Independent Solo Travel

35 years domestic & foreign independent solo travel

I. Prelude

Now, for whatever reason(s), you apparently have decided to investigate the possibility of independent solo foreign travel.

“Good on ya, Mate” (Aussie term)

Anecdote: ...some independent solo travelers I have met:

A young woman traveling the world solo on her bike.
A middle-aged woman who had traveled continuously for 10 years around the world.
2 80+ year old man from Canada's McKenzie River traveling Argentina.
30 yr old man: motorcycling from fartest Canadioan North to tip og Argentian.
A young man:I paused descending to breakfast in a Normandy hostel, captivated by a young man's recounting so many countries he visited on his 9-month world odyssey -- like he was reading from an atlas’ index.

A. Where can independent solo travelers go to?

An independent solo traveler’s options are limited only by their imagination, research & planning, physical well-being, prudent judgment, some money, and initiative. independent travelers can go almost everywhere.

Anecdote: 1st communist Myanmar visit: While in Chaing Mai, Thailand I learned that the Mai Sai border crossing into dictatorial Myanmar was only one open to travelers if you paid your entry fee in US dollars which they needed for foreign trade. [ytlk: Thai: Myanmar 1^st trip] Scary at 1st, but uneventful. Curiosity drove me. Years later when Myanmar fully opened again, I spent several interesting weeks traveling about. [ytlk: Myanmar 2nd trip].

[several random self-guided walking tours throughout Yangon capital, motor scootering amongst Baga's hundreds of temples & roostertail boat on Inle Lake jaunt to floating villager's home.

MISC: ancient Yangon markets, late night walk thru street shops, Ancient City temples, lacquerware shop & factory, Inle bike ride loop across lake; self-gided walking tours: butterflies, mt hike outside Baga

B. What transport vehicles do solo travelers use?

Solo travelers, literally use all travel modes of transport. Flight for quick long distances, trains & buses for local & city travel & less expensive long distances, taxis/Ubers & tuk tuks, motorcycle taxis, and motorcycle & bike rentals, BUT self-guided walking tour (walkabouts) dominate my local travel mode whenever reasonable.

Quite often a mix of transportation modes, particularly to remote rural areas & sites.

Anecdote: South Vietnam's Mekong Delta: 1st by bus, river ferry,
& villager's canoe, and finally a night floating, dining &
sleeping down the Mekong River in an old, large, wooden,
multi-story floating hotel. True exotic ambiance. [ytlk;~~]
Anecdote: North Vietnam: a dark night's motorcycle taxi to small
motorboat then racing across the lake to my hostel.
Anecdote: Laos: 3 solo motorcycle into backcountry. [ytlk;~~]
Anecdote: France, Japan & China: bullet trains [ytlk;~~]
Anecdote: Siem Reap, CBDA: tuk-tuk ride to Nat'l Park.[ytlk;~~]
Anecdote: Alaska, Arg~-Chile, Baltic Sea: cruise ship/car ferries
Anecdote: Thailand: Self-bike tours of huge temples sites. [ytlk;~~]
Anecdote: Bangkok/Inle Lake: 'rooster tail' river/lake boats [ytlk;~]
Anecdote: Myanmar's, CBDA; Laos: riverboat cruisers [ytlk;~~]
Anecdote: New Zealand: Flying Kiwi's 'jump on & jump off'
camping bus tour, then bought an old station wagon,
thru out extra seats & traveled, camped, & trekked all 3
islands for next 2 months. [ytlk: NZ]

C. Can you mix all 3 Travel Kinds?

While I am focused on ‘solo independent travel it is reasonable, easy, exciting & often most time & cost efficient to mix all 3 “SIT, tours & cruising.

For example, cruisers may take a port-side day (tour) excursion while tour bus travelers may evening cruise Sydney Harbour. Both may solo self-guided tour elsewhere after their cruise or bus tour. All travelers may relish a walkabout’s serendipitous freedom. Every combination is possible.

Anecdote: My Argentina/Chile trip. In 2007, I did a 3-month solo independent self-guided jaunt thru Argentina by bus mixed with day tours [YTclip] … THEN, a small cruise ship from Ushuaia, ARG through Beagle Channel up Chile’s west coast to Valparaiso, [YTclip] including a Torres del Paine National Park van day-tour & hike ... THEN, more buses & day tours thru out Chile. I'm leaving out a lot. 😃.

Jarom. ANECDOTES Didn't expand the scope because it specifically deals with transportation modes. OTOH, cud discuss: 1) tactics for : buying tickets, finding bus at chaotic Asian bus depots & otherwise random street locations (Kosovo; Tirana, Albania; dark early morning Nalwalgarh, IND, remote bus/van change at countryside intersections, urination & etc (!!!) on buses (coming into Danang, Antarctica on shore emergency kit. , N Viet bus/hotel scam escape,, plane disembarkICE search etc;

II. Independent Solo travel

A. INTRO:

This post’s goal is to fully define, describe & evaluate ALL significant independent solo travel factors” to help you make the most informed choice between independent solo travel, touring & cruising.

Independent solo travel is a single traveler usually driven relentlessly by an insatiable curiosity toward everything, yet, instantly, flexibly, detouring for something else of interest.

THIS traveler prizes their freedom most.

Independent solo travelers are presumed to be in reasonably good physical condition, of modest finances, confident & willing to creatively & courageously confront challenges & fears of solo travel.

An independent solo traveler accepts all responsibility for their trip’s success. All pre-trip research, education & planning, all transportation, lodging, food, etc logistics, and all decisions, problems & mistakes they make.

Independent solo travelers tend to be confident, but prudent; self-reliant, but does her research AND seeks other’s critical guidance/assistance; busy & active, yet will pause to contemplate; slaved to their personal itinerary, but leaps on interesting detours; seemingly introverted, but keenly aware of people & activities around them; self-driven & firm, but not selfish or insensitive.

B. CONFIDENT, but prudent:

Independent solo travelers exude a quiet confidence ... absent any hint of braggadocio because they seek no approval, but their own. They know risk may occasionaly accompany fear & failure ... that they alone must overcome.

Anecdote: Argentina's lost main rolling bag: I stored my rolling luggage at a bus station while I made daytrip detour south to an archaeological site, returning later in the day to pick up bag and move on. But alas, the returning bus apparently bypassed the original bus station, and I, my bus station & my main bag were ALL "lost."

Fortunately, a young man I met with his father at the archaeological site offered to drive me in their car until we found my bag which we did. Whew!! ... that was scary

Managing bags & their risk between cities & day trips: 1) Argentina: young man's Mom was a nurse but paranoid of my presence AND when I refilled my prescript & vitamins container, (she still charged me in the morning (LOL); 2) Sicily Roman ruins site office held bag, 3) bus station offices; 3) day trips during day's bus & train between cities: India: train;

Prudent: 1) buy a ticket day before; 2) to station etc early, 3) 10 minutes before published time you should see your bus or ask at ticket office (sometimes they even change the bus company or #.

Often, in their regular lives, they have weathered many trials & survived them, accepted sole responsibility for their missteps AND their solutions, .… which, in turn, … elevated their confidence, self-worth & self-esteem even further.

He may push his own ‘comfort’ boundaries to keep validating his self-worth, knowing each experience is a risk that toughens & enriches his character.

Anecdote: crossing Saigon's scooter–jammed main streets: A very old Vietnamese lady taught me how:
1) when a slight brief break in traffic, step resolutely off the curb into traffic, &
2) DO NOT STOP, change speed or
direction AND look straight ahead
which tells scooter drivers you are
resolute & trusting.

Scooter drivers are very skilled relying on your predictable direction and speed.

OR, very safe alternative, walk downstream of an old lady who is
crossing street. 🥴

Anecdote: scooters on Saigon sidewalk: Think you are safe on Saigon's sidewalks? Nope. Walking on Saigon sidewalk around a corner, I jumped back fast out of the way of scooters on the sidewalk shortcutting around the corner. Only saw 1 scooter accident.

Asians often use the streets for sidewalks because the sidewalks, if any, are jammed with additional shop kiosks so the remaining available pedestrian sidewalks must be augmented with the street (Mexico City, Yangon. Asian open markets narrow walkways accomidate motorcycles, cars, tuk tuks & peeps.

Anecdote: Solo Alaska backpack & Yukon kayak to Dawson City: On my 1st Alaska road trip. I gave a ride to 2 girls

who with friends had just canoed Lake LeBarge & some of Yukon River.

Later, I researched, planned, trained, bought, and learned to Kayak, then, following year ...

I backpacked Alaska's Chilkot Trail into Canada's NW Territories to solo kayak 450 miles down to Dawson City's 1897 gold rush town.

An Independent solo traveler avoids unnecessary risks and manages her fears with researched planning & knowledge, quality equipment, and growing experience. Never too foolishly proud to accept help or ask directions.

Anecdote: Slovakia Eastern Europe 'lost': En route to Bojnice Castle, I tried to flexibly alter my well-researched train schedule, and chose a different train. I asked the RR's platform officer if this was the train I needed. He confirmed. He was wrong!!

A few stops later I asked the Conductor to confirm my ticket's destination. (always paranoid). Moments later, she returned, looked at TIK again & advised "Wrong train." But where was I ???

Panicked (yeah, I do that too) I jumped off, direct to Station ticket clerk (who spoke NO English), BUT no trains going back for a while, but ... where. She called a taxi & off we went in search of my original station so I could start over. But we never did find the station I had left from. Am I having fun yet? LOL

Finally, I was totally lost! My frustrated taxi driver finally stopped, pointed at a bus stop across the street, and left. I was angry thinking he had duped me and was just dumping me -- this was NOT a train station and certainly not the station I had left from.

I searched the maze of bus schedules, but in my anxiety, I saw nothing that made sense. Dragged my bags thru a nearby University in search of an English speaker who gave me directions to ‘nowhere’, until I stopped a carload of police, who finally put me in their car & drove me back to the taxi driver's same ‘bus stop.” I thanked them, (“You don’t question good-intentioned police).

I then began a much closer examination of the blizzard of bus schedules the bus stop board. Eventually, I discovered my city, confirmed with other folks at the bus stop, and several hours later I arrived by bus at Bojnice, Slovakia, and its Disney-like 'Castle of Spirits.'

During the above episode, 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 rapid, unforeseen crises are frequent enough to always be in my mind’s forward-searching eye.

Lessons Learned:
1) Sometimes, you will make wrong decisions,
2) panic undermines; I should have trusted the taxi driver & more 'closely' searched bus stop schedules,
3) SUM, how bad could it have been? Take a taxi to any hostel & spend time figuring it out again & leave the next day.

Panic is a natural response ....but, must learn to quickly control.

B. SITES/ACTIVITIES:

Of course, independent solo travelers visit internationally renowned sites often exploring much longer than most tourists do/can, searching & probing for nuances, questioning the curious & contemplating the intriguing. Solo travelers are usually keen observers of both the nuanced & obvious because they are focused in the moment; insatiably curious, poking deeper & deeper into what fascinates their curiosity; Not distracted.

My Youtube videos epitomize: @scottscolotravels.com https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCxLopkdZJOy7_KKKiU-49eA/content/playlists

But, perhaps even more important to independent solo travelers are less popular or remote sites & activities. Independent solo travelers' pre-trip research intentionally ferrets out obscure, remote sites and experiences, because these rural back roads & small villages often expose a culture’s unique, authentic lifestyles & perhaps equally important, avoid the increasingly onerous cacophony & chaos of major site’s tourist hordes.

Independent solo travelers seek, unique sites & experiences, eating & sleeping local, walking non-tourist neighborhoods, using local transportation, and searching out remote villages.

Anecdote: Bagan, Myanmar's 2200 remaining temples: of an original 10,000 could be easily visited by bus tour, but only main temples on easily accessible main routes with little of solitude's reflection time & a chaotic mobbed lunch.

My Laung Prang hostel rented e-scooters, but 40 years since I last piloted a motorcycle. What the hell, how hard could it be? It wasn't. 😇

I spent the next several days scouring the big sites, but more thrilling, I bounced along dirt paths & crossed fields to dozens of smaller sites out in countryside, THEN, .... Ever Stand's artisanal lacquerware shop & intimate creation process & a quiet riverside lunch.

I got so carried away, I had to push the scooter the last 1/2 mile back to hostel.

Wonderful adventure. [ytlk: ]

Anecdote: Lijiashan Village, China: is a surviving village of homes carved directly out of rock cliffsides & fronted with elaborated carved wooden open work. Its inhabitants still working the surrounding steep hills.

I took 2 buses into the hinterland and walked a few more miles before some young Chinese men graciously stopped & gave me a ride to my side road where I began my 2 mile hike up to Lijiashan. On the way up I passed a elderly Chinese woman walking down ... ignoring me until I said, "Nǐ hǎo" (hello) (phonetic:'knee how') when she then exploded into exuberant "Nǐ hǎo", Nǐ hǎo." Another special human moment!

Anecdote: Laos' interior solo motorcycle trips: Confidant I could ride a motorcycle
as well as an e-scooter, I made several overnight sojourns into Laos backcountry for seldom-visited temples & historical sites.

At the beginning of 1st trip, I attempted to turn around on the highway, lost control, and laid myself & bike on the roadside with predictable scratches & bruises. Never made that mistake again.

Later a construction truck pulled rapidly ahead of me & quickly turned left across the road & immediately backed up in front of me before I had time to stop. Just barely missed the lumber sticking out the back.

Life is full of such near-misses.

I love the freedom of the backroads, literally, the wind in my face, the tiny roadside cafes that seldom see foreigners, the adventure into what I have never seen before, and the remote temples history has left behind.

C. BUSY, yet we'll pause & detour:

Guided by my Personal Travel Itinerary, I may always seem busy, … constantly on a mission, on the move, … hunting the next interesting or novel ‘thing/experience’ around-the-next-corner.

My video camera records the curious; zooming up high on a wall for a painting's fine brush strokes, a Thai temple’s ornate gold steeple top, or, very top of an Andes snow capped volcano.

Verbally recording my reflections & questions at those moments.

I meticulously follow my itinerary’s walking tour so I won’t miss what I researched so diligently & sought so much to
experience, …yet, I’ll instantly pause or detour for a new-found attraction:

a cool city park to watch old men playing chess,
to video a carved Roman stone fragment jutting out of a modern Florence wall,
to empathize, from afar, with a destitute, lowest caste, Dalit, Calcutta, India family living literally on a diesel smoke-choked Kolkata main street’s sidewalk,
to sit quietly in a South American cathedral, listening to the janitor's magnificent voice resonating through the vast arches above,
to walk down a dark, ominous Cairo side alley,
to sit quietly in Beijing’s Forbidden City trying to imagine Empress Dowager Cixi wandering about somewhere before me.
Empress Dowager Cixi: Concubine Who Launched Modern China: [Amazon} https://www.amazon.com/Empress-Dowager-Cixi-Jung-Chang-audiobook/dp/B00G6SF7U8/ref=sr_1_1?crid=240TRNFC0UUOR&keywords=Empress+Cici&qid=1706897236&s=books&sprefix=empress+cici,stripbooks,160&sr=1-1

Anecdote: Cairo’s dark narrow street: Walking along a main street. I looked left down a dark, & to me, an ominous-looking street with high buildings that cloaked the narrow street in dark shadow.

I strongly debated. walking down it, but I did, & it was a great experience seeing the underbelly of Cairo and chatting with a group of Egyptian men after I said hello in Arabic to them. "Salam alaykum."

D. Extroverted, yet frank & honest

A independent solo traveler may seem introverted & silent because so deeply focused, yet her extroverted-self explodes with friendliness when awakened.

Avoids time wasting distractions that don’t add value to her journey. Discarding from her life people who ridicule, disrespect or subverting her ambitions … as mere distracting obstacles.

Solo Independent Travel
Factors

Jarom, should I force Anecdotes & PIKs into each of these Factor sections OR just in Expanded Factors sections???

1. SIT travel anxiety:

I suggest that all travelers, both domestic and foreign, suffer ‘travel anxiety’ to some degree because they leave the comfortable, confident security of their home environment for a foreign culture; sometimes radically so. different roads, laws, foods, etc.

Independent solo travelers may be prey to even more ‘travel anxiety’ because they are ‘solo & independent ' in a foreign culture which varies radically from USA culture and more so, between other foreign countries.

Ironically, it is EXACTLY this anxious uncertainty that provides Independent solo travelers their unique, unexpected experiences, not only testing ourselves, but providing the rich & novel. Yet, always have a back door — an escape strategy.

I combat anxiety levels (fear) with exhaustive, pre-trip research & planning melded into my own Personal Guidebook-like itinerary. The more you know about a country’s culture the less ‘travel anxiety.’ I can almost guarantee.