Would you go travelling on your own?

Hammer89 · 19-03-2016 2:34am #1

Is it weird that I wouldn't go to the cinema on my own in a million years, but I'm seriously considering travelling the world on my own? I'm not a loner or anything; I have friends, but none of them would accompany me on my big adventure. They're either angling for promotions, impregnating women or buying houses. Either way, they're stuck in Dublin for the forseeable future.

I feel quite fortunate that I don't have the same ties. I'm free, which sounds lovely in theory, but I don't want people to think I'm some sort of weirdo who scours the earth on his Toblerone. One part of me cares massively what people think, whereas another part is like 'f*ck them. Travelling the world is a f*cking ballsy move, one to be applauded rather than mocked'. And that's the part I'm more leaning toward.

I'm young, but I'm old and wise enough to know that I won't be forever, and the idea of not taking these chances, knowing I'll almost certainly regret them, frightens the f*ck out of me to be truthful. I'd like to have kids and move into houses one day too, like the lads are doing, but before that I'd love to make memories and see things which you just won't see in Dun Laoghaire.

What say you? Would you travel the world completely on your own initially?

Ice Maiden · 19-03-2016 2:40am

Hammer89 wrote: »

I wouldn't go to the cinema on my own in a million years, but I'm seriously considering travelling the world on my own

I'm the exact opposite, but some people seem to love going travelling alone (doesn't seem to be that unusual) so go for it if you want to do it, I think.

TheHillOfDoom · 19-03-2016 2:40am

If you do venture further than the port please put the phrase 'impregnating women' in your back pocket.

maryishere · 19-03-2016 2:42am

Yes, I did once, for a short while, but had old friends / relatives / acquaintances to meet up with here and there. Go for it, even if just for a short while. You meet some great locals that way. Be careful though.

Mesrine65 · 19-03-2016 2:43am

Frequently in my glory days & many times more, Inshallah, until the day I die

"Every journey starts with the first step" (addendum) "& is only enriched by your fledgling wanderings"

fatknacker · 19-03-2016 2:47am

It's not weird travelling alone at all, but the beauty of it is you get to make it as weird as you like

But you meet more people when you're alone, it's a lot easier to approach and be approached as a single unit. If you want.

R.D. aka MR.D · 19-03-2016 2:48am

I left on my own and I'm coming back with a husband. :rolleyes:

Seriously though, there are a lot of reasons why being on your own is better. The biggest one is that you tend to meet more people and you get to do exactly what you want.

There is absolutely no stigma to it these days and if there is then it's only very small minded people and sure who cares anyway. It's your life, live it for you not other people.

maudgonner · 19-03-2016 2:48am

I did it, it was great!

Go for it. If you're backpacking and staying in hostels you'll meet up with plenty of people in the same boat as you. And it's great not to have to adapt your plans to suit someone else's schedule.

Why would anyone think you were weird for traveling alone? It's really common, not at all unusual.

JackieBauer · 19-03-2016 2:48am

Go for it. Amsterdam, Berlin, whatever. Get out of you're comfort zone, go to museums or some sh!t. I would never even think of going to a museum in Ireland!

timthumbni · 19-03-2016 2:52am

I would but I wouldn't want my kids to when they are older. I think you are really risking things when you go travelling on your own. (assuming you are talking about very foreign travel and not just a weekend to Paris)

No one to check if you are missing, etc. I will follow my kids like the fecking golem...

actuar90 · 19-03-2016 3:11am

Went travelling by myself for the first time recently. I was a bit unsure about it too, but after my experience of it, I'll certainly be doing it again so I'd encourage you to go for it!
Getting to do exactly what you want, at your pace and the ability to change your plans as you go along is not to be underestimated...

maudgonner · 19-03-2016 3:11am

timthumbni wrote: »

I would but I wouldn't want my kids to when they are older. I think you are really risking things when you go travelling on your own. (assuming you are talking about very foreign travel and not just a weekend to Paris)

No one to check if you are missing, etc. I will follow my kids like the fecking golem...

Ah now, the OP can go far further afield than Paris and be perfectly safe, come on! As long as you're sensible and take a few precautions, you'll be pretty unlucky to get into trouble in most of the places on the backpackers routes, and many places that are off the usual routes too.

(Also, given events of the past week and the previous months, you could have picked a better example of a 'safe' city than Paris :pac:)

Hammer89 · 19-03-2016 3:28am

Yeah, I was thinking more along the lines of places like Thailand and Vietnam and whatnot. Sure what kind of adventures can I get up to in Paris that I can't in Dublin? I've got the rest of my life to see Paris and other parts of Europe. The same, I don't think, can be said for places like Bangkok, which you're more likely to see when you're young I reckon. Places like this are seedy and a bit dangerous, which makes them quite interesting and exciting. The closest I'd get to that in Paris is most probably Space Mountain at Disneyworld.

timthumbni · 19-03-2016 3:28am

Hammer89 wrote: »

Is it weird that I wouldn't go to the cinema on my own in a million years, but I'm seriously considering travelling the world on my own? I'm not a loner or anything; I have friends, but none of them would accompany me on my big adventure. They're either angling for promotions, impregnating women or buying houses. Either way, they're stuck in Dublin for the forseeable future.

I feel quite fortunate that I don't have the same ties. I'm free, which sounds lovely in theory, but I don't want people to think I'm some sort of weirdo who scours the earth on his Toblerone. One part of me cares massively what people think, whereas another part is like 'f*ck them. Travelling the world is a f*cking ballsy move, one to be applauded rather than mocked'. And that's the part I'm more leaning toward.

I'm young, but I'm old and wise enough to know that I won't be forever, and the idea of not taking these chances, knowing I'll almost certainly regret them, frightens the f*ck out of me to be truthful. I'd like to have kids and move into houses one day too, like the lads are doing, but before that I'd love to make memories and see things which you just won't see in Dun Laoghaire.

What say you? Would you travel the world completely on your own initially?

Are you a male or a female op?

Hammer89 · 19-03-2016 3:29am

Male.

diomed · 19-03-2016 3:36am

R.D. aka MR.D wrote: »

I left on my own and I'm coming back with a husband. :rolleyes:

Someone else's?

timthumbni · 19-03-2016 3:37am

Hammer89 wrote: »

Male.

Well then I would say go for it. It's very unlikely you will be raped, no matter how good looking you are. The alternative is that you stay here, get a boring monotonous job and marry Deirdre with the buck teeth from the centra..

I know which I would choose. Sure you will still find an Irish bar no matter where you go. (And when you do you should walk on by... Just like the song))) lol.

Esel · 19-03-2016 4:55am

Hammer89 wrote: »

Is it weird that I wouldn't go to the cinema on my own in a million years, but I'm seriously considering travelling the world on my own?

Seriously weird, maybe.

Cinema (presumably a film you want to see) is a 2-3 hour round trip. World is 48 hours plus. How often have you gone to a bar on your own, and stayed there for say 3 hours? Burying your head in a book not allowed...

Go for it!

19-03-2016 7:54am

Hammer89 wrote: »

I wouldn't
on my own
I'm seriously
on my own?
I'm not a loner
I have friends
accompany me
my big adventure.
I feel quite
I don't have
I'm free
I'm some sort of weirdo
on his Toblerone
One part of me

I'm young, but I'm old and wise enough to know that I won't be forever, and the idea of not taking these chances, knowing I'll almost certainly regret them, frightens the f*ck out of me to be truthful. I'd like to have kids and move into houses one day too, like the lads are doing, but before that I'd love to make memories and see things which you just won't see in Dun Laoghaire.

Wow, lot of stuff about the self there!

stefanovich · 19-03-2016 8:03am

You seems to worry a bit about how people see you. Go travelling on your own. I love it. You will too, if not next time you'll bring a friend.

19-03-2016 9:29am

Screw waiting on someone else to be free to do what you want to do. You could be still waiting on your death bed.

Go travel. Go on adventures! Make new friends!

Hammer89 · 19-03-2016 9:35am

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Wow, lot of stuff about the self there!

It's about me?

turnikett1 · 19-03-2016 9:40am

I've travelled by myself alone loads. The first time I went travelling I was 17, completely by myself, hitch-hiked from Norway to Spain with nothing but a bag of clothes and a €5er in my pocket!

I've also travelled with an ex, and friends. It's a different experience, and I wouldn't say one is better than the other. When you travel by yourself you have complete freedom, you can do whatever you want hang out with whoever you want and it's just generally a really nice liberating feel being all by yourself in a foreign country - not having ANY links to home and not having to worry about it! Travelling with friends though you get to share the experience and the craic. A lot of the times when travelling by myself I do recall telling myself "Ahh, how I wish X was here with me to see that!". It's also nice when you get a bit tired and burnt out, to have a friend there with you. But that said, travelling with someone else does mean you have to make compromises for one another, and if you spend too long with each other you will get sick of each other no matter how good friends you are! At that point, it's best to take a little break and meet up again later.

looksee · 19-03-2016 9:41am

Deleted User wrote: »

Wow, lot of stuff about the self there!

You sound like its a problem - who else would he talk about considering he is looking at travelling alone?

Riverireland · 19-03-2016 9:57am

Hammer89 wrote: »

It's about me?

I think he was just pointing out that you seem very influenced by others opinions of you, this is exactly toy why I think it's essential that you go travel on your own. You will return (hopefully) far more confident in yourself and less caught up in the tiny clique that is south Dublin. I'm a lot older than you and am waiting for a gap in work for 6 months to do Cambodia and Vietnam, every year it's next year. I'll do it but wish I could just go like you. Good luck and let us know about your travels.

Richard Hillman · 19-03-2016 10:03am

I went away on my own last year and had a wonderful time. I spent nearly a week travelling around France. There is a great sense of adventure about it.

Buona Fortuna · 19-03-2016 10:06am

Go for it OP.

And remember you're never alone when you've After Hours on your phone.

Oh and learn "impregnate women" in at least 10 languages

magicmushroom · 19-03-2016 10:12am

I wouldn't travel the world alone, I'd be too scared as a single female, but I have booked a week to Rome by myself later in the year.

Like you, everyone else is busy and I really want to go, so I said feck it I'll go by myself.

Everyone I've said it to has just said 'fair play to you why not' - some people have said they're jealous at the freedom I have to do something like that.

If all goes well which I'm sure it will, I'll book another trip.
I have an ambition to see every capital city in Europe, so hopefully this will be the start of achieving that goal.

Do it OP, life is too short - it will be the most amazing experience of your life

Liberosis · 19-03-2016 10:12am

Hammer89 wrote: »

Is it weird that I wouldn't go to the cinema on my own in a million years, but I'm seriously considering travelling the world on my own? I'm not a loner or anything; I have friends, but none of them would accompany me on my big adventure. They're either angling for promotions, impregnating women or buying houses. Either way, they're stuck in Dublin for the forseeable future.

I feel quite fortunate that I don't have the same ties. I'm free, which sounds lovely in theory, but I don't want people to think I'm some sort of weirdo who scours the earth on his Toblerone. One part of me cares massively what people think, whereas another part is like 'f*ck them. Travelling the world is a f*cking ballsy move, one to be applauded rather than mocked'. And that's the part I'm more leaning toward.

I'm young, but I'm old and wise enough to know that I won't be forever, and the idea of not taking these chances, knowing I'll almost certainly regret them, frightens the f*ck out of me to be truthful. I'd like to have kids and move into houses one day too, like the lads are doing, but before that I'd love to make memories and see things which you just won't see in Dun Laoghaire.

What say you? Would you travel the world completely on your own initially?

I'd say go for it!

If you sit around worrying about what others would think, then you may miss out on what could potentially be one of the best experiences of your life.

I myself want to take 6 months to a year at some stage to go travelling before I have ties. I'd love to go on my own.

Mint Aero · 19-03-2016 10:14am

I went travelling alone around the world for 3 years. Forgot to tell anyone so friends and family thought I was missing presumed dead.

Olishi4 · 19-03-2016 10:21am

I personally would not travel alone. I am very much a home bird and I think being without friends or family that I would get homesick. OH and I plan to travel a bit more around Europe in a couple of years when we are in the position to do it but not away from home for too long.

I love history, learning about other cultures and stuff but travelling is just not in my blood. I think if it is though, then it is something you have to do.

There's a good travel blogger from Ireland, that I've been reading lately, can't remember his name but if you Google "no hanging around", he writes about his experiences and his own personal benefits and enlightment.

Would you go travelling on your own?

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