Idea of Solo travel largely stemmed from my realization that synchronizing travel dates with friends and being granted leave as n when required keeping other’s feasibilities from work would never be possible. Nor I would ever like to let my ‘leaves’ lapse because I was challenged for companionship. I owe my travel bug to my genes, they understood long ago that I am earning my living to travel to places which liberates me from monotony.
Its shocking for people around me and leave them with a notion generally – ‘why do a person wants to travel alone?’
I always felt a little outraged when this question was posed because it implied that I was expected to submit to my partner/ to friends/family as per their requirements, and that a woman in a relationship shouldn’t be traveling alone.
But as a solo traveler, there are always chances for people to get suspicious of your intentions.
The fact is that the decision to travel solo had nothing to do with my personal relationships and everything to do with me; it is the clichéd journey of self-rediscovery.
There are so many things we wish to do but we can’t, for multiple reasons. When you travel alone, you could be that someone you always wished for. You can do whatever YOU want at any time, without having to consider your significant other’s feelings. Like whether you want to go to spa for hours or to an art gallery, a shopping mall or even snoozing in your hotel bed, no explanation or justification is required.
Whenever I travel with anyone I know I become dependent on that person for a bit for so many things starting from route maps/ where to stay/ complete action plan for the day and so on..you can begin to forget what it is truly like to be on your own with no one else to depend on.
The point is, it can be easy to fall into the trap of downplaying your own skills and letting someone else do the work, plus annoying also at the same time when you want to do a certain thing your way but unable to do so because you don’t want to ruin the trip by arguing or making the person with you understand…it’s seriously important to recognize your capabilities as an independent woman.
