I've backpacked all over the world by myself, but last time I flew out I just kind of got idk, bored of it? There's only so much to do if you're by yourself in a place where you don't know anyone or speak the language very well (if at all). You take walks, you go to museums, you eat the local foods and go out clubbing at night, see if you can't get laid, maybe go to the beach if there is one. And then you can do some hiking if you're in the wilderness.
The magic of traveling alone
21–30 of 49 posts
Re: The magic of traveling alone
#22Traveling with people is a nightmare. They always want to get up at different times to do things, see different things than you, stay longer at certain places or shorter.
And everyone wants to eat different things at different places at different times.
Re: The magic of traveling alone
#23I've backpacked all over the world by myself, but last time I flew out I just kind of got idk, bored of it? There's only so much to do if you're by yourself in a place where you don't know anyone or speak the language very well (if at all). You take walks, you go to museums, you eat the local foods and go out clubbing at night, see if you can't get laid, maybe go to the beach if there is one. And then you can do some…
Seems obvious to me but it needs to be said: perhaps you're not looking deep enough. Read the article again, the key message of "connecting with people and their cultures" is hard to miss.
Shallow self gratification of sun, surf, sex and art, these are not going to inspire you, challenge you, or help you grow.
But I feel like you already knew that, so why did you post this.
Re: The magic of traveling alone
#24I've backpacked all over the world by myself, but last time I flew out I just kind of got idk, bored of it? There's only so much to do if you're by yourself in a place where you don't know anyone or speak the language very well (if at all). You take walks, you go to museums, you eat the local foods and go out clubbing at night, see if you can't get laid, maybe go to the beach if there is one. And then you can do some…
Seems obvious to me but it needs to be said: perhaps you're not looking deep enough. Read the article again, the key message of "connecting with people and their cultures" is hard to miss. Shallow self gratification of sun, surf, sex and art, these are not going to inspire you, challenge you, or help you grow. But I feel like you already knew that, so why did you post this.
There are diminishing returns to everything, travel included. If you go deep enough, you’ll typically just uncover the mundane, everyday realities, that people are often not willing to share with a foreign, relatively wealthy tourist.
Re: The magic of traveling alone
#25Travelling alone sounds like a dream. But I'm an introvert on the ASD, so... I'm probably the exception.
Start small. "Travel" doesn't have to mean that you spent weeks in some distant country. Spend a day in some nice area that is within a couple hours travel time of where you live.
This also works if time and/or money are tight. Or if you just want to get out & see some new places & people more often.
Re: The magic of traveling alone
#26Traveling with people SUCKS. The best times of my life have been being by myself a hundred miles from civilization. I can do whatever the hell I want when I want, and no listening to whining or posing for instagram moments.
Re: The magic of traveling alone
#27The “magic” seems little more than not having to compromise, allowing you to be selfish without the guilt of hurting others. With friends, the magic comes when the holiday has finished and you start saying “remember that thing on that holiday!”. The worst form of loneliness is only having memories nobody else shares.
For me the worst form of loneliness is to be with people that I don't want to be with. That's is like mental suffocation - a sizeable chunk of your mind is occupied due to simple presence of people you are travelling with
Re: The magic of traveling alone
#28I've backpacked all over the world by myself, but last time I flew out I just kind of got idk, bored of it? There's only so much to do if you're by yourself in a place where you don't know anyone or speak the language very well (if at all). You take walks, you go to museums, you eat the local foods and go out clubbing at night, see if you can't get laid, maybe go to the beach if there is one. And then you can do some…
Seems obvious to me but it needs to be said: perhaps you're not looking deep enough. Read the article again, the key message of "connecting with people and their cultures" is hard to miss. Shallow self gratification of sun, surf, sex and art, these are not going to inspire you, challenge you, or help you grow. But I feel like you already knew that, so why did you post this.
You can get bored of anything if you do it enough.
Re: The magic of traveling alone
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you ask me, it's when you start talking with the people in the area you're staying in. It's very freeing to have a fresh start in a new place.
About what? In what circumstances? Walk up to people tending their front yard and strike up a conversation? At bus stops? I've tried at least the latter but people generally aren't up for it in western Europe at least This advice article could be a whole lot more concrete
Stay in hostels and chat to other travellers. Depends on your time of life though. There's totally a gap for high-end hostels for mid-life people with some money who still want a common area to hang out in, but without staying in a crappy dorm. Hotels just don't have the same vibe.
Re: The magic of traveling alone
#30Back in '17, I took my car across the Atlantic to the US, and drove coast to coast and back again for a total of 10 weeks. The majority of the trip was spent driving alone. My original plan had been 12 weeks, but coming around the 7th-8th week, as I was driving back to the East Coast, I was hit with a severe sense of home sickness, so I decided to cut my trip short. It was a great trip, and I met a lot of people on t…
Wow, what a story!
What motivated you to transport the car across the sea instead of rent/buy a car in the US?