Travelling alone to Asia in February

debsmccann

Hi! I'm a 25-year-old girl planning on travelling to South East Asia for a month or so in February. The thing is I will be going it alone. Some days I feel great about the prospect.. but other days not so much. I have never travelled alone before...

Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

crisco10

debsmccann wrote: »

Hi! I'm a 25-year-old girl planning on travelling to South East Asia for a month or so in February. The thing is I will be going it alone. Some days I feel great about the prospect.. but other days not so much. I have never travelled alone before...

Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Have a look about the threads here on general advise and good places to go if alone. There was one on here last week where there was a bit of discussion. There is a lot of threads on SE asia here...eg

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055394201

but in summation, you will be fine!

kraggy

I actually prefer travelling on my own. You meet loads of new people and sometimes friends for life that way.

And SE Asia is safe as you get. You'll have a ball. Just put yourself out there and keep an open mind and you'll have a blast. Plus, you're only going for a month.

Enjoy.

Pulsar Eagle

my thoughts: can i come:)

[Jackass]

I'm travelling alone next year too debs and sometimes it scares the bejesus out of me.

But you've got to look at it as an adventure, you'd be surprised how you react to it and it will be one of the most amazing, unique experiences you'll ever have, being alone meeting people and making your way around.

It's natural to be apprehensive, but as long as you stay sensible you will have no problems at all. It takes a lot of courage to do this also, so fair play to ya!

Best of luck with it and have a great time.

dory

I travelled alone for 15 months or so. Well, seeing as I met people all over the place it doesn't even seem like I travelled alone. I did 3 countries in SE Asia, and found Thailand the hardest to do alone. I wrote about it around here somewhere.
Also, I wrote a blog about my travels. So if you want to see how I (22,female,hardly any travel experience) got on check it out. It's http://blogs.bootsnall.com/cybersusst

eimear1

debsmccann wrote: »

Hi! I'm a 25-year-old girl planning on travelling to South East Asia for a month or so in February. The thing is I will be going it alone. Some days I feel great about the prospect.. but other days not so much. I have never travelled alone before...

Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Fair play to you girl, as someone already said, its the best way to travel - shy naive little me found that out in Oz and couldn't wait to do it again in SE Asia!! Life-changing is definitely the word for it, you'll come back a different person in the best possible way :pac:

The last minute jitters are horrendous tho - i usually get over it by making sure i have my first few days planned out with accomodation and travel so at least i know i won't be wandering around a strange city like a headless chicken! Once youve got your bearings then its best to be flexible, and once you keep your wits about you, you'll be fine! I travelled Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand alone 2 years ago, found the people very friendly and helpful and never felt unsafe. If you are nervous about any particular part that may be off the beaten track, you might want to take a small group tour, I found Intrepid brilliant for some of Cambodia.

Best thing about travelling alone is that you are forced to make new friends to have someone to talk to - you never do this if your with your mates, I've made friends for life just asking someone the time in the rec room of a hostel!!!!!!

Enjoy it, you'll love it!
Eims

Trapattoni

Im doing it at the moment in SEA - Have been here only a week and a half -met quite a few people but have also been very unlucky as all of them are at the end of their travels !!

One thing I will say is its a lot harder travelling alone between making decisions, the odd bit of loneliness or having this pressure of meeting people/striking up conversations but it has been most def worth it in my own case - more adventure, better experience and in general more enjoyable!

concrete10

debsmccann wrote: »

Hi! I'm a 25-year-old girl planning on travelling to South East Asia for a month or so in February. The thing is I will be going it alone. Some days I feel great about the prospect.. but other days not so much. I have never travelled alone before...

Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Hi, i'm doing the same thing in Feb but travelling for about 2 months. I have the same feelings as u - today i'm frightened @ the prespect but 2moro I'll could b excited.

U never no we could be on the same flights to SEA LOL

I thinking of doing one of does tours for some of the trip. Like a 7 day elephant trekk or something? have u thought about that at all?

Placid_Casual

A few years ago I went travelling alone for the first time. It ended up being the best thing I ever did and now I actually prefer to travel that way.
I remember flying into Bangkok, never having gone anywhere on my own before and naturally feeling a little anxious. So, walked through the airport being slightly overwhelmed by all the people trying to push taxis and hotels on you. I stepped outside into the incredible heat and humidity and found where the airport bus was going from. Nearly everyone got on the bus to Khao San Road - I wasn't staying there. There was just me and this girl left. She was obviously a backpacker, so I decided to be brave and strike up a conversation. Turned out she was going to the exact same place as me! Right then I knew everything would be just fine.

Larianne

I travelled 'a bit' on my own during my 2 year stint abroad. I was alone in Saigon, Vietnam and then when I went to the Philippines.

Good points - you can go where you want, when you want. You don't have to ask anyone! You can do what you want - none of this "I can't afford this" rubbish by your travelling companion etc. If you're shy, it forces you to talk to people and make friends. Lone travellers attract lone travellers. A lone traveller will rarely tell you to bugger off if you ask if you can join them at a table or sit beside them on a bus. Couples will tend to talk to you as well.

I did a tour of the Mekong Delta when on my own and met people there. When I was in the Philippines I dived everywhere I went so I got talking to my dive buddies and met up after for drinks.

Bad points- meeting cool people but they then go off their separate ways. Night time can get quiet lonely, going back to your room on your own (unless you get lucky!) Sometimes you get sick of making friends. Or when I was in the Philippines I got "why alone" all the time!!!

Just be really sensible. Don't carry lots of cash, or have cameras hanging out around your neck, don't go out at night alone. If you are meeting someone, try and meet before it gets dark and agree to go home together. Careful with your drinks. Talk to other travellers about their plans and see if you could hook up with them - share travel costs etc.

You'll pick up lots of tips from travellers on where to go, where NOT to etc. Research where you're going as it will help lowering the stress levels and save you cash.(there's some good websites posted in one of the stickies)

But by all means, definitely go and enjoy your travelling. It will come and go really quickly. It is such a great experience and once I hope to do again (after uni.)