Booked some solo travel and now nervous

sitstill

So I've spent the last few years thinking about travel and last night took the plunge. I'm going to China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia in June - July.

I've always wanted to go to these places but never had the money before. Because of my work, I have time off when others don't really so I didn't really have anyone to ask and I doubt my mates would have been interested anyway. This is another reason why I never did a trip like this before.

I've booked a mixture of hostels and hotels and trips to go on in some places so hopefully I'll meet some people on the way.

It felt great booking the flights but now I feel literally sick with nerves! I'm worried about traveling on my own, what if something happens etc. I'm male and 27 but would be pretty nervous/anxious in my personality. What do I do?

Esroh

Well Done. Go forth and enjoy.
I relearnt to travel alone after my divorce at the age of 40. You will always meet someone. Keep an open mind and dont let Age, Colour, Creed or Nation effect your opinion of Peole and you will never be alone

Greystoner

Well done! You are going to have a fab time; it might not all be easy, but that is part of the experience. You will meet some great and interesting people.

Try and learn a few words of the local lingo, even if it's just hello and thankyou. Having little exchanges with the locals will enrich your experience.

Oh, and don't forget your camera, hidden money belt, immodium (!) etc, and I always carried a fake wallet in case I was 'asked' for it, but never was and have done quite alot of travelling. Read up on the places you are going to, but also keep an open mind that sometimes information can just be one persons opinion. I am sure you know about the safe eating and drinking rules. Some of the best food I ever ate though was from street stalls (as long as it hasn't been standing for a long time) and as long as you know what you are eating. In China they like to eat dogs (!!) Singapore is very clean and civilised but remember some cheaper accomodation can double as a brothel; we discovered this, but no trouble atall! Australia, you will probably find half of your home town over there!

Have a great time and take loads of photos.

dory

I felt exactly the same before I left for some solo travel in 2007. Took me 3 hours to step outside the airport in Brazil. The ony advice I have is: just go. I'm so glad I took the plunge. It's scary at first but you'll get used to it and meet great people. Just keep your money and belongings safe and you'll be fine!

dashboard_hula

Well done OP, that was a big decision to make.
I travelled through Australia for a year on my own. Fair enough there was always an uncle a few hours flight away if I ever got stuck, but I mostly went out and found a job/accomodation straight away and then just started talking to people. One of the nicest people I ever met in my life was a girl that I got talking to in a pub smoking area on Anzacs Day in Perth..we kept chatting, I ended up staying at her place for a week before I went home 8 months later,and we're still in touch.
Travelling solo is incredibly empowering, and once you get into the swing of things, you'll be delighted that you're the only one calling the shots.
Best of luck!

sitstill

Thanks for the replies everyone. It has given me a little bit of comfort. I told my mother about it today and she nearly had a hernia. She thought traveling alone was "odd" - is this just a generational thing? She said she's gonna be super worried in case something happens to me when I'm so far away.

daenerysstormborn3

I am so jealous. You will have the most amazing time. Just be sure to be safe and careful with yourself and your belongings.

A friend of mine went on a safari trip to africa last summer, only for 10 days but she went solo and on the different day trips etc she was generally put in with a big group of people (as she couldn't afford a solo guided tour!) and she met loads of lovely people and had dinner with different people on different nights from all around the world and she still raves about it and can't wait to do it all again this year.

wylo

my main advice would be stick to the hostels, you are then instantly friends with so many people in the exact same situation. Hotels arent really the same because you generally have your own room. While thats nice , if you were to do that all the time it wont be as easy to meet people.
Regarding your anxiety and nervousness, you really wont feel is nearly as much, because youll have been thrown so far out of your comfort zone that you'll be 'numb' to feeling like that. Trust me Im the same.

I remember being intimidated once or twice because Id arrive in a hostel room full of people that seemed to know each other well and would be talking about what their doing that night etc, id be quietly unpacking my bags, theyd invite me along, its only later id realise most of those people only met that day or a day or previous to that.
I think hostels are essential for this.

Now dont get me wrong, expect to be on your own alot as well, and dont expect all hostel rooms to be the way i described the above, but just remember alot of people will be in the same situation as you.

Your mothers reaction is standard, it sounds odd to someone who knows nothing about travelling or has no mates who've travelled etc, but its not.

Its very easy and cheap these days to keep close contact with home, set up skype, get your mother to do the same, itll put her mind at ease.

Sanjuro

Hey OP. Ironically, you're not alone! I'm going to be doing some solo travelling myself this year. I'm going to Thailand for two weeks solo travelling before meeting some friends in Bangkok for a week. And yeah, I'm nervous as heck too. I did a small bit of solo travelling in Australia a few years ago, but I happened to run into people I know, and spent some time with them. But I remember taking the first step and thinking 'WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING?!' But once I was in the situation, it was great. You'll have a great time. And be totally free to do what you want when you want. Best of luck!

How Strange

Fair play to you OP. Travelling solo has its challenges but it also has huge benefits and advantages. You'll probably experience bouts of lonliness but just go with it; they pass quickly and within a day or two you'll have met other travellers and you'll have forgotten about the lonliness. It's all part of the experience really.

IMO, travelling alone makes you a stronger person because you become very self reliant. Thats not something you have to do when you're at home because you've always got others to fall back on. Also you do what you want when you want. You don't have to please other people or compromise on how you spend your time.

My bit of advice is to book tours locally (not online from Ireland because you'll pay a premium for the same tour/trip) but definitely get involved with organised day trips or overnight trips because it can be very hard and more expensive to do these things alone. It would definitely be a good idea in China and Hongkong as I've heard its difficult to move around without the support of an organised group because of the language problems.

Keep a stash of emergency money somewhere safe among your luggage just in case the worst happens. $100 should be enough to get you through. Also, photocopy your passport and save a scanned copy on your email account.

Don't worry about other peoples attitudes to travelling alone. Most people would never do it because they'd be terrified of being on their own. My parents thought I was bonkers when I headed off to South America on my own for a holiday. I got the usual questions of why I didn't have any friends to go with etc etc. Truth be told I was far happier going on my own because I'd probably kill someone if I had to be with them day in day out for more than a week. My husband is of course an exception but even now we'd do our own thing if thats what we wanted.

You'll have a ball, take the good with the bad and you'll have a great time.

sitstill

Thanks again for the advice everyone. Some good tips in there!

WhatWillBee

Hi OP,

Ive done trips similar to yours both alone and with friends and by far the more fun one was when I was alone because you meet so many new people that might not be as easy to meet if you are part of a group. Everyone thought I was mad to do it alone aswell.

I travelled alone as a 23yr old girl a few years ago (28 now), to Sth east asia, NZ, islands etc for a few months and basically what happened was every place I was in, there were a few other people travelling on their own too so we all ended up kind of hanging out and travelling together, separating etc as need be.

THE best piece of advice I can give you on meeting people is stay in a hostel with a bar in it. This was a golden rule for me because if I was arriving alone all you had to do was go hit the hostel bar with your travel book and have a drink and you are bound to strike up a convo with someone because theyre all travelling too and you instantly have a connection and something to chat about. DEFO DEFO DEFO a hostel bar is a must!

It was scary as hell when I did it too, but it was not nearly as terrible as I thought and youll realise that its not unusual because youll see a ton of other people travelling on their own!

Im very jealous of you right now, have a great freaking time!!

x

Hersheys

I did a similar trip to you also alone and I promise it will be the best experience of your life. You will meet so many people doing the same thing so just relax and embrace it. I'm seriously jealous

Davexirl

Well done for taking a big step, you'll have the time of your life and wait and see the amount of people you will meet and new friends you will make. I was nervous like you before I went away travelling trust me after the first day you'll be grand.

You should come back to this thread in a year and you'll laugh at there was no need to be so worried.

Best of luck and enjoy yourself

LegacyUser

Did the same last year, left my life/gf here to go travelling solo for 3 months.

It is pretty easy to meet people who are doing the same thing, but my advice would be to bring some backup entertainment to keep you occupied for those times when there is no one around, or you're in some place with no nightlife and nothing to do after dinner.

I had books and a Nintendo DS, I really regretted not bringing a music player and I met loads of people who had small laptops with them - great for watching movies and surfing wherever (even relatively remote destinations seem to have wifi these days).

Having this stuff to fall back on will keep the pressure off to constantly meet people. However I do think you'll find it pretty easy to talk to just about anyone and I reckon you could come out of your shell quite a lot during the course of the trip.

Have fun, you definitely won't regret it.