Traveling alone

​Recently, I went backpacking alone for a month in some European countries (Scotland, England, Denmark and Ireland). Travelling alone is not something new to me, but a practice I delve into as often as I can as it truly teach me so much about myself and others. In fact, travelling alone forces you to go outside your comfort zone, meet new people, embrace new cultures and do what you feel like doing. Looking back, I would not have imagined doing the same trip with someone else because it would have changed the whole purpose of it. Of course you have to take some safety measures when you travel alone to enjoy yourself fully. One I find really helpful is knowing where you are going prior to arriving to the designated destination; this include where you will sleep at night and how transportation works over there. I avoided travelling at night in order to have a turn around option if anything happened or if I got lost (so it’s easier to ask for help). I also feel like it’s important to remind you that asking for help is totally okay and does not need to feel embarrassing. For a long time I felt so shy to ask a stranger for directions that I would turn in circle for hours. Now I no longer hesitate because it’s just a waste of time and they are probably more helpful than the map. Also make sure to always have an eye on your backpack when you are in public places. I always keep my money and passport on me just in case my bag get stolen and have to find an alternative. Knock on wood it never happened to me and won’t happen in the future! Besides these security measures, I feel like it’s important to go outside your bubble and meet people, either locals or backpackers on a journey like you. The best way to meet people is in hostels. Lucky enough I met at least one person in every city and was able to enjoy some local activities with them. It made the experience so much more exciting and now I have friends all around the world. I feel really blessed! Beside hosteling, I used Couch Surfing as a way to travel as I wanted to meet locals and see if it actually works. Not only does it work, but I had the most amazing surprises using this website. Yes it’s free and you do save a few bucks doing Couch Surfing, but beyond that, you get to really share a part of your journey with them. Honestly I have been really lucky because I stayed with such generous and open hearted people that it made me realize that this is what life is about; interactions, sharing and giving back. It was simply wonderful! Of course you have to read the comments section prior to going to someone’s place to see if you share the same “lifestyle” as them, but then, it is really easy to spot if someone is weird and creepy, or truly nice. I think you need to be a little bit more careful as a girl but once you get a sense of how it works and just go with the flow, the best happens from it. Traveling alone is something so enriching that everybody should do it at least once in their lifetime. You can never uncover the hidden pearls until you go for it! Hope you have a blast on your next adventure. XO