To Solo or Not to Solo

An acquaintance of mine, a man who holds the Guinness Book of World Records title as the World's Most Traveled Man, has been married and divorced six times. His explanation: "During courtship each of my wives said she loved travel, but it turned out that each one was thinking about the QE II and the Ritz, not riding some dirty boat from one godforsaken island to another."

Ignore that message at your peril.

Many people automatically travel with a group or another person, never realizing that traveling alone is fundamentally different. It's an experience no one should miss.

Taking on a Partnership
Which of these reasons resonate with you?

1. Traveling solo is freedom. You set the itinerary and the pace and you make all the decisions.

2. Traveling alone is a fine confidence-builder. You learn that you can solve problems, get over the blues, and find hidden treasures all by yourself.

3. When you're on your own, people are more willing to start a conversation with you. Local people seem more likely to extend invitations for a meal or a stay in their home. In contrast, I've noticed that sometimes people keep a slight distance from couples, romantic or otherwise.

4. You have abundant alone time for contemplating, vegetating, or whatever you want.

5. You needn't deal with someone else's mood swings (nor they with yours).

6. You learn local languages faster when communication is up to you alone.

7. You're free to meet the person who might turn out to be very important in your life.

8. Your own personality may be the deciding factor. A person who is exceptionally independent and who has little tolerance for the idiosyncrasies of others might be happier traveling alone. An Angolan proverb says that "To be sure that your friend is a friend, you must go with him on a journey." Of course, if you travel with a person you'll encounter after you return, conflict on the road might haunt you for a while.