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If I may say so, this might be the coolest place I’ve ever done an article. Welcome to the Myvatn Nature Baths. This is insane, it’s all natural geothermal activity from underground, the lava’s heating this water right now, and it’s bright blue. I’ve got my little notes here for the video.
As you guys know, I am obsessed with travel. I have been traveling basically my entire life and the older I get the more I travel. And right now I’m averaging about six to eight months of travel. And yes, I have a sexy boyfriend now that travels with me a lot. Most of the 43 countries I’ve traveled to, I’ve done by myself.
Recently I noticed a lot of you guys are asking me about solo travel and how to do it and what to keep in mind when going out there in the big world by yourself. So here are a few tips for you guys to encourage you to get out there, because I honestly think that there’s nothing more important than travel.
It’s not as hard as you think. solo travel is actually quite easy, and you are never really by yourself because the amount of people that feel sorry for you ’cause you’re traveling by yourself, you’re gonna make friends in no time at all.
So loneliness is not a thing. The media paints a very disgusting picture of the world. Of course you’ve gotta be cautious, but just like any other place, even the city you live in, you are always cautious to some degree, and that’s generally all that’s required overseas. But there are a few safety standard tips that I recommend.
Don’t walk around by yourself at night. Don’t wear headphones at nighttime. Act confident, act like a local, try to blend in. Try not to look lost wherever you are. I generally go into a little local store and check my map and directions so I that I don’t fall under anyone’s radar as the lost confused tourist.
Now is not the time to be doing a fashion parade. Unfortunately, don’t wear revealing clothing. Send your family a quick text in the morning just to let you know generally where you’re going, so that if they need to get in touch with you or if you get lost and confused they can roughly pinpoint the safety authorities to come and grab you.
Just a tiny little thing, attach a whistle to your backpack. Now it’s time to start practicing No. You will have to say that a lot on your travels and be quite stern about it. Don’t be a fragile little flower when you’re traveling alone. This is gonna have to grow your balls pretty fast.
And if you feel like you’re too fragile and a bit of a pushover right now, I do recommend seeking out ways right now in your hometown to prepare yourself for when you’re traveling to say no and be stern. Whether it’s people asking you for certain favors you don’t wanna do, start saying no and simple acts like this are gonna get you closer to being able to travel overseas and be a stern mother.
Sorry to break it to ya, but you’re gonna have to give up alcohol a little bit, unless you’ve met quite a few people and you feel like they’re really good friends, I really, really recommend not getting drunk. I’ve unfortunately done that a few times when I’m out overseas by myself, and it can lead to bad experiences.
Thankfully nothing massive has happened to me, but it can, so I would just turn back the alcohol. Have five drinks less than what you usually would. Get a little bit tipsy, but to the point where you can still be aware of what’s going on around you. Fear is your best friend. It sounds mad, yes I know, it’s counterintuitive.
But fear is a good friend of yours, and it is that voice inside your head that says maybe this isn’t right. It’s that gut feeling that’s making you feel uneasy about something, you don’t even know necessarily what’s going on, but all of a sudden you just feel like this wave of fear go over you.
Trust that, look around, get out of that situation as soon as possible, because maybe you’ve picked up signs around you that something’s not quite right and your gut is trying to tell you, don’t ignore that. You are now your best friend on this trip. You are the only one that’s gonna look after yourself.
And honestly it is a bit of a big responsibility. But in the end it’s kind of worth it. Accommodation-wise, my favorite place to stay when I’m traveling solo is hostels, because you meet people instantly, you become best friends with these people. Because quite often these people are traveling solo by themselves and it’s so fun meeting everyone.
You’re gonna end up meeting the coolest people in the world and you’ll probably make friendships for life. So hostels and dorm rooms are my favorite, or you can do a private room and the communal area’s still great for you to meet people. You now no longer have the comforts of leaving your bags with someone when you go to the toilet, say at the airports, and you have to drag all your own sh everywhere, so my rule of thumb is whenever I’m packing, you halve that, and then you halve it again.
And that’s basically what you’ll ever need. You really need hardly anything of what you’re gonna bring, because you wear your clothes on repeat when you’re traveling, and no one really give a sh, because they probably only see you for about three days max. Believe it or not, Google works in most countries, so whatever you need to find information about, Google is your best friend.
I absolutely love traveling by myself. Your schedule is completely free, you do whatever you want, whenever you want, you eat by yourself which is one of the funnest experiences I’ve ever had in my life, just to dine in a fancy restaurant by yourself. People look at you strange, but I kind of think it gives you a boost of confidence, because you just seem like that badass that doesn’t give a shit, it’s really fun.
Going in the movies by yourself, going in the museums by yourself, if you wanna sleep in you sleep in, if you wanna get up early you do. You have the freedom to do everything. And the idea that no one really knows you, and they don’t have a preconceived idea of who you are, it means you can free yourself, it’s such a beautiful feeling to experience the world whole-heartedly.
Because you’re starting with fresh eyes, you see the world with fresh eyes and people see you with fresh eyes. I highly recommend you do it. Have you guys been on your own solo trips? Please do let me know in the comments below. If you haven’t, what are your concern, and what are you going to do to overcome that so you can actually go on this solo trip by yourself? And on that note, that’s time for me to go.