The beauty of solo traveling

Another milestone in my 26th years of age. Solo traveling. Woohoo!! I successfully cover small part of China, Macau and Hong Kong on my own (my friends joined me on the 2nd last day of the 2 week trip though). When I first mentioned to family and friends that I was gonna travel on my own, they frowned. Maybe they were worried about my safety or maybe they thought I was crazy. 

You see, I enjoy their company very much. But as I am nearing 27, I realized, one by one, my travelmates faded away. Faded away, in terms of, they have other commitments. I, on the other hand, still enjoy the freedom of singlehood. I want to see the world as much as I can. What with the constant promotion from AirAsia and MAS, I just couldn't stop myself from booking tickets. hahahhaha.... I am so not gonna be able to save money all my life!

The thing is, I don't wanna sit still just because I don't have a partner to travel with. So, I decided to travel alone. I’ve been told the same thing over and over: traveling alone as a woman is dangerous. But for me, as long as you take the necessary precautions, you'll be fine. Danger is everywhere. Even if you're in your hometown doesn't mean you're safe.

The important thing for solo female traveler, you just have to be alert on your surroundings and take a very good care of yourself. Use your common sense in a lot of things.

I enjoy the freedom of time, choice of sights, and do what I want. The best part was not having a schedule, not having to worry about seeing or doing things for the sake of another person, or meeting up at specified times. However, with that having been said, it is sometimes nice to have someone to share certain moments in travel with. There are some things you encounter while traveling, things so precious and beautiful, that you just wished there's someone to enjoy them with.

For some people, solo traveling is definitely boring. You have no one to talk to during the journey. I admit it could be lonely sometimes but most of the times, it's not! The local people I have met on my travels have been very helpful, and as for fellow travelers, they are all a friendly bunch especially the solo travelers. All it takes is just be a little friendly, smile and try to strike a conversation. The next thing you know, you already have travelmates.

I met a lot of solo travelers during my stay at the hostels, especially the Europeans. It's good to hear their traveling stories. Most of them have been traveling for months. Some of them quit their jobs, some of them take a break from studies. All for the love of adventure, culture and seeing the world.

This is the good thing about traveling solo, you make friends with other people. That's something you don't normally do when you travel with friends. We just don't bother chatting up strangers coz we already have companionships.

I made a few good friends and I met scores of nice people along the journey. I was touched coz there would always be people willing to help me whenever I was in trouble even though sometimes there's always the language barrier, it made me realized that there are still nice people out there although this world is full of bullshit.

And do you know what else people asked me after learning that I am traveling alone? Who's gonna take all your pictures? Ahahahahhaa.... There's always my mini tripod sitting nicely in my bag and just so you know, I have mastered the art of self photo taking. ;p Talk about being vain. Muahahhahahha....