Traveling alone

[Mitters]

Any of you ever been on vacation alone? I plan on going to Thailand for a month on my own in August to further train in boxing and to take some time off and see a different culture.

Gotta say i'm nervous as hell though, I have never been that far and that long from home not to mention all on my own. I will probably meet nice people in the training camp though, it's just getting there.

[lonely zergling]

Everyone will assume you are a sex tourist if you travel alone to Thailand haha. Feelsbadman.

[Cardian]

If it feels uncomfortable, do it.

That's what it supposed to be an Adventure, you'll notice that everything you never did before in your life feels pretty disarming/scary but in the end it turns out to be something memorable.

Go for it. No regrets

[Blobfish]

If you are going to a foreign country that you may feel a bit "unsure" about.

Then advise the embassy of you're country that is based in the country you are visiting your travel dates.
In case they have to get you out of a sticky situation.

And always check your Governments Travel alert website for advice on places not to go/ or things to do/ or avoid.

GET Travel Insurance
and in Thailand watch out for dodgy Jet Ski hire operators.

Stay Away from Drugs.. its means Death in Thailand

[Dakhath]

Traveling alone is the best way to do it. I'm a gregarious person, but I can't stand traveling with other people because everyone has their own agenda, and that's completely fine, but I like to see where the day takes me, not plan everything out.

But yeah, if you're going alone to Thailand, especially if you're a white dude, they're likely going to think you're going for a certain aspect of the "culture". To that end, who cares? Go enjoy yourself, just remember to treat people you meet with kindness and decency.

[shadowmouse]

@ls Any good tips for OP?

[Natta Lmo]

If it's your first time going to Thailand. Don't go alone. Or hire a bodyguard to go with you. they are cheap as hell.

bodyguard? to visit? wtf... ^^

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@LS Any good tips for OP?

it's ls-... ^^

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Everyone will assume you are a sex tourist if you travel alone to Thailand haha. Feelsbadman.

depends on where u go... some will assume backpacker... they are so annoying...

[shadowmouse]

it's ls-... ^^

Either auto correct or simple senility caught me.

[cuafpr]

meh did it once and hated it.. i'd rather not go anywhere than travel alone. with a slight adjustment in my spending i could travel a lot but i'd be alone so i don't go and buy statues from sideshow and blizzard and such instead...

[Natta Lmo]

Either auto correct or simple senility caught me.

omg... @ls-

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Any of you ever been on vacation alone? I plan on going to Thailand for a month on my own in August to further train in boxing and to take some time off and see a different culture.

Gotta say i'm nervous as hell though, I have never been that far and that long from home not to mention all on my own. I will probably meet nice people in the training camp though, it's just getting there.

if u plan on meeting people get line so u can keep in touch with them...

[AIBot]

Can someone tell me why so many videos, reports comes from thailand, where tourist are killed or died in "accidents"? There are 2-3 videos a week on liveleakand bg. Do thais really hate tourists, but they need the money?

[enigma77]

Can someone tell me why so many videos, reports comes from thailand, where tourist are killed or died in "accidents"? There are 2-3 videos a week on liveleakand bg. Do thais really hate tourists, but they need the money?

I think you're imagining things.

[Independent voter]

Everyone will assume you are a sex tourist if you travel alone to Thailand haha. Feelsbadman.

Was my thought.

[lonely zergling]

Was my thought.

Think it also works the opposite way for thai women who go to europe, everyone will think its a sexworker.

[ParanoiD84]

Generally fine but depends where in the world you are traveling especially as a lone woman.

[theossy]

Reading most of these comments have me absolutely baffled.

Okay, so OP... First off, let me tell you how I am biased. I love travelling. I have, admittedly, only recently traveled "alone", but hear me out why I think it's a good idea and why I am qualified to share my opinion with you.

The thing about travelling alone is, unless you go out of your way to avoid meeting other travelers (which is cool if you want to, as in, that's sometimes the goal) you WILL be surrounded by other people even if you didn't bring a traveling companion. So it's still a social experience, and that's the beautiful part.

I traveled for 4 months with a friend after high school (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand) and recently traveled in Indonesia alone. I won't bore you with the details of traveling with a friend since that's not your question, but in many ways it's not that different from traveling alone, because you have the opportunity to meet other travelers (solo travelers or groups of travelers) and join them briefly or for a longer stint. This is true, of course, regardless of whether you are traveling alone or not, but when you're traveling alone, you have the freedom of deciding on a whim what YOU want to do, without having to clear it with your companion. Perhaps you meet a few people in Chang Mai (Northern Thailand, just an example) that wanna go on a hike... Perhaps you wanna join them. Being alone, you don't have to consult anybody but yourself, you just figure out if you wanna join (assuming, of course, they want you to come along, but if you've bonded and they think you're a cool guy, most groups are fine with letting one more tag along).

So there is freedom in traveling alone without having to trade being social for it. You don't have to enjoy your adventure in complete isolation, unless you WANT to (again, it can be really mind opening to be on your own for a little while).

You WILL, however, most likely find yourself in situations where YOU are responsible for dealing with the situation... Getting around, figuring out how to get tickets for transportation, figuring out what to do (again, you might get plenty of inspiration from others that you meet along the way), what to eat, what not to eat, how to deal with stressful situations, etc. etc. - the list is long. Look, we live in the information age and everything I just listed is a topic that there is probably a thousand books worth of text written about online. But coming up with the information and handling the situations fall on you, and yes, this can be stressful - but it WILL strengthen you and teach you valuable lessons about life, the place you stay and about yourself. And no, this isn't me being cliché or using hyperboli, it's actually true. At the very least, it's my experience.

At the end of the day it's subjective, I know, and this is my take on it. How you experience traveling alone is of course to a certain extent contingent upon your personal resources and what not, but to a way greater extent is it dependent upon your attitude and ways of meeting other people/situations/cultures.

Oh, and by the way - Being nervous as hell is 100% natural. I was whenever I first traveled, and somehow after not traveling for a few years, when I went last time I was nervous again. It doesn't mean traveling is not for you, nor does it mean you will have a bad time. I would go so far as to say that being nervous means there are so many positive experiences in store for you, whenever you overcome anxieties related to traveling, meeting new people who may not understand you nor you them, etc. -- Again, whether you have a good or a bad time I feel comes down to your attitude. I've been in bad situations when abroad, but looking back, I can't think of a single experience that wasn't - if not downright awesome, exciting or pleasurable - good for something or other. Like teaching me something useful. Okay, sure just like in everyday life back home, you do have just downright shitty or meaningless things happening to you... But you get what I mean, I hope


TLDR; Fucking go man. If you have the time and the money, go go go. You will not regret it. If you somehow do, at least you know that traveling (in that way) was not for you at the time (this can change later).

Cheers!

[Ghostpanther]

Sorry, what? Hire a bodyguard? For going to Thailand? That's really overkill. The chance of something happening to you is so low that you're just wasting money.

Some people think insurance is worth the cost. The odds are very low I will ever have a major fire in my home, but I am sure as hell not going to do away with my home owner's insurance.

[theossy]

Also - body guard in Thailand, wtf? If you plan on assaulting a member of the royal family, enter the illegal drug market or pissing off as many people as possible then maybe yes. Otherwise no, not needed in Thailand. Somalia yes, Thailand no.

[Khaza-R]

I prefer the freedom of traveling alone but its not always a prudent choice

Really depends on where you are going, how safe is it, how well do you understand the local language and culture, what do plan on doing on your trip, and how much do you stick out as a tourist. Those are all things I would contemplate before going some where alone.

[Stelio Kontos]

I've travelled around plenty while alone.

Thailand (though to be fair, I met up with my college gf when I arrived, she was visiting her family for the summer and I flew out a couple of weeks after she did), South Korea, Taiwan, Netherlands, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia (I'm Greek, so neighboring countries), Canada, and quite a bit around the US.

Haven't traveled in a bit because of Life™, but I've got a short list of my next trip, either Scandinavia, Russia, or Israel.