Traveling by myself??

BrokenArrows

I am finishing college this year and really want to travel but all my friends cant afford to and dont want to get loans out. A few are planning on heading to england at the end of the summer for a few months.

I want to leave soon enough(mid-end june) after i finish college maybe work for a while and save some money.
I was thinking about Australia.

My question is has anyone just gone off by themselves if so what was your experience?
Was it hard being gone alone?

xzanti

BrokenArrows wrote:

I am finishing college this year and really want to travel but all my friends cant afford to and dont want to get loans out. A few are planning on heading to england at the end of the summer for a few months.

I want to leave soon enough(mid-end june) after i finish college maybe work for a while and save some money.
I was thinking about Australia.

My question is has anyone just gone off by themselves if so what was your experience?
Was it hard being gone alone?

Dangerous IMO.. Why dont you put an ad in a paper looking for a travel companion.. You might be surprised.. Iv often seen ad's for people looking specifically for sports companions, platonic friendships etc.. Just like minded people... Worth a try...

MrSinn

Its a better experience to do it alone,i have been to several places on my own and sometimes with someone else

If you travel with a woman for example people assume its your girlfriend so you tend to loose out on that score

You also tend to keep to yourselfs so you miss out on conversing with locals and this is part of the reason for travelling

Rcuomo

dangerous? it might be more dangerous putting an ad in the paper to be answered by some weirdo...

my friend went to oz last year on his own and had a great time. He met loads of different nationalities and became friends with alot of them.
When he was travelling the same way as people he stayed with them and then when they were going different ways he just met other people and met new friends...

It's hard in a way if you're not the most out-going person but that soon goes away in a backpackers atmosphere like sydney or thailand etc....

i say just do it and have a ball

and check out www.gapyear.com for loads of people in the same position as you...

BrokenArrows

Im fairly outgoing so i dont think it should be a problem.

Would you suggest planning out specific places to go or to just wing it.
Im more of a takes things as they come person so im not that interested in planning but if anyone thinks it should be planned i might put a bit of planning into it.

"Planning" was in that sentence way too much.!!lol

AARRRGH

xzanti wrote:

Dangerous IMO..

Would you believe two (extremely) naive 19 year old friends of mine have gone HITCHIKING down the west coast of AFRICA.

I **** you not.

I'm (sadly) waiting to hear about the raping and killing.

Seriously, I am dumbstruck that they are doing that...

mise_me_fein_V2

I say go for it.

Depends on if your going to a place like Columbia or the UK though.

MrBigglesworth

dublindude wrote:

Would you believe two (extremely) naive 19 year old friends of mine have gone HITCHIKING down the west coast of AFRICA.

I **** you not.

I'm (sadly) waiting to hear about the raping and killing.

Seriously, I am dumbstruck that they are doing that...

I would soooooo love to read their travel diary...are they doing any online diary thing by any chance (when they get to internet access that is)?

BC

Lots of people travel on their own in Australia. You will meet plenty of people in hostels and on buses/tours who you can travel with and/or meet up with at various stages along the way. Go for it.

Edited to say, i wouldn't worry too much about planning it. Book some accomodation for when you arrive but after that just see how you feel. At peak times you may need to book ahead a week or so in advance but don't worry about trying to do it all before you go as your plans will inevitably change!

Intel

Would you believe two (extremely) naive 19 year old friends of mine have gone HITCHIKING down the west coast of AFRICA.

I **** you not.

I travelled around West Africa with my friend when I was 17.

Its relatively safe, but it got a bit hectic sometimes....sleeping rough in sheds full of bats, wading through swamps etc It was really thrilling until we found ourselves on the outskirts of the sahara, with no food and very little water.

We lasted there 2 days in +40oC heat and bought some bikes off the locals (who wouldnt give us food as they didnt really use money) to cycle to the nearest village to get transport to the nearest town.

The cycle was extremely testing. Hadnt eaten for days, our half bottle of water was hot, my watch even stopped working from the heat, but worst of all the track we were cycling on was sand which made the 4 hr cycle 10 times as gruelling.

We got to the nearest village and got a bus to the nearest town and we found a kind of christian refuge (it was in a muslim area) and we were welcomed with open arms. When I got my first bit of food ,a whole loaf of bread i swallowed the whole thing down in less than a minute.

However then I became violently sick and kept on throwing up for the next few days. Since there was no food in there I kept on throwing up bile for days on end and my abs were sore from throwing up.It was probably due to dehydration and suddenly eating when I hadnt eaten for days. Meanwhile, my brother got malaria but they really took care of us there.

When we recovered I figured I had enuf and headed back to the capital, Accra and my brother continued on to Timbucktu as we originally had planned

mise_me_fein_V2

cool story, you've lived.

I hope I can go through stuff like that - and survive.