Each year in January the new summer in sight seems like an endless pool of possibilities. England with my friends, eating in Italy, or just one of those train trips around the entirety of Europe… Even on a student budget, with five more months of hard work that I’m able to put in, there must be somewhere amazing I could go. Or maybe I can find a job that will take me somewhere exotic? Get some work experience, a holiday, and cash at the same time? From far away January anything goes.
When I’ve got some options lined out, though, February is always the big downer. I know where I want to go, but who am I going with? I imagined England to be with my best friend, but she’s never off during summer. I want to go to Italy and see all the famous touristy sights, but everyone I know has already been there. A long weekend cruise to Edinburgh sounds good to one of my friends, but we both don’t know yet what weeks we’ll be able to get off work. By the time come June, we’ll both have decided the trip is too short for the amount of money we’re bound to spend on it anyway. We’ve worked too hard for it! Travelling to the station, the haven, the trip itself… Things always add up. Although the holidays that I did take (even though they weren’t the fantasy plan), were of course still well worth it, this year I’m going for something new.
I’ve played around with the thought of just taking a trip by myself before, but always ended up discarding idea, as it came with so many obstacles. There are always friends offering to come with you if you just wait until the next break; who offers trips and hotel rooms for a single person anyway; and damn.. It actually seems kind of scary. All alone? What if I get bored, or everyone stares at me like I’m some sad lonely crazy person? Would I dare to go out and eat in a restaurant by myself?
Last summer, with all my free time, I finally picked up one of the books that I received as a present a couple years back. It had been standing on my shelve mocking me ever since… Als Single Unterwegs is a book about travelling as a single woman. A cheesy, feminist, feel-good book is what I thought. Reading it, though, I found myself relating to the authors, who basically said that you don’t have to conquer all the fear and doubts you have, but that you just have to take them with you on your trip. Without any underestimation of how much fun a holiday with your boyfriend/girlfriend, friends or family can be, it explains the pure freedom you have when you go on your own. The two types of experiences are incomparable.
Who are you, and what do you like to do, without anyone else around to influence that? Would you stop at more small cute boutiques? Would you read more books? Would you put on a fancy dress and dance around alone in your room at midnight? A disclaimer is that you don’t have to be extrovert or out-going, but that you do have to be curious and brave enough to explore the world outside your room. What you’ll find are good and bad days, but with the right attitude that can be the equivalent of amazing moments (that can give you that intense happy feeling), paired with lesser moments (that serve as something you can learn from and a good balance). Not everyday can be sunshine and rainbows, and I wouldn’t want it too be either.
If you’re interested, here is some more of what the book had to say. (:
- For your first trip, don’t go too far. Happiness is not in distance or the perfect tan.
- Stay in large or mid-sized hotels/hostels. That way you can be alone when you want to be, but still socialize (if only with the staff) as well.
- Don’t ask too much of yourself. Be curious and explore, but listen to what you really want to be doing .
- If you’re lost for ideas, go over all the options in your head and see what instantly makes you feel happier. And then go do it right away!
- Pack for the grey days. Leave that extra t-shirt at home, and bring something to cheer yourself up.
- Don’t compromise by going on a group holiday with strangers. Instead of feeling like part of the group, you’re more likely to feel lonely than if you were literally on a holiday on your own.
The beauty of it, in my opinion, is that although it is directed at single woman on holiday, an open-minded reader can also see the application of it in other contexts. The sun does not shine equally bright on every day of your couples holiday either, and does having fun with your friends really depend on how far you go (and how much money you spend)? Which ever way you’d like to look at it, I’m convinced that I’m building on of these in in 2012. I’ve always wanted to see my own country through tourist eyes. Amsterdam?
Did you go ever on holiday by yourself, or would you ever consider it?
Pritti Confident 
