Travelling with friends or family is fun, but sometimes there’s more to explore when you’re on your own. Aside from gaining a different perspective while venturing alone, we get scrutinised for being as bold as we are, or questioned for our solo escapades. Here are things solo travellers are probably tired of hearing.
1. “Aren’t you lonely or bored?”
The freedom of waking up at any time you please, exploring a new city however you want, eating whatever you want and taking up any challenges as you please – of course we’re doing just fine on our own. Solo travelling is certainly not lonely or boring! Instead, it cultivates self-love and teaches you to be comfortable with your own company. As cliché as it might sound, solo travelling does help in self-discovery. You get to discover your passion, understand yourself, and push the extent of your capabilities.
2. “You have to eat alone?”
I never fail to get a tinge of judgment when people ask me this. There is absolutely nothing wrong with eating alone. It is due to our Asian collective culture that we often seek company in whatever we do. (Some girls would even go to the toilet together).
Sometimes, it can be quite a comforting experience to dine by yourself. Learn to embrace time alone to gather your thoughts. Besides, you get to occasionally have meals with new friends or travellers you meet along the way. The experience will be worthwhile.
3. “Isn’t it dangerous to travel solo?”
If you spend your days watching the news going on and on about how dangerous the world is, you’ll probably be stuck at home for the rest of your life. Sure, there are crimes and disasters everywhere at this age of time, but if you live with the mentality that everyone is out there to get you, you’re seriously missing out on life.
4. “You must be rich”
Yeah, sure, I have a sugar daddy to pay my bills. The fact is, most people work really hard to cover for the expenses and fund their solo vacay; I too have been working part-time while studying for years now to fund my own backpacking trip.
It’s an unsavoury comment when one would assume that we’re loaded and thus we could travel willy-nilly like. Make travelling your priority and with the right planning and budget, you will be able to afford it too. They always say, “if there’s a will, there’s a way”.
5. “Who knows! Maybe you’ll meet the love of your life there!”
THAT. Is. Not. The. Point. No one would spend all their hard earned money for just one purpose – to potentially meet the ‘love of their lives’ by travelling. That’s just absurd!
Solo travelling should be a very personal experience. It should be about the mind-blowing journey, the crazy adventures, the freedom and peace that comes along with it, as well as the journey of self-discovery and self-love. It should be about YOU and just YOU.
6. “You’re so lucky”
I don’t think ‘lucky’ is the right word… Courageous, open-minded, adventurous, YES. But lucky? It’s all about priorities! With years of saving up, anyone can solo travel. It just really depends on how much you are willing to fork out and for what.
Similarly, some ladies would spend months of hard-earned money on a luxury Prada bag, while solo travellers like me would willingly spend months of hard-earned money on a trip.
So there ya have it. Got any advice or an experience as a solo traveller? Share with us on our Facebook page!
