How and Why I Travel Alone

When I tell friends that I'm going to travel somewhere, one of the first things that they ask me is who I'm going with. When I was walking through Seoul, I bumped into two university students who found the concept of me visiting the country on my own flat-out bizarre. These experiences of mine signify that it seems a bit odd to travel solo. However the truth is that travelling alone in my opinion at least has been great experience. Not only do I make more friends along the way, but also I truly feel free to do what I want wherever I go.

There are many factors which contribute to the fact that I travel alone. It is mostly because my friends have other commitments and are not at liberty to travel like I can. Travelling alone is nowhere near as bad as you think, it means you can do what you want, you can travel at your own pace and organising everything individually makes planning simple. Travelling alone makes it easier to meet people on the road too as other fellow travellers will be more likely to talk to you. However, being alone in a foreign country where English isn't the first language can be an incredibly daunting experience. As well, being alone for too long sometimes can be a dull experience. If you're going to travel alone it's important to do it right, so from my experience, here are some tips to make the most of solo travel.

1. Above all, if you want a positive experience of travelling alone, you should make use of staying at hostels. Hostels get a bad rep, but if you find a hostel with good online reviews and a decent price, you won't regret it. They are the best place to meet likeminded travellers who are most likely travelling alone too.

2. Connecting with people from different parts of the world is a great way of ensuring that you can get a local experience wherever they are from. If you have friends who live in different countries, visiting them can be greatly beneficial, they will know the ins and outs of the country and will recommend you places to visit and things you should eat.

3. This only really works in countries where English isn't widely spoken, but if you notice someone speaking English or with a similar accent to yours, it does no harm to say hello.

4. If you speak another language such as Spanish or Portuguese and if you meet people who speak that language, talking to them in their native language will impressive and could make for interesting conversation on how you learned the language. Whenever I notice someone speaking Portuguese outside of Brazil, I always ask them where they are from and they are blown away by my ability to speak Portuguese.

5. Don't be so concerned about safety, apart from being in Brazil, nothing life-threatening has happened to me while on the road. Countries such as Spain, Thailand and Vietnam are always hyped up to be super dangerous places in which everyone is out to kill or scam you. As long as you're sensible, nothing too bad can happen to you. Visiting countries such as Canada, Italy and Japan are so safe that the changes of any danger are absurdly slim.

6. Do something that interests you in a place you visit and you'll be sure to meet likeminded people. For example, if you go to a football match and hang out at the bars outside the stadium. If sports isn't your thing then there are other places to meet people while on the road depending on where you are.

7. If you want to have your picture taken, ask another tourist if they can take a picture of you or if someone asks you to take a picture then help them out. Ask them something such as where they are from and as simple as this you can spark a conversation with other people on the road.

8. One of the best ways I got to meet people while travelling in Asia was when I did volunteering in Bali. If you're going to go on a gap year and travel for a few months I cannot recommend it enough, because the place we stayed at didn't have the best wifi, we spent the evenings getting to know each other and spent the weekend at Nusa Penida exploring the beaches. There are loads of volunteering opportunities you can find online, but make sure that they are reliable as the one I did in Cambodia was an absolute shambles, but that is a story for another day.

To sum up, travelling alone can be challenging, but it is something you should give a go. One of the biggest reasons why people are uninspired to visit amazing places is because their friends aren't able to accompany them and the fear of isolation. However, solo travel is incredible, it can teach you a lot about yourself.