Traveling alone is best

ikimasho

hi wwusa!

i have heard that comment before...though it is true that you dont have the same interaction capabilities here in japan, it is generally because they are afraid that they cant speak to you! if they knew english or were confident you spoke japanese - you would find you had a new best friend.

i think i was thinking purely of the number of people and how many of them are looking at you!!!

many girls told me that i would be constantly STARED at in india, but i am already used to it from living here that i barely noticed it!!!

cept for those freaky looks...you know which ones i mean....

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timmy

That's why my tagline is (for now at least) "Soon to be the whitest person in India"... there are so many Indians and so few westerners that you do feel as though you stand out... "All eyes on the white boy!" is how I described it to a friend afterwards. When you're used to wandering around in your own little world with no-one ever giving you a second look, it takes a little getting used to.

In the end I think you have to change your attitude from 'why are people looking at me?' to 'people want to look at me!'

volga_volga

sorry to keep coming back to the same thread... i can now bring forward more arguments in favour of travelling alone.

if you want to meet people, talk to people, LOCALS, you have to be on your own. you have to get away from the gangs of travellers, "cultural bubbles". when i am on my own, people talk to me, when i am with another traveller, they do not! i have just spent three weeks travelling entirely on my own, with exception of half day of touring bazars of Peshawar with Dakota and one long bus trip with a British traveller for a travel companion. Otherwise, no foreign travellers around. and i could see the difference - i was approached more easily and willingly by locals when i was on my own, and was having friendly and informal conversations almost all the time (so, in fact, i was never alone ).

in addition as a woman travelling alone in a Muslim country i always had someone taking care of me, ensuring i got safely to my destination or was comfortable (not hungry, hot, thirsty etc). i think i was seen vulnerable and in need of help - and people were more than willing to go far beyond normal hospitality to accommodate me. travelling alone, i have had a chance to experience the kindness of strangers as i have never seen before...

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shanthi

Alone in India is ok.....sometimes. Alone in India is bad when you have some problems that need to be talked over with, with someone who utterley speaks the same language - otherwise any country you've travelled to can sometimes be a bad experience. I like alone in India, very much - but there are times when I would have given the world to have been able to mull over something that happened on any given day to do with the kids, and I don't have a soul to sit and chat with....then alone is noooo gooood!

Lotus-Flower

WELL i could agree really but to some point i think it has also negative side
if u r woman than is not so good to be alone
to have a travell partner means also help and even protection
if u r somewhere at dark area and u r easy to be victimised from thieves and so on while when u r with someone else ur more safe

the best is actually beeing with indian friends!!
they could the best guide u, give u tips and protection
especially the familly where u stay!

Chandra

I've been travelling in several ways - alone, with several people, with one independent person and with one scared and independent person.
I prefer to travel with one person that doesn't need me by his/her side all the time so that we can do our seperate things but still have someone to lean on if trouble emerges... Travelling alone comes second. I have never felt unsafe in India even when travelling alone (not very unsafe, anyway ) even though I am a woman. I know that the statistics in Norway say that more men than women are victims of violent crimes (except rape), because people generally feel worse attacking a woman than a man.

Travelling with several people is nice for a short while.

lotus blossom

I quite agree. I prefer solo travel. I find that traveling alone is more condusive to meeting others where as traveling with someone can be more limiting in this regard.

i know that being a photographer is a part of it for me too since the freedom to photograph is limited when someone is standing around waiting for you, which then makes me anxious.

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dilly

travelling alone sounds great but daunting for the uninitiated.
I'd rather get a friend to start the trip with you.
I'm Indian and am going to India,Punjab feb/march time to visit father / cousins.
Last tme I went was When I was 7 late 70's.
this time i going to experience India on my own.The backpackers way ,crapping myself in a way but exicited.

Lotus-Flower

everything u can do while being in India maybe is possible kompromise
meeting some people from time to time, so partly travel alone and partly on ur own!

mercedes10

I've never travelled alone, but am about to jump in at the deep-end with a solo round-the-world trip that could last anywhere between 6 months and a year. Can't deny that I am terrified, but I feel like I need to prove to myself that I can do it. I guess I wont be able to answer the question of which way is better until I get back!

I suppose in an ideal world I'd like a companion to share it with, but like so many people have said it's finding someone like-minded to do it with that's the problem. None of my friends have the time, finance or inclination. In fact, I'm not sure I would WANT to spend that long with any one of them. It would be nice to have company for so many reasons though. I'm especially anxious about going to Pakistan alone, but basically I know NO-ONE who would even consider going there, so not much chance of anyone joining me!

lotus blossom

check out the couchsurfing idea (there was a recent thread about it). i think that is a great way to meet people and save some $$.

mercedes10

Forgive my ignorance, but what on earth is couchsurfing?!

lotus blossom

www.couchsurfing.com - it will tell you all about it.

mercedes10

Thanks Lotus! Sounds cool! (very similar to hospitalityclub.net ) though I must admit I'd be pretty wary about sleeping on a complete strangers' couch or having a random stranger stay with me!

lotus blossom

perhaps, but it seems like an interesting way to travel. just gotta trust our gut; i've found that my instincts are tack sharp when traveling alone since there is no one to cover your back, so to speak.