Top 10 Thoughts on Solo Travel

I’ve been solo travelling a few times in my life, sometimes for short periods like a couple of days and my longest venture was 6 weeks around Malaysia.  I thought it might be a good idea to share my thoughts and experiences about the longer trip in the hope of giving a little bit more insight as to what life might be like for anyone who is thinking about a solo adventure.

I was excited to be visiting a new part of the world but I had never really travelled for leisure on my own (I was 27 years old at this point!).  I had travelled for work, lots of times, but that’s a different kettle of fish as I was in a bubble and looked after, all fancy hotels and drivers and nice restaurants.  Plus, I wasn’t paying for it.  I was paying for this trip, so I was roughing it.

Anyway, here are my top 10 thoughts…

1. Its OK to be nervous! The first thing I remember - this was a few years ago - was being both excited and scared at the same time.  Excited to have new experiences, nervous because I was on my own and had various doubts (what if something goes wrong? what if I am in an accident etc…).
2. Planning Helps - A lot. When I flew to Kuala Lumpur I didn’t even have travel insurance, thinking back, this was absolute madness.  I didn’t really have a plan of where I was going to go.  Looking back, I wish I had because I think I missed out on seeing some great places just because I didn’t do enough research and have any plans at all.  The world is a bit different now but if I could do it again I’d be looking at maps a lot more, researching places to stay, transport infrastructures - basically the logistical side of things.
3. Solo or Not? I stayed in hostels throughout my travel.  Invariably there were other solo travellers and so I had the chance to either mix with others or be alone.  In KL I mixed with others for a couple of days.  We went out for dinner and drinks etc…It was good fun.  Other times when travelling I preferred to be alone.  Bottom line is you can meet people if you want to but of course, you’ve got to put yourself out there a bit!  It's worth remembering a lot of people are in the same situation and welcome a chat.
4. Cash Flow.  Its annoying but for me a must do, keep an eye on the cash.  This goes back a bit to the planning point.  If I'd done more research I’d have known how much each day would roughly cost.  As it goes I didn’t have a clue and this was a major mistake as I ended up using credit cards etc… bad news.
5. Diary.  I look back now and although I have good memories of my travels I am missing parts and with time my memory will fade.  I find this quite sad and a shame.  I wish I had kept a diary and taken more pictures.
6. Local Expectations - Take 10 mins to read about local culture so as to avoid any clangers - obvs!
7. Solitude  - In my case, getting away from it all (life in London) did me the world of good.  I could reassess, re-calibrate and re-focus myself on what I wanted to do (hence I started The Adventure People).
8. You will miss people at home.  Well, I did.  I didn’t think I would but although those moments of solitude were good I found myself lonely at times too.  
9. Its addictive.  Enough said!! but it’s not real life.  Exploring and adventures are brilliant but even for professional explorers and adventurers there is time at home, planning, managing cash etc…
10. Do It Again? - Maybe but I prefer having people around.  My ideal is travelling with a group but with solo time built in.