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Challenge Yourself: Travel Alone

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Now let's be honest, this isn't going to be easy. I find traveling alone to more of a mental workout thananything. When you travel with a few friends or a significantother, you have several other people encouraging the harddecisions to be made in one direction or another. When it isjust you, you have no "yeah let's go there" or "I want a beer inIreland". It's just you. You have to make the decisions. Youhave to buy the plane ticket and plan everything from scratch.You've got to hit the search engines and find the information,you've got to figure out exactly how Europe works and you aregoing to drive yourself mad wanting to know what a youth hostelis. Traveling alone isn't as easy as it sounds. Ok, so are you scared yet? You shouldn't be. Actually, I was only kidding. If you slow your mind down andjust understand that a truly unique journey does not begin whenyou step off the plane, rather, it begins when you confirm thepurchase of your airline ticket before you even begin planningyour trip. Purchasing the airline ticket: The proof is in the pudding This may be the first time you've ever heard this, but I trulybelieve that purchasing the airline ticket is the turning pointthat allows you to go from being seriously interested to fillingout your time off request at work and booking hostel beds. It isat this point that you begin coming to grips with the fact thatyou are about to travel halfway around the planet. Buying your airline ticket is the key. If you are reading thisand are considering going overseas but have the butterflies, Isuggest you buy the plane ticket and consider the deal done. Now comes the unraveling of a vision. You'll probably go througha few phases where you find yourself looking through forum postsof those looking for travel partners, you may ask a dormroommate or friend to see if you can summons any interest, butin the end I think you conclude


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that traveling alone is indeedthe way to go. When you go alone, not only do you get away from everything youknow, you get away from every person that you know. Where youare going no one knows you. You are but a stranger roamingthrough Europe on a journey of freedom, soon to return to whereyou live with a vague memory of what you witnessed It is becauseof this that traveling alone truly gives you freedom in life.Freedom from the life you know. It is journey into a new worldof experiences and people. Go ahead time to challenge yourself and be creative. Step out ofthat comfort zone and explore what your imagination has beenrunning over and over for the past few months. Traveling alone allows you a better chance to experience foreigncultures, create new friendships, and eat foods that you areunaccustomed to eating, live like you have never lived bysurrounding yourself with everything foreign and unknown. I traveled alone the first time I went, and every timethereafter. If I never traveled alone I would have NEVER spent 6 days on acanalboat in the canals of the UK. I would have NEVER met theperson that I met on that boat and in turn would have NEVERboarded a train with her headed for Spain. I have seen islandsthat I never knew existed because I traveled alone. When I firstarrived in London I was clueless as to what to do so I booked abed at St. Christophers, and the next morning talked everyone inmy dorm into hiring a canalboat. Had I gone with the originalplan of going with my roommate at the time, we would have stayedin a completely different area of London and I would have neverseen the flyer for the boats. In the end, I firmly believe that traveling alone is by far theonly way to go. Get away from everyone you know... This is all about you! Travel Alone. Stop talking about it and do it! About the author: Eric Odom is editor for http://www.backpackearth.com

Written by: Eric Odom

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