Facets of Solo Travel You Need to Experience
Fear. Anxiety. Euphoria.
There I was. At the back of the airplane, counting down the time to landing. Looking out the window, I could spot the Eiffel Tower. My anxiety kicking in, nerves shot, a sprinter’s heartbeat, getting heavier as we descended every 1,000 feet. Are Parisians as rude as people say? What if I get lost? What if I get robbed, or worse, shot? Killed? I’ll be an unknown in this country, a statistic.
Well folks, let me tell you. That anxiety vanished as soon as we landed at Aéroport de Paris-Charles de Gaulle. I was immediately mesmerized by the French signage strewn all over the aéroport, and almost everyone speaking and gesturing in the language. Culture shock also included noticing a very high number of French Africans (bonjour colonization), only seen outside Africa.
My mind had no time to dwell on the anxiety and the fear-mongering it cooked up on the journey! Almost instantly, “I’ll be an unknown in this country” turned into “I am an unknown in this country! I can do whatever I want!”.
Not only were Parisians not rude, but they were also welcoming. Not only is Paris one of the most beautiful cities I’ve visited, but it is also oozing with culture, history, and baguettes (I’m sorry, I had to). I was an unknown in this country. I could go, see, eat anywhere and anything. That type of freedom, once you taste it, affects you like a drug. You need it. You crave it. Wanderlust takes center stage in your head.
Did you know: to activate the friendly Parisian, all you need is the following phrase (repeat after me) — parlez vous Anglais (do you speak English)? 英語を話せますか (Eigo o hanasemasu ka) in Tokyo, and so on. That’s all it takes!
They say you learn a lot about yourself traveling solo. I learned I’m much more of an introvert and comfortable in my skin than I had thought. I also learned that the true journey is not to another country or culture but instead, an internal one — of getting to know yourself better, which solo travel catalyzes. Your outer journey is a reflection of your inner journey. You will discover so much about life by embracing so many different perspectives.
You might ask, “What fun can you possibly have doing things alone?” A lot, my friends, a lot. You appreciate things much more — the architecture, animals, coffee shops, food, fashion, culture. There is no one to distract you with conversation, arguments, and detours. You are not fixated on any one person, your travel partner, or someone you met along the way. You take a moment’s pause much more often to appreciate strangers than you ever will at home.
Strangers who help you when you’re lost, or when you’re having trouble ordering food. These strangers have no obligation to help you. They gain nothing from this interaction, heck, they will in all eventuality, never see you again. Ever. But, they choose to help you. Solo travel has restored my faith in humanity.
You learn that you can do anything. That fear of the unknown evaporates. You get the epiphany that everything works out in the end. Everything. You realize that humans, including you, have the ability to move on, no matter how amazing or traumatic an experience. This strengthens a person internally. It makes one a good, nay, great decision-maker. It makes one an amazing problem solver in the face of uncertainty.
You think theater improv is hard? Try running away from a mob of protestors (the French know how to protest. Heck, they beheaded the elite a few centuries ago).
And then there are times when you think to yourself “Why, oh why did I have to do this?” Stressful situations that lend themselves to you questioning your life-altering (in that moment, anyway) decision of traveling to that particular place à la getting robbed at gunpoint. It’s like when you’re at the top of the roller coaster right before the first drop. Your fear knows no bounds. When you’re finally done though, you want to do it all over again.
The friends you make along the way? Don’t even get me started. It is a bond thicker than your passport, stronger than your boarding pass, and deeper than the airplane lavatory. Complete strangers share their deepest, darkest secrets, irrespective of the environment — in an airplane, on a hostel bunk bed, in the Eurail or airport security (in this scenario, you are the one sharing your secrets, as they single you out for a secondary check).
You do things you wouldn’t have done at home.
I spent my last night in Paris perched on the check-in counters at the airport because I didn’t want to pay an extra day for a hotel room. I spent a night in my rental car in Los Angeles (which made me fall in love with the city, but that’s a story for another time) after finding out my room had bedbugs. I even got catfished in London but decided to get through the coffee date like a champ. Ergo, YOLO (is this even used anymore?).
Worried about expenses? Don’t be. Solo travel does not have to be expensive or feel expensive. The problem is, all our money is swallowed up before we can buy that airplane ticket. When you stop browsing Amazon (which inevitably leads you to buy something), ordering out (looking at you, Ubereats), or watching that Apple keynote (which also leads you to buy that new iPhone), you start to save more.
And from here, you have a choice. A choice of where to spend your money, and how to spend your time. I am getting no commission from the “solo travel industry”, but spend your money and time on travel. The hardest part is the first step of actually buying that airfare. Once that’s done, everything falls into place.
So, what is it about travel (and freedom) that we crave? The answer, I believe, is we are born explorers. Exploring our beautiful planet, the solar system, or the deeper cosmos is embedded in our DNA. Without travel, our minds are wired not to open up.
It’s as if travel unlocks a part of your brain nothing else can, like a video game character unlocking a new part of a map. It unlocks empathy, understanding, openness to new ideas, and a slew of other benefits. We are divided by countries, tribes, religions, but we are united by being human. This is what travel teaches us. So, to you reading this, try it! You will not regret it. Pretty please?
Tell me about your first experience traveling solo and how it changed you as a person!
“Still round the corner there may wait
A new road or a secret gate” — J.R.R. Tolkien
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