The Solo Vacation conclusions

It is a good week after the conclusion of my first solo trip that I write this. The logic was that maybe after a week most of the euphoria from all the fun I had would have died down and I can talk about it in a rational and objective fashion. But, obviously I was wrong. No matter how insignificant this small trip was in the grand scheme of things it was still an unforgettable experience for me. It has definitely left a mark on me. Has inspired me to think about many more. But the objective of this post is not to advertise the joys of traveling alone, its merely state the thoughts of someone who enjoyed it beyond his expectations. To see if I had the same fun as people who travel alone usually do. To maybe make someone see that its not that crazy or bad as they think. To maybe appease the apprehensions of people who have been thinking about it but have never tried it.

I will start with the reactions I had received when I had first suggested my plans. I got encouragement. Some were overjoyed that I was trying it. Some were glad for me but would never think about it themselves. The family thought I had no friends ;) . Most thought it was an absurd and crazy idea. To most of them I can now smugly say that atleast I have tried both so as to give an educated opinion. But I would be lying if I said that my friends opinions do not matter to me. The majority of negative reaction did fill me up with little apprehension. 'Little' being the operative word here. Finally it was the excitement and the novelty of the experience that had won over.

On my very first day itself, in the hostel, one thing that became apparent was that traveling alone wasn't a big deal after all. People of every conceivable nationality were present, flitting in and out, many of them traveling alone. you would go to breakfast every morning and see a new set of 30 people in the room. On my first breakfast I was approached by a Japanese studying in San Diego. After half and hour of pleasant conversation I was pleasantly amused that he wanted my facebook details and I was among the forty others he had noted in a small book. This quirkiness set the tone for the rest of my trip.

It seemed that even the hostel itself was designed to encourage communication. Be it the single long table for taco night when I met a fibbing American or the excruciatingly slow elevator which allowed to get acquainted with a sweet and polite Australian. Or the Wi-fi connection that was only available in the lobby where I met the wordly Chinese who had traveled every continent except the poles.

One of the questions when I talked to everyone that I certainly wanted answered was what they thought about traveling alone. Why do it? What was it about traveling alone that they liked? A working girl from Canada probably gave the best answer. Told me how it was easier this way when you wanted long vacations. You would not have to convince your friends to go around with you to places they rather would not go to. Of course friends would do it for you, but that she said and I agreed would only make it worse for you. On a more selfish note it would save you from going to places you would rather not go. Hey, sue me if I would rather avoid things I don't like. Later after killing my toes in those horrid snow shoes when I used to come back in the evening these words made perfect sense as I declined offers for dinner or a drink outside. My monosyllable interactions with a bunch of Germans only proved that presence of a group only hindered your efforts to socialize and step out of your comfort zone.

For people like myself, who are less prone to talking to strangers, such trips should be made compulsory. For those who can do it easily, you will have an even better time of it. Its like a camping trip that takes away all your material comforts. A trip of this kind takes away your social comfort zone. One problem I had with this arrangement was that without a friend nearby when you see a spectacular sight during your travels you would not have anyone to turn too and say WOW. But as I realized, when staring dumbfounded at the ceiling of the  main reading room of the library of congress, when faced with a spectacular sight you are usually speechless much less coherent enough to discuss it.

In conclusion, I would implore everyone to atleast try this once. I will leave you with a verse from a wonderful travel poem from Walt Whitman I was reading during new years eve. It seemed to match the mindset of a lone traveler.
We make trials of ourselves and invite men and women to hear,
We  say to ourselves, Remember, fear not, be candid, promulge the
body and the soul,
Dwell a while and pass on, be copious, temperate, chaste, magnetic,
And what you effuse may then return as the seasons return,
And may be just as much as the seasons.