CHARACTERISTICS of solo (FIT) traveler?
"Accepts full responsibility & risk as the price for
freedom's complete control & instant flexibility's rewards.
1. Curiosity-driven, alert for unique, unexpected, remote, authentic, dramatic & seamy
2. Distasteful, expected & spectacular: cultural experiences
3. Full responsibility for all risks & gains: safety, health, itinerary, & Complications
4. Freedom without compromise, so she usually travels alone,
5. Flexibility to change direction or plans on a whim,
6. Solitude to focus, reflect, and contemplate everything: yet open to others
7. ‘Life’s a test of personal character.
8. Travels ‘poor, ’ regardless of net worth, to better connect with the host culture’s roots.
9. ‘being lost’, expected, sometimes unnerving, but stimulating
10. Research & planning preparation:
11. Highly practical equipment: self-modified. essential boots/socks, rainproof jacket,
12. No recognition sought for travels ccc
1. Curiosity-driven:
An ever-alert quest for unique, unexpected, authentic, dramatic or the seamy. IMO, 'curiosity' & its partner 'fear' have driven 
human evolution. It is our most powerful attribute. It protects us as we perch frightened in the tree above the hunting lion, yet teaches us survival strategies that bring us safely to the ground.
Curiosity is the inherent, unquenchable thirst to know everything that might protect us or enhance our lives & pleasure. Curiosity drives us 'around the next corner' in search of the next excitement.
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2. Distasteful, as well as expected & spectacular:
FIT travelers willingly proactively confront the entire culture, the glorious & the distasteful, without undue qualm.
Anecdote 1: India’s grimy poverty contrasted with its magnificently painted havelis: e.g. Kothari’s Patwon Ki Haveli (early Silk Road wealthy merchant homes)
Anecdote 2: Latvia's Riga Ghetto & Holocaust Museum: Europe's German Nazi heritage: These grotesque images are burned into my brain as evidence of the potential for monumental cruelty of man to man. I try to empathize with the humiliation, and fear of these mothers separated only hours before from their husbands & sons & forced to carry their own innocent children into a Nazi's mass grave.
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3. Full responsibility for my travel's risks & gains:
My safety, health, itinerary & complications. IMO, all human activity is, consciously or unconsciously, risk/reward-driven. 'Fear' is the referee of risk/reward contest.
Daily fear makes us .... look left at a crosswalk, grab a pot holder, & brush our teeth. Fortunately, our positive experiences move us confidently onward. Still, the greater our ignorance, the greater our fear. Natural.
'Dune' Quote: “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
―Frank Herbert,
Fear should NOT be ignored. It is both your bodyguard & the key to unlocking your dreams & achievements. Some ignore risk & take specious actions, then presume blind confidence in their ‘lucky’ survival, while many of us simply hide beneath our fear in character-destroying cowardice.
TR Quote:“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs,
even though checkered by failure,
than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much
because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.”
― Theodore Roosevelt
Quote: “Do feared 1st” (me)
I kept this quote in printed form before me for several years to overide my nataural procrastination.
Anecdotes: Responsibility & Risk
1) Mexico, Guatemala & Belize: A moment's instant decision to extend a 1 month Mexican solo road trip to 2 months more unplanned thru Guatemala & Belize.
2) Myanmar's Yangon: ominous military dictatorship's ratty old capitol, off set by allure of legendary Bagan temples, Mandalay, & Inle Lake
3) Morocco's Tangiers: Ahead of schedule in Madrid, so I side-tracked to Africa's Tangiers for 3 days to ts intriguing, inherently baleful, dusky, tight & intricate dead-end walkways.
4) France’s iconic Mont-Saint-Michel: impromptu 4 dorm-mates in a hired cab. 
Anecdotes: Risk
1) Laos: Once I realized that at 70+ I could safely operate a scooter and then a motorcycle, I made several solo independent overnight road trips into the countryside. Exhilerating wind in my hair & freedom.
2) Morocco: In spite of my dark fear of Muslim countries; more so now.I found Tangier hauntingly exotic with it tight twisting streets and Arab Muslim flavor.
2) China’s Great Wall: hiking non-tourist & abandoned sections,
3) Laos’s Phonsavan: hiking & scooter travel in Plain of Jars’ & surrounding minefields.
4) Canada’s NW Territories: solo wilderness
backpacking 41 mi Chilkoot Trail trek & 350 mi 
Yukon River paddle.
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4. Freedom without compromise: so usually travels alone because by human convention two people or more people doing anything must compromise: this direction or that direction, this restaurant or that café, that site or another. FIT travelers avoid compromise because it dilutes their options.
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5. Flexibility allied with Freedom maximizes a FIT traveler's fulfillment of their goals because they can tailor & maximize the value of their travel time, including spending adjustable time-on-site depending on level of interest. The degree of cultural or site immersion is always flexible, even on the fly. It’s always your call.
Anecdote: Tangiers, Morocco unplanned side trip: after 36 days,
trekking northern Spain's Camino de Santiago’s 600 mi, I segued into 1½ months of FIT travel thru Portugal & southern Spain.
In Madrid, I realized I was too far ahead of my itinerary, so I booked a train to southwest Spain, & took a boat to Tangiers, Morocco for 3 days, then, returned to Madrid & continued my journey.
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6. Solitude fosters focus, reflection & contemplation of everything: yet, always open to spontaneous interaction with others.
Anecdote:
1) Teotihuacan’ Moon Temple: solitude’s reverie, contemplation, alone in a vast complex.
2) Chilkoot Trail & Yukon River: 3 weeks of solo hiking & kayaking & reflection encountering only briefly a 
hiker or my long distant wave to an oriental solo boater with a large book mounted in front of him to read as he floated down river.
3) Hanoi, Saigon, Beijing walkabouts: ‘solo alien’ amongst thousands.
4) Beijing, China: While on my self-guided walking tour through un-touristed Beijing neighborhoods, I arrived at a popular tourist gathering spot at the south tip of Houhai Lake. Two tourists gazed at the lake while 2 Chinese women stood behind them, giving their gentle backs & shoulders inexpensive massages.
I couldn't resist. I walked silently up behind one of the oriental masseuse's and, without her permission or knowledge started massaging her neck and shoulders. She turned around, mildly startled, and immediately started laughing at me. We all had a great laugh.
5. Camino de Santiago's early dark morning: most mornings, I have woken my dorm bed well before others in the break of dawn. I dressed quietly in the dark, my clothes laid out carefully the night before, so I knew they were without lights. I tossed my backpack over my shoulders and struck out into the night. Often, Orion and the Big Dipper were behind me in the east I walked north.
One morning, a group of young Austrian men raced up from behind, and I quietly stepped off to the side, unnoticed in the narrow beams of their headlights. I praised my solitude those mornings.
Often, I would go for miles, occasionally passing or being passed with just a friendly "hello." I prized my solitude and its meditative reflections. Yet, I always enjoyed evening conversations in the hostel's kitchen & common area.
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7. ‘Life’s test of character. Our ‘character’, especially work ethic, moral qualities, ethical standards, & behavioral principles, hover in our psyche constantly. I often wonder if the 
confidence I try to exude is a dishonest facade disguising my inner fears, my ‘moral failures’ sometimes ignored even by myself, yet ... my skills have been hard won,
Anecdote: A Vietnam Navy carrier fighter pilot -- my friend- exuded raw, bold confidence, competency, & skill. My idol. Yet, years later, he applauded my “ability to survive”. I was flabbergasted & flattered.
I constantly struggled & fought my fears of character inadequacy with bolder & bolder challenges, hoping I might someday satisfy myself. Independent solo travel was my ULTIMATE challenge.
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Anecdote:
1) Chilkoot Trail/Yukon River’s 2 panic attacks:
a) Chillkoot Trail, Alaska:
A few years before, I had solo backpacked the multi-over night Chillkoot Trail in Alaska to the Northwest Territories Yukon River’s headwater lake, Lake Bennett, to start a 600-mile solo kayak paddle down to Dawson.
After paddling 45 minutes, I was so gripped with fear (1st panic attack) that I paddled directly to shore & sat staring a the water, embarrassed/ashamed of myself.
I spent a ½ hour talking myself through it: “You planned & prepared for this & frankly, you don't have much choice. You're out in the wild, so get a grip & get back out there.”
b) Yukon & Big Salmon River Junction:
Several days later, the Big Salmon River flushed its massive flow directly into my kayak in the middle of the Yukon River just below Carmack, carrying large half-submerged logs as big as my kayak.
[LINK] [YTclip when AK published]
This 2nd panic attack struck with no close beach to paddle to. Irrationally, I briefly contemplated jumping out of the kayak & running to shore. Absurd, of course.
Again, I talked myself through it: “ You have the best equipment, you have trained for this —there is no REAL danger unless you let yourself succumb to the panic." Minutes later I was back in control, shaken, but never again so frightened until the Zocalo & never again
2) 1st Mexico City trip: riddled with paranoia: within the first hour of my solo walkabout, I was riddled with intense paranoia. Fortunately, I just kept walking. It soon disappeared and never returned.
Anecdote 1: Mexico City‘s: The Zocalo’s panic attack .
The Zocalo, Mexico City’s main square, is now what once was the Aztecs’ main ceremonial center of ancient Tenochtitlan). Immediately after I had unpacked in my hotel a block off Mexico City's historical Zocalo district, I began my usual walkabout [YT LINK] this huge historical square.
Almost immediately, I was near-paralyzed with the raw, gut-wrenching fear of paranoia. I almost ran back & jumped in bed, seriously, but ….. instead, I just kept walking.
It was not my first visit to a foreign developing world city, BUT within a ½ hour, the fear had melted away almost unnoticed & … never returned again — anywhere. Go figure.
Anecdote 1: China: “Russia’s ‘evil’ brother: In 2011, shortly before I left for China, I invited 3 Chinese exchange students working at Albertson’s to visit nearby Yellowstone National Park for the day with a friend & I. While roaming the park one girl asked me what my opinion of China was. I told her, as honestly as I could.....
"US President Reagan had once described Russia as the "Evil Empire.”"
and I told her, at that moment of her question,
I thought of China as the ‘Evil Empire's brother.’
But now, I had put my cowardice aside and had committed to 3 months of travel in China. My China research became my usual obsession fueled by:
1st, entirely reading Lonely Planet's China guidebook, literally 'slicing' out with a razor knife what either did not interest me or was not feasible for this trip — think Tibet.
2nd, was Professor Ken Hammond’s,. “From Yao to Mao: 5000 years of Chinese History" video series NOW available on YouTube. I outlined every tape, finally condensing my outline to a final tight synopsis. Yes, I am probably too fastidious (anal), but ……. China is vast in size & history, a collection of geographical and historical cultures that, if you travel it widely enough, you will encounter.
Once I was traveling China, I realized that my fears, as they often are, were UNfounded. I was absolutely wrong. I recall not the slightest threat of oppression either from the culture or as a tourist traveling through it. My China experience was devoid of even the slightest hint of communist oppression that might affect me. I wasn't looking for trouble, and I saw none.
In sum, China was an exciting travel experience — intellectually fulfilling & expanding, exposing the novel, crushing my stereotypes, testing my fears, and physically challenging. Its people are as welcoming and humor-loving as Americans may be.
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8. Travels ‘poor’, regardless of net worth:
Just another old dufus old tourist ➩➩➩➩
Easier to connect locals when an obvious, unpretentious traveler, rather than a self-conscious & distant tourist.
Certainly, your quality of travel is your choice: 1st class flight vs ‘tied to a wing’, expensive hotel vs hostel dorm bed, street food vs expensive restaurant, private personal guide vs. ‘self-guiding’, …. or a mix. I usually chose to stay in-character as 'the frugal traveler.'
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9. ‘being lost’ is expected, sometimes unnerving, but always stimulating:
a) Slovakia: lost en route to a Disney-like castle
ANECDOTE: In Slovakia, Eastern Europe I was taking trains to a Disney-like castle town -- Bojnice Castle. As usual, I had researched the train schedules enough that I thought I could flexibly alter my routing. Wrong! I selected a different train, asked the station platform officer if this was the train I needed. Once on the train the Conductor confirmed my ticket was to where I thought it was going.
BUT, she returned 5 minutes later, asked to see my TIK again & advised that she had been wrong -- not reading it closely enough -- & I was going the wrong way on the wrong train. By now we had traveled past 2-3 stations.
I had to get off & try to navigate back, but their were no trains going that way for a while. So, I got a taxi to return me to the original station, the station TIK window lady told driver what she thought I was trying to do (did not speak much English) & off we went traveling much farther past where I knew my original station should be. The driver then dropped me at a bus stop & directed me to the opposite side of the street. I was angry thinking he had duped me & was just getting rid of me -- this was NOT a train station & certainly not the station I had left from.
I started walking toward a nearby University in hopes I could find someone who spoke English. I did. He gave me directions & I started walking to ‘nowhere’, until I stopped a car load of police, who finally put me in the car & drove me back to the same ‘bus stop.” I thanked them, (“You don’t question good intentioned police).
I then began a close examination of the blizzard of schedules pasted to the bus stop board. Eventually, I discovered my city, confirmed (???) with other folks at the bus stop, & several hours later I arrived by bus at my castle town. During the above my emotions ranged in great spikes from ‘confidence’ to “panic” to ‘resolute’ to “relief’ to ‘frustrated futility‘ to ‘hopeful confidence’ ultimately to ‘elation’ on arrival. While not normal, such serendipitous calamity is frequent enough to always be in my mind’s forward searching eye.
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b) Argentina's lost ‘main’ luggage bag:
10. Research & planning preparation: The greater your pre-trip research & planning, the less you'll fear, the more likely you will travel safely, & efficiently and achieve your travel goals. Know what sites you want to visit & why! Know the simple logistics of getting there, sleeping & eating— vital.
That's a fact, IMO!!! Travel without research & planning is unnecessarily foolish & thinly fulfilling, if at all.
Please link to the following Main Heading for:
1) FIT Main Heading for Research & Planning-related Topics:
4. SIT Research
5. SIT travel trip dates
6. SIT planning
7. SIT Free time.
8. SIT Itinerary.
10. SIT Transportation,
11. SIT lodging,
13. SIT limited luggage space
2) Main Heading: Resources (Safety, Health, Docs, etc. [LINK. ]:
3) Main Heading: Journey > Asia > China Itinerary [LINK. ]:
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11. Highly practical equipment, & self-modified. essential hiking boots/socks, rainproof jacket,
Please link to following Main Heading for:
1) FIT Main Heading for Equipment related Topics: [LINK. ].
2) Resource Main Heading: Safety, Docs, Equip. & ITIN [LINK. ]:
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12. No recognition sought for travels
seeks no recognition or applause for travels.
Anecdote: my closest friends: would ask, after each trip, “How was your trip?”, to which I would answer. “Great!” … and that was it —- no further discussion.
I soon realized my travels were my experience, my memories, my passion, not theirs.
Postscript: Tourists:
1. Seek diversion from their lives’ normal predictability & pressures
Anecdote: Tourist chain: Often, I have seen a line of tourists strung out behind their briskly marching guide, most of them unable to hear their guide’s commentary, so simply chatted amongst themselves or plodded along resolutely.
Anecdote: Panama Canal’s train ride: a tourist kept trying to chat with me, preventing me from experiencing the train ride until I tactfully asked him to please stop. Why was he even there? Bragging rights?
2. Abdicates safety& responsibility to travel company & guide, presuming they guarantee.
3. accepts or is unaware of specious intellectual value of company’s sparse itinerary & commentary.
4. unaware of their superficial disconnect with the underlying culture they pass through.
5. Self-deluded by cruise ship’s make-believe catered luxury & expensive, lazy “sea days.”
6. relish their return home ‘bragging rights.’
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