Some time ago, I made a (quick) solo visit to Los Angeles that reminded me of why I enjoy travelling solo sometimes. I’ve had a good number of people ask me why I often travel by myself, and I usually will tell them that I actually prefer to travel with one other person or a very small group of people. But that’s not always possible because people are busy, schedules don’t align, and, typically, people are undependable and will flake on that trip that they told you they were totally going on with you.
So now, I have come to love and even crave the peace and solitude, and the opportunity they give me for introspection, while flying (literally and metaphorically) solo.
The biggest thing I love about travelling solo, which I was reminded of in LA, is the opportunity to meet people. Yes, I know it’s possible to meet people at any time but when you’re travelling with someone else, you’re comfortable; there’s no real need to reach out to other people you may encounter. The other part of that is: it’s harder for other people to reach out to you when you’re in a group or with someone else. But people, especially locals, are so eager to include you when they see you by yourself. My trip to Phuket, Thailand is so memorable because of that. This group of 7 Thai women welcomed me into their fold and introduced me to Thai culture in a way that I wouldn’t have experienced otherwise. I even got to meet up with one of the women when she was visiting the U.S. about a year later!
While in LA, I decided to do a photo tour experience that I found on Airbnb (I try to do one group tour whenever I travel solo). The picture above is the entire group (not including our guide). By the end of this 4-hour experience, we were all laughing and chatting away like old friends.
When my new friend, Child and I got into an Uber, we were making plans to meet up, hopefully, in Mexico, where I know I have a couch on which I can crash. The Uber driver could not believe that we only just met that morning. I also plan to grab lunch with 2 of the people from my tour the next time I’m in Houston.
And maybe none of these plans ever come to fruition. At the very least, I’ll have fond memories (and pictures) of the place and times that took complete strangers and bonded us into something more, which is the still an invaluable gift.
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