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£9.99 (as of November 10, 2024 23:08 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)PHATOIL Lavender Essential Oil 100ML, Pure Premium Grade Lavender Essential Oils for Diffuser, Humidifier, Aromatherapy, Candle Making
£8.32 (as of November 10, 2024 23:08 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)My First Ever Solo Trip
My own introduction to solo travelling was when I was still 19 years old. I was fascinated by the weather (and still am) and wanted to attend a week-long Understanding Weather course in the UK. This was in 1989, years before the advent of internet and mobile phones so all planning was done through good old-fashioned letters and perhaps the odd phone call or two!
Anyway, after months of planning, I was off. I caught a plane to London from where I then had to catch three trains, yes, THREE trains, the last one being a small Famous Five sort of train with just two carriages that was to take me to Malham Tarn, bang in the middle of nowhere up in the Yorkshire Dales!
Of course, after landing in London, I had to buy train tickets, look for the correct train platforms, make sure I did not miss my trains and finally meet up with the guy I was supposed to meet, who basically was a complete stranger to me as I did not even know what he looked like!
And despite the fact that: (1) mobile phones had not yet been invented, (2) the internet was still in the minds of mad scientists and (3) Google Maps was light years away, I found that poor chap waiting patiently for me on that small windswept platform at Malham when I stepped off that third train!
Looking back, I still sometimes ask myself, “How on earth did I manage to meet someone hundreds (or is it thousands) of miles away from home without a mobile phone (and obviously no 4G and no mobile apps) at the precise time we had planned to meet?
And after having finished that course, which by the way was a very interesting and practical one, I then had to catch another train or two (can’t remember how many at this point in time) to go and spend a few days at my cousin’s home in St Albans (and also meet a few friends of mine in Brixton for a couple of hours), again completely on my own!
Was I scared? A little! Apprehensive? Definitely! But I thrust my fears aside and went for it! I was not robbed or mugged or cheated out of my money on any part of this trip! Was I lucky? Perhaps … but the fact remains that I had carefully planned this trip and made sure I kept my wits about me.
Anyhow, the point of all this rambling is not to brag about myself or to prove that I caught the solo travelling bug from a young age but rather to emphasise the fact that this was a tremendous learning experience that gave me self-confidence and maturity that no lessons at school could ever have taught me! And the sense of achievement I felt when I returned to my home country Malta made me so proud of myself!
The Cons
It can be a bit scary out there on your own!
Let me be honest – travelling on your own can be nerve-wracking sometimes, whether it’s the first, fifth, or five-hundredth time you’re doing it! Obviously, this is especially true if you’re a first timer; the culture shock when you’re alone can be uncomfortable. Getting off the plane or a long bus journey will have you undoubtedly tired and dealing with everything that’s being thrown in your face is a lot to take at first.
While solo travel isn’t unsafe, it’s definitely less safe than travelling with other people, making the safety issue a “con” of travelling alone. You’re more vulnerable when you’re on your own because you only have you looking after you. When you’re in a group, you have other people to look out for scams, to steer you away from danger, and make you less likely to get lost.
So while this shouldn’t make you avoid solo travel, you should take extra precautions in order to keep yourself safe. Things, like being cautious when out alone after dark, researching unsafe neighbourhoods before you arrive, and not getting too drunk when out with hostel friends, are all things that will improve your safety levels on the road.
Besides, make sure you take the usual standard precautionary measures such as checking for travel advisories for your destination, giving copies of your itinerary to friends and/or family, purchasing travel insurance and staying alert and being aware of your surroundings.
Travelling solo is not necessarily a safety risk but you need to have your wits about you. If something does go wrong, there’s no travel buddy to get you out of a jam, and nobody to do the talking for you if you can’t.
It can be expensive!
Travelling alone means you are responsible for everything you do and budget is one of them. Typically, if you’re travelling with someone you share the costs, but as a solo traveller, the budget depends entirely on you. However, you can save on expenses by staying at a youth hostel offering inexpensive accommodation and usually a shared kitchen space, so you can save on food expenses too.
Food should work out about the same for the single traveller although you won’t get to try as many dishes as when you eat with another. However, if you hire a car the cost comes 100 per cent from your pocket! Make sure you don’t run out of money!
And while it’s true that travel buddies will sometimes drag you along to do things you aren’t naturally inclined to and that might be an eye opener for you, it’s just as likely that if you go along for the ride, you might discover a new passion, or at the very least something you never want to do again.
It can be lonely!
When weighing the pros and cons of solo travel, this one definitely tips the scales more than you’d think it would as people are afraid of being alone. However, I’ll let you in on a little secret, though: you don’t have to be alone to feel lonely! In fact, you probably aren’t alone if you’re travelling solo. You might be sleeping in a room with seven other people or crowded onto a bus with a bunch of locals or packed in with a hundred tourists trying to see the Mona Lisa and somehow still feel lonely.
Solo travel and loneliness are not one and the same. Alone does not equal lonely, and lonely does not equal alone. And if I had to choose between being lonely in my bedroom or lonely looking down in awe at a beautiful lake from a mountain, well… I think you know the answer!
Another con is that when you travel solo, you don’t get to share the experience. There are plenty of times when you’re out and about in the world and you just want to enthuse lavishly over something. You can’t just grab a stranger and rave when you’ve had a life-changing chocolate event. You don’t have somebody to turn to and discuss how incredible it looks and how amazing it feels to be living your travel dream. Instead, you snap a few photos, you sit and look at it in awe and silence, and then you leave.
Solo travel is one of the best things you can do for yourself, but sometimes it’s a little underwhelming when you don’t have someone you love to share it with. So go, armed with the knowledge that yes, you might get lonely more than once (it’s normal), and you will be okay. In fact, you might even grow from it!
The Pros
It’s all about you!
Travelling with other people can sometimes be a nightmare and plans often fall apart because schedules collide. Not when you’re travelling solo, though. The only schedule to worry about is your own. You can also say goodbye to arguments over whether you should visit the art museum or go afternoon shopping, whether the train or the bus is a better bet, whether you’ll lounge in bed in the morning or hit the road early and who pays for what in the cafe. Do whatever you fancy. It’s 100% your decision and will put no stress on any of your relationships.
This trip is about you. Where you want to go, what you want to do and see, and when and how you want to go, do, and see all those things. Alone, you’re more engaged with the people and places around you. You’re free to make your own decisions, destinations and plans. No one will judge you! You can only sense the ultimate freedom that travel brings when you do it alone. Travelling companions can be a great distraction, so enjoy it!
It’s a learning experience!
One of life’s most independent experiences you’ll ever do is travelling solo. The nerves, the adventure, the experience – all of these things in foreign lands will make you a seasoned traveller within months.
Travelling solo also helps you learn other languages. Without the crutch of travelling companions who speak your mother tongue, you’re forced to rely more on your knowledge of the language of the place you’re visiting.
Being by yourself also forces you out of your shell and blurs the line between tourist and traveller. If you’re open to it, you might be surprised by the conversations, dinner invitations, and friendships that WILL find you. In fact, many was the time in practically EVERY country I visited where I was mistaken for a local and even asked for directions!
It’s an opportunity for growth!
There are hurdles unique to solo travel that make it inherently more challenging than other types of travel. You might be thinking this should be under the cons instead of the pros of solo travel, but hear me out. Overcoming those challenges is one of the best parts of solo travel.
You’ll get to know yourself better than you ever have before, learn what truly makes you happy and what you need to work on to improve as a person. It can often be challenging to face these truths but learning to overcome them is all part of the process of growing.
I’m not saying that travelling solo is a magical cure-all, because it’s not. But it might be a stride in the right direction. What I’m trying to say is that there is evidence everywhere in support of solo travel as a means for personal growth.
Daily life doesn’t often present you with the opportunities to prove yourself, but you are braver, more intelligent and stronger than you think. Solo travel gives you the space to explore that as it forces you to become independent, make decisions and step out of your comfort zone on a regular basis – something you wouldn’t necessarily do if you weren’t travelling alone.
You might have to deal with uncertain situations alone, you might have to travel for umpteen hours alone and you might be in the most beautiful scenic place you’ve ever visited, alone. These all contribute to our life experience and give us better decision-making and maturity.
It’s truly an exhilarating experience to go about on your own and cope with whatever challenges the world throws at you. Solo travel builds confidence as you navigate an unfamiliar city, talk to strangers and figure out how to get from one place to another. Your social skills will also improve as you meet more and more people and get used to introducing yourself and making conversation.
Just go for it!
Travelling solo is a bit of a burden too. It’s often seen as an adventure that only a few do, and in the whole scheme of things that is correct. Once you’ve travelled solo, you’ll have this weight lifted off your shoulders, a fantastic sense of achievement that you have completed independently.
So my advice is that if you’re seeking adventure or healing or just don’t want to wait for your friends to clear their schedules, whatever your motivation, just go. If you can pull off solo travel once, then ask yourself is there a place in the world you can’t go? I wouldn’t recommend everywhere because there are some dangerous places out there but once you’ve got over that fear factor of hitting the road on your own, the world opens up and becomes your oyster. Where to next?