Why I Like Travelling ‘Solo’
What’s so good about solo travel? Why do I travel solo? Whenever I visit a destination alone, I am asked with amazement, “alone”!? Thankfully, solo travel is gradually becoming a norm. More and more people are opening up to it and even pursuing it. But there are still many people who choose to sit home if they don’t have company to travel.
Also read: It’s Totally Okay NOT To Like Solo Travel
I remember I had a chat with a middle-aged couple on the train while I was returning from Udaipur. It was my first completely solo trip. When they came to know that I came all the way from Delhi to Udaipur on my own, they were in a state of shock for a while. They were a very sweet couple. They shared their food with me and continued to chat with me through the journey. But, they couldn’t take the fact that somebody could travel alone. They simply didn’t get the logic behind travelling alone. I told them that my trip was fantastic. They didn’t seem to care. They couldn’t believe that somebody could enjoy ‘alone’. They didn’t know if there was something like ‘solo travel’.
But I don’t blame them. There are many such people who think travelling is only about taking a holiday with your loved ones. I knew I could never make them understand why I loved my solo trip so much. And I didn’t care to make them understand either. It doesn’t matter and it shouldn’t matter.
I like travelling solo for many reasons. Besides, I have learnt a lot through my solo travels.
It’s a different experience.
First of all, travelling solo is a very unusual experience. From the moment you reach your destination to checking in to your hotel – everything is different. There is an undercurrent of excitement that builds from the feeling of discovering a new city on your own!
And the discovery begins right at the railway station/airport. Even the simple things like interacting briefly with your cabby, taking your room’s keys from the hotel manager or ordering your first cup of tea – it’s the beauty of familiarizing yourself with the new place that makes the experience amazing.
I like my own company.
Yes, I like being with myself! I give myself total freedom to do what I want to do. I don’t bore myself. I don’t persuade myself to do something that I don’t want to do – that’s why I like my own company. This is the biggest secret of solo travel – you don’t have to do something that your companions are doing even if it bores you to tears.
Even if you are travelling with your best of friends or very loving siblings, you will not like their company as much as your own! If your friends like to booze and party late till midnight, while you want to wake up early for sunrise, what should you do?
I am independent with my travel plans.
My travel plans don’t suffer because there is nobody to accompany me. I travel whenever I want to. I don’t have to figure out if my friends are available or if my family is there. I just need to plan my dates, book my tickets, research my destination, book my accommodation, pack my bags and set off!
I really don’t want myself to be in a situation to be waiting for my friends to be available for me to travel along. If I want to visit a destination and I don’t have company, I should not plan a trip – No way!
So the idea of solo travel has given me the freedom to travel whenever I want to. If I have company, it’s a bonus (I will have somebody to click my pictures), if there is nobody to accompany me, I am still going!
No blame game.
There is nobody to blame you for anything! You make your own mistakes and you deal with them on your own. You are not accountable to anyone. On the contrary, everything is smooth on a solo trip – you check in your hotel with a smile, dump your luggage, take a shower, get ready and set out for the day. Even if you don’t like a certain place, you can just chill and tell yourself, it’s okay.
You just follow your heart.
Solo travel allows you to follow your heart wherever it takes you! If you don’t want to shop, you don’t! Well, if you do then nobody can stop you! If you want to spend more time at a sight and skip another, you are free to do that.
What I enjoy the most about solo travel is that I can click as many pictures as I want. I can pause, wait and look for moments to capture because there is nobody standing on my head. It is such a relief!
You call the shots completely!
Have you experienced a solo trip yet? Would you like to?
Enjoyed this post? Please subscribe to receive ‘new post’ update straight in your inbox?
