Solivagant: (The Spectacular) Wandering Alone
I recently took a backpacking trip to Scotland by myself. Initially, I was planning on staying with a friend for part of it but in retrospect, I am so glad it didn't work out. It was an amazing trip and I had some incredible experiences. Let me give you a few reasons why I think traveling alone is so important and why I can’t wait to do it again!
You Plan Around Yourself
One of the biggest advantages and benefits to traveling alone is that you don’t have to factor anyone else into your plans. You get to do whatever it is you want to do whenever you want! It is interesting to see how everything seems to fall into place when you just let life happen. You wake up and begin your day with a few things in mind that you would like to see and without a real plan, the day unfolds itself. You happen to arrive at the museum just as it opens and skip the lineup, and as you walk down the street the correct bus just happens to pull into the stop. When you let go of plans and have no worries about time, it starts to seems as though life is planning for you.
Observation Allows You To Stay In The Moment
Whether you are walking through the streets, immersing yourself in a nature hike, or are simply people-watching from a cafe window, be aware of everything you see. Every little detail matters. While you are observing you might start to notice things about the people walking by, the architecture, a single beautiful flower perched on a windowsill. Don’t be afraid to start a conversation with yourself. That doesn’t make you crazy, don’t worry. But it will allow you to get to know yourself a bit better. Amuse yourself a bit and make note of everything that is going on around you and maybe you’ll even feel comfortable enough to start a little inside joke with yourself! You will be amazed at the amount of company you have while just being alone!
You Learn To Deal With Things
One of those things is getting around on your own. Of course, google maps and smartphones give you an easy way out. Still, you are able to get familiar with the city when the only person you have to rely on is yourself. You can no longer be mindlessly lead around, blindfolded, by another person who has “the good sense of direction”. On my trip, I also got into a bit of a money situation where my bank shut down both my credit card and my bank card. Thankfully it all worked itself out, however, there was an extended moment of panic where I realized I did not have the safety net of another person. Having another person would have saved me from a lot of stress I experienced, however after it passed I was proud that I could deal with the situation on my own. It increased my confidence in myself for the remaining trip and for my future travels.
You Learn About Yourself
I think this was probably the most eye-opening and calming part of my experience. When you are alone you spend time with your thoughts, however, because there are not a million other things happening in the world around you that you have to pay attention to, you can actually focus on a single thought at a time. Everything slows down and there is a sense of serenity and a feeling of content. A thought would appear in my head whilst observing the small shops and cafes as I strolled the streets of Glasgow, and I would welcome it. One thought would come at a time and I would study and disassemble each, in order to understand why I was experiencing that particular perspective on the situation and why this other particular thing gave me a feeling of stress. I asked myself why I have particular feelings and reactions towards these thoughts. The answers just arose.I was able to understand myself better in terms of my actions and feelings in relationships and friendships. I would also recommend researching a little about “finding yourself” before you go. I know that may sound a bit too spiritual for some people, but really all it is is asking yourself the important questions so that you can start prioritizing what’s important to you, being aware of how you act in relationships and understanding what you want in life. I made a list of things I should do to start understanding yourself better in my journal before I left. One afternoon I sat in a park and another I spent drinking tea in a coffee shop, simply jotting down thoughts and feelings that each point on the list arose.
Bring a Contributing Book
Bring a book that discusses the meaning of life, the world, love, or relationships. Bring a book that gets you thinking and reflecting on your life. Bring something that will give you time to think and contemplate your views on different aspects of life. I brought The Alchemist , one of my favourite books, by Paulo Coehlo. It gave me a lot to think about while I was traveling on my own. This book in particular has a lot to do with the idea that there is a greater force of energy in our world that ties everyone together. Paulo Coehlo uses this force to explain life lessons including the belief that everything happens for a reason. Reading this while traveling alone contributed to understanding myself better and added to my attitude towards life and everything that it thrown at you.I would say this book contributed greatly to my trip. It was an interesting story with an eye-opening abstract but meaningful message and was able to almost apply the essence of it and I was able to re-examine my life, all while traveling and exploring on my own adventure. One specific aspect of the book that really spoke to me was the phrase “Maktub”, translating loosely into “it’s written”… the reassurance that everything that happens exactly as it should, as long as you follow your heart. So that is what I practiced doing… listening to my heart. Because I was on my own, I was able to really think about what it is that I want in all the different aspects of my life and therefore listen more clearly to what my heart wanted and in turn what would ultimately make me happy.
Some other things to do…
- Take artsy pictures
- Spend time in a bookstore
- Mix it up and spend time in nature as well as in the city
- Pick one part of the city and spend the day exploring that area
- Find a cafe and people watch, read, or journal
- Go on a tour and get a feel for the city
- Talk to people! Especially if you’re staying in hostels!
- Make a goal to make friends to hang out with for a day or night
- Practice eating alone in a restaurant
- Take a walk through nature or go on a hike
- Sit somewhere and try not to think about anything, instead, just be in the moment
- Have fun being by yourself and practice entertaining yourself!
- Take note of the architecture
- Contemplate what this place looked like a hundred years ago
- Examine what the three most important things are in your life
