Eating alone can be a bit daunting ………….here are some tips on how to enjoy it.
Author: admin
Don’t feel sorry for us solo travellers……we wouldn’t want it any other way.
Please don’t feel sorry for us solo travellers – we actually love travelling this way! Here’s why I choose to go it alone.
A dinner date with a dragon
No trip to the Indonesian island of Komodo would be complete without visiting the famous dragons but be warned, when a dragon gets a whiff of its first meal in 3 months you’d better get out of the way!
Apparently, the Komodo dragon only eats once every three months, so there was much excitement when our boat moored at Rinca Island in the Komodo Nationa Park, home to around 1,500 of these monitor lizards, as they were in the middle of a long-awaited meal – a sight that was very rare to see. In fact, we’d already been warned that there was no guarantee of even seeing a dragon, let alone watching them feed, so I was a little unprepared for what I was about to experience.
One night in Bangkok and the world’s your oyster
Actually, it was two, but then I wouldn’t have been able to use the line from that famous 1984 (is it really that old?) song by Murray Head!
This was an obvious starting point for my first trip to Thailand last year and I don’t mind admitting that I was more than a bit nervous about exploring Bangkok alone. I’m from the generation that didn’t really do the whole gap year thing, in fact, I don’t know any of my friends who took time out to travel in our late teens or early twenties. We all finished school went to college or to work and then aspired to get onto the property ladder!
But you hear so much about Bangkok – how it’s full of young backpackers partying up a storm, how unsafe it is, how you can buy or sell anything, and of course about the rather dubious nightlife. Even so, I felt as though I had to take a couple of days to see it even if my expectations were rather low.
But you hear so much about Bangkok. Was it safe for me to explore alone?
Caught up in a caiman face off
Think a canoe trip in the Pantanal region on Brazil is a quiet affair? Think again!
(Visiting the Brazil stand at the World Travel Market yesterday made me think back to this most memorable of days during my solo trip to this incredible country)
Today we’re talking reptiles and mammals and despite the night safari being cancelled due to high winds, the 7am 4km walk through the neighbouring area showed up a whole array of strange and exotic creatures. That may sound like an early start to some of you, but believe me, it’s impossible to sleep past 5am as a cacophony of birds, ably led by the extremely loud and ubiquitous chaco chachalaca, shake you out of your bed whether you’re ready or not. (Side note here – I am awarding the chaco chachalaca my ‘how to big yourself up’ award as it has a fabulous name that sounds like a samba step and a call like nothing you’ve ever heard before yet it is the dullest and most boring looking thing you’ve ever seen. The thing is, everyone knows it and it is completely unforgettable – a great job of self-publicity that we could all learn from!)
Back to the morning walk and it wasn’t long until we came across howler monkeys, capuchin monkeys, yellow armadillo, marsh deer, and South American coati.
Sri Lanka Hill Country – go for the tea, stay for the curries
Sri Lanka is foodie heaven and a vegan paradise
It’s mid-morning and the train to Nuwara Eliya is climbing through the lush, green countryside on its way to the hills of Sri Lanka’s tea country. Since I boarded at Haputale the scenery has changed completely and I find myself jostling with other passengers, hanging precariously out of the open carriage door as we wind our way through the undulating, rough country risking my life to get the perfect photo. Yes, the tea plantations are impressive and that is why I’m making the journey, but it’s the manicured terraces brimmed to capacity with vegetable plots that are really getting my attention. I had no idea that Sri Lanka produced such an abundance of fresh produce but then I suppose there’s a reason why the national dish is rice and curry and most of those curries are made from vegetables.
Solo in the Maldives – resort vs local island
Resort vs local island – there’s a clear winner for me and you might be surprised which it is
I first visited the Maldives three years ago when I went in search of mantas and stayed at a very nice resort in Baa Atoll, about half an hour by seaplane from Male. It was a lovely week, you can read all about it on my blog, and yes I did see mantas and enjoyed the full resort experience. As with this latest trip I was there out of season and as some of you will know, I’m a big fan of travelling this way as not only do you avoid the crowds and get a much more personal experience, it’s also much more affordable (although to be honest, nothing in the Maldives is ever cheap!).
India is topping the list for solo female travel and I understand why
India may be the Marmite of destinations but I love it.
Mention India and it tends to gets quite a polarised reaction. People either love it or can’t think of a worse place to go. It really is the Marmite of destinations but for me, however, it was love at first sight. (For all you non-Brits who don’t know what Marmite is I’ve added a postscript below!)
In 2014 I finally took my first trip to India. I say finally because it had been on my list for a long time but sadly not a choice for my ex and so it was only after my divorce and I began to travel solo that I could fulfill my dream and explore the country.
First stop the nudist beach
As a solo female traveller of a certain age, you don’t want to feel invisible on holiday but on the other hand, there’s some kind of attention that you’d really rather avoid.
Some years ago I took a last minute solo trip to Croatia, Hvar to be precise, and booked myself into a very nice hotel, Hotel Podstine, for a week of sun, sea and fabulous food. It was here that I met Charlie, a sprightly octogenarian with very few teeth, a full repertoire of Frank Sinatra songs and a penchant for taking his clothes off.
That tricky second solo trip – Argentina
Be careful whose advice you take when selecting your solo destination
Feeling emboldened by the success of my first incredible solo trip to Borneo (you can read all about that here) I was ready to take on the world and plan my second escape. Nowhere was out of bounds or off limits – the world was my oyster! I recalled a conversation with a lovely couple that I’d met on that first trip, where I’d asked them about their favourite place in the world and they’d replied Argentina. So, Argentina it was. And reflecting on this now, I can’t actually ever recall thinking to myself that I absolutely had to see Argentina. I chose it specifically on the back of their recommendation combined, perhaps, with the fact that I was working in the wine industry at the time so thought it might be good to visit some vineyards in Mendoza. What was I thinking? (more…)