveling ‘solo’, partly due to an increase in economic independence and partly due to women “business travelers” making across the globe journeys. And it is apparent that it is also partly because we are brave and adventurous, open minded, naturally curious and interested in the common human experience that binds us as a world of people. It seems our natural instincts make us good travelers, compassionate observers of culture, attentive listeners and willing contributors to lively discussions between strangers, and in a gross generalization, women are far more ‘romantic’ than men and there is nothing more truly romantic than travel.
My experience and the experience of friends has shown me that travel for solo women has more positives than negatives and that extraordinary things can happen on journeys by ones self. I will never forget the story of a friend who was cycling in the foothills of the Himalayas. She was enchanted to see that the roadsides were dotted at regular intervals with festively adorned tea stands, and on approaching one she was invited to wait for the Dalai Lama, and if that wasn’t special enough she ended up in a tent having tea with His Holiness and Richard Gere. Now it’s not that that can’t happen when you travel in company, it is just that alone one is more likely to be focused on the external and more willing to accept the invitations of others. Internal or external, emotional or physical solo travel is never without challenges of all kinds so it is as well to be prepared, and as another good friend says “Failure to plan is planning to fail” so while you can’t possibly anticipate everything you can at least be aware of possible issues.
Clothing:
Not in the fashion sense as such but in the ability to understand what is expected of your appearance in order to be treated in the best possible way. Do make sure you understand even the most subtle dress code: the cultural morals of the countries you are visiting and the effect your choices may have on your ability to pass your day without hassle.
Language:
From a guide book, or better still someone working at your hotel, learn the polite words for “Thank you, but no thank you” The importance of a polite refusal is very important as in some countries any form of rudeness will demote your standing as a ‘decent’ woman and place you in possible danger of abusive behavior.
Phone Home:
Make sure you have the telephone number of your hotel or home stay, as well as directions to it in the local language. People are always keen to help with directions but if you don’t have any you could end up lost…yes it has happened!
Footwear:
Always comfortable is the rule but some rules are meant to be broken, take a great pair of shoes, you never know when you may need them. Open toed sandals can be seen as provocative, flip-flops or thongs as substandard and at temples, pagodas and mosques you will need to remove them.
Skin care:
Traveling assumes movement in the outdoors, what are the environmental impacts of your destination on your skin. Rehydration for plane journeys is a must, balms for protection against wind and cold, salves for sun and plenty of body moisturizer for all climates.
Go Local:
Rather than check out tourist shopping markets and destinations find the local supermarkets and local produce markets. Here you can really look into the lives of the people and enjoy the ambience and excitement shopping in a local supermarket provides, they are always full of surprises from exotic fruits and vegetables to quirky stationery.
Friendly façade:
One very useful art to practice is the friendly façade, you don’t need to be over friendly to strangers and one of the difficulties of traveling alone can be becoming a ‘captured’ audience. This applies as much to fellow travelers as locals at your destination. You can be friendly but remain aloof, avoid quick buddy-ups and offers to share rooms and split costs at all costs, at least until you have had a chance to seriously spend some time with the overly enthusiastic person you met on the plane and if you don’t want to appear rude make arrangements to meet in a public place and have a refreshment with them.
Philanthropy:
Again this can be harder to deal with as a solo traveler: Requests for money. Obviously as a person who has the liberty and financial means to travel you are going to be a lot better off than many of the people you meet. How do you deal with either direct requests, sad stories or your own sense of wanting to give?
Find appropriate ways of helping out, there’s nothing wrong with helping but you can risk offending people if you point out the difference between you by offering them money.
Tools of the trade:
Always travel with a Swiss Army knife, the one with the corkscrew, a basic first aid kit, you can add to this on one of your trips to a local supermarket, an international power adaptor and a disco-style universal battery charger. If you don’t have one, find one. Made in China they are the most useful item for those who travel with mobile phones and cameras.
A smile, a sense of humor and a football team:
Don’t leave home without them. Your journey will be improved by their just being there, they will help you in moments of difficulty and it will help you make friends. Make sure you know at least one Premier League team and a couple of its players, especially with the World Cup this year, everyone has something to say about the universal game of football.
Before you go check out websites that give information on the culture of your destination, find sites like Expat Advisory, some of their travel blogs are excellent for picking up tips and getting inspiration. Highly recommended is “The Columnista” the travel journal of a sometime solo traveler in South East Asia.
Also look for organisations like local NGO’s that are working in the area you are visiting, it is always worth finding out about activities they run as some of them run information tours to very interesting projects especially in Laos and Cambodia.
Finally step off that plane with an open mind and a big heart. The world needs people to be outside observers to recognize the similarities and celebrate the differences, because underneath it all we are one.