When I was thinking about leaving home to travel one of my major concerns was doing this by myself. At this point in time I did not know how well the world is travelled and it felt like it is not that common to travel solo. Of course I knew plenty of people do it but I assumed only those who are more mature and are well off financially. Even in 2015 when I set off on my first trip to Southeast Asia with a local backpacking tour company I somehow didn't notice all the backpackers around or more precisely I didn't think about the surrounding people.
Little Did I Know
Only when I went to Vietnam on my own before starting my New Zealand journey realized how many people are actually solo travelers.
This is also when I first discovered how big of a deal are backpacker hostels. They are a huge reason why solo travelling is so much easier these days. My idea of a hostel was kind of moulded by these crummy old Easter European/Russian youth hostels that had not changed since Soviet Union. Of course I did not expect to see anything like this in Vietnam but this image was still in my head and I hadn't done any research about backpacker hostels so I was incredibly surprised when I checked in Hangouts Hostel in Saigon. It has since expanded a lot as I discovered during my second Saigon visit last year.
The Vietnam Trip
This Vietnam trip was my first experience being far away from home by myself completely on my own. I will have a separate post about this trip but here is a quick recap.
So I checked in the Hangout Hostel, I was really surprised by how cool it seemed and the vibes there but I needed to get some sleep as I hadn't slept for 30 hours. After three hours two german girls checked in my room, 15 minutes later this dude from hostel bar ran into my room and gave everyone shots.
So started my adventure and I made some friends 3 hours in. I hung out with those girls and later that evening went to a party at the hostel bar. Next day befriended this guy from Canada who also checked in my room and some other people later that day.
My plans changed and I decided to head north and the Canadian dude checked into the same hostel in Dalat where I stayed so I kind of had a travel mate now. Also happened to run into those same girls at my hostel which was a pure coincidence, we hadn't discussed our plans past Saigon.
Anyway, I became friends with more people at that place we happened to go to the same next destination only with different buses. So we had formed a little group and it was that easy. We ended up going all the way north together.
Solo Is Fun
Point of this story is that solo travelling is fun and I learned that it is the best way. I spent a lot of time researching and planning this Vietnam trip and ended up completely abandoning my plan and having the time of my life. I met some awesome people. One of them I visited in Melbourne where I started my 9 month long trip in 2018. I also plan on meeting up with the dude from Canada in Toronto when I am headed there this year.
This continued when I went to New Zealand and my whole time there (year and a half) was shaped by the people I met. I essentially left home totally expecting being on my own most of the time, even friends and family were shocked and wondered how am I possibly going to travel by myself, and yet I was never alone.
The whole time in New Zealand I was surrounded with amazing people. I stayed in this backpacker house while working as a kiwifruit picker. I became friends with a couple of people I met one month in and they were with me the entire time in the country. Later on I got a job in a popular place called Mt Cook National Park where I lived and worked with so many cool people. I never imagined I would make so many close relationships on this trip and New Zealand in particular.
All of them also shaped my travels after New Zealand. For instance, I visited one of those close friends in Nepal and had the best time in Kathmandu. With another one I met up later in Prague. And I had the craziest encounter with another one in India where we happened to be waiting for the same bus in the same city, I hadn't spoken to him for a few months and had no idea he's in India. We stuck together for two weeks since we had roughly the same route.
I had a lot of awesome travel buddies afterwards in Asia as well. It never really stopped and a lot of new people kept coming in my life for as long as our plans matched while I was on the road.
You Are Never Alone
The point is that even if you decide to go on a big solo backpacking trip you are most likely never going to be alone.
I was surrounded by people so much during the first couple of years of my journey I was kind of looking to actually be by myself a little more. When I set off from New Zealand to Australia next, I really appreciated moments whenever I was by myself on a hike, riding a motorcycle on beautiful mountain roads or relaxing in a hammock somewhere near a peaceful river at sunset. I also planned a little escape in Goa in India after going through a lot of craziness for 3 months to meditate and relax.
There is one downside though and it is - a lot of goodbyes. You meet a lot of cool people and become really close with some so naturally you get attached to them and eventually you part ways. Dealing with it was really challenging.
Despite all of that this is still the best way to explore the world and the freedom is just priceless.