The Perks of being a Solo Traveler

After my solo trip to Xiamen, plus a few various excursions around Hangzhou, I have come to some conclusions about travelling alone – both good and bad – and I have decided to share them with all of you in the form of a Pros & Cons list.

Pros:
1. Setting my own schedule: This is great because I am one of those people that hates to make decisions regarding plans – what if I choose a restaurant and the others hate it? What if I choose to go to a certain site or museum and it turns out to be really lame? While this is a skill I am currently trying to improve, traveling alone completely alleviates it. I know that my decisions will only affect one person: me. And that makes them so much easier – if I’m hungry, I eat. If I don’t feel like going to the museum, I don’t go. And I don’t’ have to feel bad or guilty about any of those decisions. **Sigh-of-Relief**

If I want to spend three hours reading in a cafe, I do it!

2. Sleeping In: This one is simple – I love sleeping late. And when I travel alone, I don’t have to worry about when the other person will/wants to get up. I just sleep until I’m fully rested, and then enjoy a fully-energized day of sightseeing. 

Beauty sleep in the middle of Wu-Mei

3. Getting Lost: During most of my travel experiences, I have been the designated “navigator” (turns out I’m good with a map, who knew?). While most of the time I am able to lead myself and my partners in the right direction, a trip is incomplete without getting a little lost at some point. Usually, this also turns out to be the point during which I feel most anxious, thinking, “We are lost and it’s my fault – what if we can’t find our way back? I am responsible for these people’s safety!” When I’m alone, I still get lost, and I still get worried, but not being responsible for others as well takes off a lot of that pressure. In fact, I've had some of my best experiences while being lost…

Case and Point: I found this delicious street food while being "lost" in Xiamen

4. Budget: Another pretty simple one – when traveling alone, you never have to worry about how your budget compares to those of your fellow travelers. If you want to spend some extra money on that fast train or a nice hotel, then go for it! If you want to spend the absolute least amount of money possible, even if that means riding questionable buses and staying in moldy hostels, no problem! 

Save money by taking a public bus instead of a taxi? Heck yeah!

5. Becoming Comfortable with Myself: This has probably been the greatest of all the benefits of traveling alone – I’ve become exceedingly more comfortable with myself as a person. No, not in a “FOREVER ALONE” sort of way, but more like I am getting to know myself a little better. I’m stepping out of my comfort zone and being more honest with myself. In doing so, I’m discovering things like what kinds of foods I prefer; what I really enjoy doing in my free time; and how far I can push myself. And all of this self-discovery is turning me into a more confident and healthy person. Can’t complain about that!

Confident enough to walk around in these puppies.
Oh yeah, these are fake Crocs alright.

Cons:

1. Pictures: Ugh. Pictures. First of all, I am a terribly unenthusiastic photographer – I almost always rely on my travel buddies to snap all the pics (which I will steal and claim later). So remembering to bust out the camera at the right moments is something I’m still working on. Secondly, I HATE taking self-pictures, aka: “selfies.” I always feel like such an idiot when I take them – not to mention vain and narcissistic. It’s strange, because it doesn't really bother me when others take selfies; it’s just something I have never been comfortable with. (Although I will admit, once I started to get past the awkwardness of it all, I did begin to see the appeal…)

Wait, you're telling me this isn't cute?!?

2. Going to the Bathroom: This one might seem a little strange, but WOW have I noticed it. What I’m talking about are those times – in the train station, out to dinner, etc. – where you gotta go, but you don’t want to drag all your junk with you. If you’re with someone, you can just leave your bags with him/her and make your free, unburdened way to the toilet. If you’re alone, it becomes a whole adventure. It begins with some internal discussion, “How badly to I really have to go? Can I hold it for another hour?” It then turns into some serious strategizing, “Alright – I just need to be able to balance my purse on top of my suitcase, whilst squatting over the toilet while still wearing my giant backpack…” And, often times, ends in anger, “WHY IS THIS STALL SO TINY? HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FIT ALL MY STUFF IN HERE? DID I JUST PEE ON MY FOOT?!?” But you can’t just leave your stuff out in the open waiting to be stolen, and so this has to happen sometimes. **Sigh**

Just imagine taking all this junk into one bathroom stall with you. Ha. 

3. Feeling Awkward: I have found that this one has improved over time, but during my first experiences alone, there were quite a few moments where being alone just felt weird – for example, eating at a restaurant where everyone else there was part of a large group. Or seeing a movie at the movie theater, alone. And while the pangs of awkwardness that hit me from time to time have certainly decreased, they still occur now and then and cause me to ask myself, “Do I really have to be alone right now?”  

Like when every other person on the beach is a part of a couple...

4. Being Unable to Share an Experience: During some of my recent excursions, there have been various moments where I wanted to turn to the person next to me and exclaim, “Wow – isn't that amazing?” or “Oh my goodness – did you see that?!?” or “THIS FOOD IS FREAKIN’ DELICIOUS!” When traveling alone, I try to abstain from this because 1) the person next to me is usually a stranger and 2) there's a good chance the person next to me doesn't speak much English. And sometimes, 3) there isn’t anyone next to me and talking to oneself is a generally frowned upon practice (I get stared at enough as it is). So I will admit that I really miss being able to share these experiences with someone else -  I think this one is the hardest to get past. 

When I was here, I kept wanting to yell "LOOK AT ALL THESE FLOWERS!"
"DON'T YOU LOVE THESE FLOWERS?"

All in all, I think that traveling alone can be a lot of fun and surprisingly beneficial – however, I do miss the social and convenient aspects of traveling with close friends or family, so I certainly won’t be limiting myself to solo trips in the future. I’m thinking a healthy mix of both will be a great way to keep my journeys interesting and varied. 

So for my next trip (which I just got back from) was to Beijing where I got to hang out with my awesome friend Dave and (finally!) see the Great Wall. Pictures to come (obvi.)