Solo travel: to go or not to go?

The year has been long and you feel like you need a holiday. You’ve been working hard and have been stressed out by your job this whole year, “surely I deserve a break!” you say to yourself. You open up another tab on your browser and instead of completing that piece of work that your boss has been asking you for, for the last week, you scroll through holiday deals on local travel sites.

You realise that although you keep saying you’re broke if you diligently saved up for a couple of months, you could actually afford that trip to the sandy beaches of Bali. You sit there dreaming about how it would feel like to sip cocktails on the beach and walk around the temple-filled streets of Bali. You’re excited. You remember that some of your friends have BEEN saying that they too would like to go to Bali so, you set up a WhatsApp group with as many of your interested friends as possible. You think, eish, there are too many people in this group but you feel bad for leaving anyone out, so you leave it.

You tell everyone the plan and even send them pictures so that they too can dream. Some leave the group early, they say they won’t be able to afford- at least they’re honest, you think.  Over the coming weeks, you work hard at finding good deals and estimating the costs for your remaining friends. The WhatsApp group is filled with excitement. People are commenting and some are even giving suggestions. You guys decide on dates and you are happy as things are going according to plan. Go monate maan!

Everyone is on board, yaaas!

The months fly by and the trip is just a month away. The WhatsApp group has grown silent. You have been giving updates but they are met with bright blue ticks. They’ve read your messages asking them whether they’ve booked their flights, yet dololo response. You wait for another week, I mean nobody wants to be that guy who is always nagging. You will at least give them until payday, you think.

One day you open the group and two people have left. It’s now just weeks before the trip. The others start saying that they don’t have money. That this month is too hectic for them. One says that their mom’s uncle’s child has died or that their microwave is broken so they have to buy a new one. Haow? Kante, didn’t we discuss this months ago? Why are people acting like they heard about this trip two weeks ago?

Ahhh ah ah! These people?!

Finally, there’s just you left. The only one left in the group. The only one who has saved up for the Bali trip that you guys planned months ago. The only one who really actually wanted to go. You sit there, sad and disappointed. You wonder if you should just cancel everything and just stay home. I mean you’re ALONE. “Who wants to go on holiday alone?”, you ask yourself. You’re disappointed. You’re confused. Should I go or not. Your heart says “Let’s go” but your mind says “Fam, it’s not safe and anyway you're going to get bored.”

Tjerr, what must to can happen?

I think many of us can relate to this scenario. I know I can. I’ve been let down so many times while planning a trip and have also been part of the ‘letting others down’ party too. Things come up, people will disappoint you. That’s life. But does this mean that you should stop your plans because others have left you by the wayside? Should you not go on that trip just because there’s no one to go with you? 

F*&k that, I'm going!

Many years ago I decided that enough was enough. If people didn't want to join me in things that I wanted to do, I would just go alone. I started off going alone to watch movies, then Tevin Campbell came to SA and as the only 90s kid who loved soul music amongst my friends, I was the only one who wanted to go. I went alone to the romantic concert and I loved it. I did many other things alone. And as I did them my confidence grew and I began to really enjoy my own company. 

Let's do this!

I was able to come here alone, without knowing anyone and soon took a trip to Thailand on my own. Yes, I met my friends a day later but the excitement and fear of arriving there alone and having to figure things out on my own were very real. But I thrived and by the time they arrived, I had already familiarised myself with the locals and could show them around.

The rise of solo travel

Solo travel has gained a lot of popularity nowadays with many people choosing to travel solo for many different reasons. These reasons may include; the ability to make your own decisions without consulting others, getting to know yourself better and having full control of your finances to name a few. According to an article published in Travel Daily News, Hostelworld reported that there has been a 42% increase in solo travel bookings between 2015 and 2017. In the same time, female solo travel bookings have increased by 45% as compared to the 40% growth in bookings from males.
 

Met Avital at the airport on my way to Thailand.

Some popular (and safe) destinations for solo travellers include:

1.    The Netherlands
2.    England
3.    France
4.    Germany
5.    United States of America
6.    Bali
7.    Thailand
8.    Italy
9.    Japan
10.    Australia
*In no particular order

There are obviously many, many other places you can travel to solo. The main thing is to research and check if it is a good idea to travel there alone. The era of not travelling alone because of fear is long gone and women are leading the pack in travelling by their lonesome. Things have changed and the fear associated with solo travelling has been substituted with a sense of curiosity and adventure.

Fear has no power, amen!

But what will I do there all by myself?

Most of us have this worry. We wonder who we will chat to and most importantly who will take our Instagram pics. These are some real concerns but the wonderful thing about solo travel is that it actually opens you up to meeting locals way more than you would when you travel with others. When you’re with friends/family, you tend to spend most of your time chatting and interacting with them. 

When you’re alone you are forced to engage with others around you. When travelling alone you will meet many people from different parts of the world. Others just like you, travelling by themselves. Staying in hostels or guesthouses helps in this regard as you will be able to meet other travellers easily.

Interacting with the locals in Phuket.

For photos, you can ask people around you to take your pics or you can buy a selfie stick. My friend travels with an entire tripod, so anything is possible. Here you just need to be careful who you ask though.

Travelling while black...

And lastly, I want to touch on the topic of travelling as a black person. Travelling for black people is different, whether we would like to admit it or not. Most of the world is accustomed to non-black travellers. They see them often. As a black person travelling, you may find that you are stared at, treated like a celebrity or even subjected to racism. These things happen and while you should be mindful of this when travelling, it should not deter you from stepping out and exploring.

Here's a link to a great video I found on youtube about travelling while black:

The moral of the story is that solo travel is an option, a great one in fact. When travelling solo you will get to experience things in a whole different way. Your confidence in your own abilities will increase and you will learn how to enjoy spending time alone. You will meet many people and try out new things and you may even surprise yourself. Yes, travelling with others is fun, but who says travelling alone can’t be too?

Stop waiting around for people to join you. If you want to go somewhere, book that flight, do the research and go! You’ll thank yourself later! 

*I will be taking a solo trip this January so look out for some stories from my travels!