My First Solo Travel (so-called):
Solo Travel – what exactly is it? While some people believe traveling alone in a group is solo travel, my take is that traveling alone by oneself is what solo travel is all about but when I was in school, I believed that traveling by train by oneself from place A to place B was solo travel as well.
And that gets me to my first Solo travel (actually just a solo train journey) - one that I don’t remember much about (other than sitting in the train clutching a little red box) and rely on what my parents told me as I was only 2 years old. Yes, 2 years old and wee high:
And this is how it came about:
With Dad busy in his business and Mom teaching in a school, my 2 older siblings off to school as well, me, all of 2 years, was perhaps bored and asked my Dad to take me to my Aunt’s place which was about 180kms away from where we used to live and would take 2.5hrs by train. My Dad assured me that he would take me there on his day off (Friday) which was about 3 days away, but I was insistent and apparently threw a tantrum that I wanted to go that very day. With Mom in the school and him having a shop to run, a loud, bawling 2 year old got too much for him & he agreed to send me to my Aunt’s place that very day. He threw in a couple of clothes in a small red box (yeah we didn’t have back packs back then), marched me to the Railway station with admonishments not to talk to anyone in the train, not to eat anything I was given by anyone, not to go off with anyone et al.
The arrangement was that Dad put me in the train and asked the Ticket checker (TTE) to keep an eye on me and get me off the train onto the platform of station “K” where my Aunt lived. He then placed a trunk call to my Uncle sharing the train details and asking him to go to the railway station to pick me and take me to his home.
What transpired next was that the TTE dutifully got me off the train at the designated station, waved me goodbye & left with the train which only had a 45 secs halt at the station. However, my Uncle wasn’t at the station and while some town people who had disembarked offered to take me to my Aunt’s place (being a small town, almost all of them knew my Uncle, my Dad and even me as my siblings, cousins and I used to visit my Aunt’s place every chance we got). I however had those strict instructions from my Dad (remember :-D) , so rather than take up on the offers, I sat on my little red box and waited for my Uncle who finally arrived after an eternity (as per my Uncle it was 15 mins). And once he had perched me on his shoulders to carry me home is when all my bravado failed me and I burst out crying and sobbing asking why he wasn’t there to receive me when the train arrived.
Many years later when my uncle went bald on the back of his head, he would jokingly say that it was coz of me hitting him with my little red box the entire 10 mins walk to his place from the railway station whilst crying and asking him why he was late in picking me up……
So, my friends, this is my first so-called solo travel and it was only many years and many life experiences later did I really start my Solo travels and hope to continue doing them for as long as my body and my bank balance permit…
Here are a few of my Do’s that have held me in good stead so far:
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I keep my main number in a standby handset which is left securely in my accommodation whilst the local number is on the handset that I carry with me in person. So that if I lose the handset/ is damaged / stolen – I still have my base number which can be activated for IR and be used to block credit & debit cards if need be.
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I subscribe to higher iCloud storage for a month or two (depending on my travel duration) to back up pictures I click – again for the same reasons mentioned above.
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Am not a party/ night person so after a full day of sightseeing, walking et al, am back in my room by sundown for an early night and an early start the next day (during summer solstice period, the days do tend to get longer though).
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I always carry two credit and two debit cards along with some cash in Dollars or Euros (depending on my destination) and of course keep them separate 1 each CC & DC in one location so that I have a back-up available.
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I plan my trips meticulously doing a lot of research mainly reading blogs, relying on Trip Advisor Forums, contacting the Visitor info Centres, checking the timings of entry for must see attractions et al and for me half the fun of solo travel is in the research and planning – though it is very time consuming for sure.
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And it is during this research that I check on specific country / region requirements as well and pack to dress accordingly.
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Almost all my accommodation bookings (always private single with ensuite bath) are done through Booking.com though I have used AirBnB once as got a better deal. Have been fortunate to have gotten about 80% of good ones.
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Location of these accommodations is chosen based on my requirement – if I have lot of trains/ buses to take from a certain place then I chose close to these or it could be close to a Metro station with good connectivity or in the centre of town if I am spending more time just exploring the city centres.
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I try and book my connecting buses and trains in advance on official websites or partner websites.
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I always share my entire itinerary with accommodation address, phone number and email id with my parents & activate my “location sharing” with them as well, in addition to connecting with them at least once a day by way of sharing a picture/ video or a call or sometimes all of these.
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Even when I am uncomfortable or anxious in a certain area or place, I don’t let it show on my face and act nonchalant – has really helped me a few times.
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Have started joining in on some group day-trips as have realised that while they may cost marginally more, it is easier on me in terms of ease of transportation and covering more attractions and to meet fellow travelers.
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Last but not the least, I prefer paying a bit extra for a Platinum Travel Insurance with good coverage rather than skimp on it and regret later.
My few must haves when I travel are: Power Bank, Cap, Sun Glasses, Sun Screen, Water bottle, Wind Cheater, Comfortable pair of shoes, Umbrella, Poncho, personal medications as well as generic ones like Paracetamol, Imodium, ORS powder, Band-Aid et al.
All said and done, there have been times where I have had to pivot due to last min bus cancellation, being bed-ridden with flu, stuck in the cable car due to snow et al.
Be as calm as possible (easier said than done) and make sure your trip budget has a buffer for these pivots and enjoy the journey as well as the destinations you have planned to visit.
Cheers!
