On Travelling Solo

Writers Block! Sometimes I have all these ideas for posts and then the moment I sit down to get going on them, nothing comes out. Usually it's when I start and finish. All that shit in the middle is pretty easy to hammer out. I want to find a good way to jump into a topic so that anyone who might actually read this blog wants to keep reading beyond the first paragraph. At the end, I like some sort of all encompassing conclusion that makes me look incredibly intelligent. Ever noticed that about my writing (at least in serious posts)?

I'll abandon this format for once, maybe twice or more and jump straight into it:95% of my travelling the last two years has been independent. Just me, a map and a guidebook. The thing is I chose to travel this way rather than find a travelmate and hit the road/seas/rails. Maybe it was all the drama during family vacations, or that longing to get away from someone other than my own self to be responsible to. I can remember being on our quick tour of Holland, Belgium and France before studying in London, 50 of us snaking through the streets of European cities with our big college sweatshirts as we half listened to our guide about when and where to meet. It was quite the scene - one I never want to participate in again! Its far too controlling. Then there is the issue of compromise. Even if you are with just one other person, every decision has to be agreed upon by both. To get to the point, all I really ever recall when I think about group travel are all the exasperated sighs and then finally a feeling of glee as I fled the group and was by myself. Certainly, there are good things to travelling with others, but I'll come back to those(that?).

What I have concluded over these last 18 months is that there is no greater level of freedom than travelling by yourself. Left to your own devices, you alone make all the decisions. I've heard some horror stories from more than a few travellers: I met this girl in Norway who used to travel around with her boyfriend at the time. He controlled the budget and handled the money. He was such a tight ass that in the 2-3 months of travelling she never once was able to buy a coke or snickers. Or go beyond the bread, meat and cheese sections of grocery stores for meals. Well, that sounds more like a bad relationship, but you get the point yeah? Because you make all the decisions, you have no one to blame but yourself if you don't have fun. That gets you pretty motivated - if you do nothing, nothing gets done.

Now and again, travelling solo gets a bit boring. You haven't said much in a while if you've had lots of travel days in a row. A bit of company looks appealing. One evening in Riga I wound up looking for dinner with a random guy who was staying in my room - my idea. I regretted this decision within 5 minutes. He wanted this, I wanted that, I wanted to stop at a bar and watch World Cup, he wasn't too keen. Eventually I told him to just go do what he wanted and I'd catch up later.

You can stop every 10 minutes for photos, you can spend a day relaxing rather than doing activities, you can eat anywhere, go anywhere, randomly change your itinerary, take naps, sleep in, get up early and so much more... all without ever having to consult/discuss/argue with someone else. That is what I am trying to get at with this post, but it is happening in a very convoluted way. You might think I just don't get on with people when I travel. Not true I say! Certainly there are people I like to travel with - I'd put the number around 5. Everyone has their own unique style, or preferred method of travelling and mine just doesn't match up with theirs.

As I said earlier there are pros and cons to solo travel. I've gone through all these experiences and only I am able to remember and retell them. Every time I was at a high point I wanted someone to be there with me. There is nothing better than reminiscing with friends about frozen night trains through Eastern Europe, about reckless driving on deserted highways on route to crazy weekends up north or trying to put into words the tumble you have just taken out of a plane above the alps.

It's good to have someone be able to understand an experience I had, perhaps because they have done the same, or even similar, thing . It is better to be able to relive an experience with someone because they were there. Now that I've had my fill of independent travel, I'd like to start doing a lot more with people (mostly people I like travelling with!).