I have traveled across Africa on my own for 6 months and
most people who have contacted me have been wondering how I did it. So today I thought
to share with you some tips on wanderlusting solo.
Firstly, I think it is very important to note that when
traveling DO NOT expect the luxury and comfort you have when you are at home.
Traveling does not teach you how to think out of the box, it is imperative that
you think as if there is no box… because there is no box.
You need to make peace loneliness. You might not feel
lonely during the day when you are with all other travellers but when you jump
into your bed at the end of the day, that loneliness monster will sure creep up
from under the bed and come to you for cuddles.
Although after a while, you are too intimidating for the monster
and he won’t be visiting you anymore, I best describe this stage of your life
as being comfortable with your best friend – You.
You will never truly learn how to be comfortable with
yourself until you have travelled alone, in a foreign country and you have no
one by your side but yourself.
Learn from my mistakes, always travel with 2 bank cards.
They are they are to be kept separately for my at all times. Before traveling
contact your bank in writing and also
with phone calls. Notify them that you will be traveling. List the countries
you will visit as well. This is to prevent your card from being blocked. Just
before traveling, contact your bank again and remind them. You can never be too
safe.
Travel with 2 passports. This is something I never
thought of until I realized had I had 2 passports, I wouldn’t have stayed in
Kenya for an extra 3 weeks waiting for visas. I could have gotten my Sudanese visas
while my other passport was at the Egypt embassy for my Egyptian Visa.
Unless you are traveling on a 5 star budget, understand
that there will be almost no privacy.
At a backpackers or when couchsurfing. You will not have
much privacy.
I used www.couchsurfing.org
to get accommodation. But if your accommodation is already sorted, you can
still use couchsurfing to connect with locals who will meet up with you and
take you out and about and showing you around. This is fantastic for making
friends.
Use social media such as Facebook to update your friends
and family on what is happening. Many times when I was just updating my friends
and family, a friend was able to connect me to their friend wherever I was and I
was not so alone anymore.
When traveling and you decide to make plans to the last
detail, please understand this- the universe laughs at you as it messes up your
plans for your own good. There is no fun in traveling with a timetable, this is
not high school. Here you go with the flow.
You will meet locals who will advise on something that
might interest you, you will meet other travellers who will probably know
something that you don’t… Go with the flow and just have fun with it. My best
days were spent hijacking other peoples plans or just forgetting the plan for
the day and just snorkelling to my hearts content.
Making friends when traveling on a budget is very simple. Most people are traveling alone and some
might be lucky enough to have a ffrinds that they are able to travel with.
Everyone is trying to make friends, everyone wants to have a conversation. They
want to know about you, where you are from, what brings you to where you are,
how long you have been traveling, where are you off to next and how much
alcohol your system can handle and if it can be tested. Yes, most conversation
will be the same but I promise you will never get bored of this same old
conversation.
Understand that all solo wanderers are like stray dogs,
we all go around collecting each other to build a family for that time being. Our
family units might not be together for long but we will always be family no
matter where in the world we all go. The best part is, you can always have an
open ended invite to visit your family in their side of the world and you will
always be welcome.
Very important will be your safety. I have found that I was
always safe in the African countries that I have travelled. When people
realised that I was alone, their first instinct was to protect me. Although I always felt safe, this did not
mean I had to be careless and let down my guard. Always guard your possessions.
And always be on the lookout for yourself. Pepper spray was a good idea till I learned
that it is illegal weapon to have in most African countries, although you can
have an all-natural pepper spray.
Lastly, Be comfortable with the uncomfortable. Today I laugh
about not bathing for 3 days in Sudan, those vicious bedbugs… and funny enough,
I miss having to deal with those kinds of challenges in my life.
Anxiety is normal for a while, just like loneliness…
Most of us do not have friends who love traveling as much
as we do, that doesn’t mean you can’t get up and go on your own. The beauty of solo travels is that you dont have to deal with a companion who probably wont enjoy what you want to do. You dont have to consult anyone about the things that you want to do.
The most important lesson I learned from my travels is this – There is no value that a friend can add to my life that I can’t add to my life myself.
The most important lesson I learned from my travels is this – There is no value that a friend can add to my life that I can’t add to my life myself.
Happy wandering.
X0x0
#TheSoloWanderer