Today marks
the first anniversary of my first ever solo-trip. I had picked Agra, Uttar
Pradesh for I was always mesmerized by the breathtakingly beautiful Taj Mahal.
After somehow convincing my parents to allow me to travel alone, I landed up in
Agra for a three-day trip.
It's fun, it's slightly
overwhelming, even weird at times, but the experience of being on your own in a
new town taught me a lot. Here are some perks that the adventure of solo travel
brings along with it:
1. You make all the rules: Wanna go lakeside
at 5 am? Or feeling like taking a nap in the afternoon? You can do whatever you
like, whenever you like. Evening walks by the sea shore or enjoying breeze in
the balcony, it's totally your call.
|
Taj Mahal, Agra, UttarPradesh |
2. Staying at
amazing hostels: Backpacker hostels are far safer and cheaper than hotel rooms.
Moreover, sharing your dorm room with travelers from different nationalities is
an altogether wonderful experience. My stay at Zostel Alleppey was made more
adorable by the presence of a hostel-pet dog Ozzy. My dorm-mates and I had a
fun evening playing uno in the hostel lounge and discussing our respective
lifestyles.
|
Zostel Alleppey, Kerala |
3. Making
friends with strangers: It could your dorm-mate, fellow backpacker or your
auto-rickshaw driver too! I remember during my solo-trip to Udaipur, Rajasthan
in September 2018, I made friends with several hostel mates and we'd suggest
each other places to visit and eat and shop. It was such a fun experience, and
some of us are friends to this day!
|
Udaipur, Rajasthan |
|
Backwaters Canoe boating, Alleppey, Kerala |
4. Loving your
own company: You will fall in love with yourself, for sure. Even lame, you'll
laugh on your own jokes. And after a while, you'll realize that the best travel
companion you've ever had is you yourself!
|
Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur, Rajasthan |
5. Feeling
brave and confident: The best part about travelling solo is getting over the
overwhelming feeling of being alone. After a while, you will admire your
boldness of being in a new city/country all alone and actually having fun. Solo
trips break the shackles of insecurity and loneliness issues and are
recommended for dealing with social anxiety issues.
6. Becoming
your own friend: This is the best part of solo travel. You make all the plans
on your own, discuss them with yourself, laugh on your own jokes, and enjoy the
beauty of the city you're in. And this doesn't stay back there; you bring that
feeling with you back at home. It enhances self-care and self-love and brings
out the fun side of you. For a person who can enjoy one's own company is a
delight to others around.
7. Turning
more social: Surprisingly, travelling alone widens your social horizons. A
couple of initial hesitations later,
you're so much comfortable asking directions from strangers, or handling them
your phone to take a picture of you. You might even share your table with other
tourists at a crowded restaurant and share a conversation you never knew you
wanted to share!
|
Rambabu ke Parathe, Old Agra, Uttar Pradesh |
|
Rice paddy fields, Backwaters, Alleppey, Kerala |
8. They are
brilliant life-changers: Travelling is a pleasant distraction, and solo-travel
is the cherry on the top. Once you start enjoying your own company in a
beautiful city, your soul heals and glows exponentially. Solo trips are known
to release stress, bring optimism into perspective, cure heartbreaks, and focus
more on self-care.
|
Sajjangarh Fort, Udaipur, Rajasthan |
9. They're a
healthy addiction: Once you're back from your first solo-trip, you can't resist
yourself from planning the next one! Congratulations, wanderlust has seeped
right into your blood now!
|
Itimad-ud-Daula, Agra Uttar Pradesh |
|
Blue Village from the top of Mehrangarh fort, Jodhpur, Rajasthan |
Raksha....
ReplyDeleteAwesome yaar....
Mujhe bhi kuch blogs likhne hai....Ye page kaise banaya tune?
Step by step, phone pe call karke guide karna
Vikas singh baghel
This is pure bliss!!!!
ReplyDeleteI don't know how I came to this blog. But it's really great an awesome. I will also planning a solo trip to some places, may be Goa or Himachal.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you found this article interesting. Please do share your experiences of your upcoming solo trip and inspire others to travel too! :)
DeleteEvery word is so expressive of this article. Thank you Rakshita for sharing your experience with us.
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