SOLO TRAVELLER & ADVENTURE MAKER
                                        

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.

 

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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!).

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In search of Mantas in the Maldives

Having a blast as a solo in a honeymooners paradise

As a solo traveller, the last thing you want is to find yourself stuck on a paradise island surrounded by honeymooners!  Looking back on my first trip to the Maldives three years ago, I avoided the crowds (and the honeymooners) by going slightly out of season and had the time of my life searching for mantas.

I have never arrived anywhere by seaplane before. It really was quite special. And after around 24 hours of travelling from London, I was about ready to see Reethi Beach Resort, my Maldivian home for the next 7 days.  I’m in The Maldives – or more precisely – Baa Atoll – for a week of diving and specifically a week of searching for the elusive manta. In all my years of diving holidays around the world, I have only ever seen them once and I am itching to see them again. I have even faced my extreme aversion to photographic advancements and bought a Go Pro just for this trip.

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Does my bum bag look big in this?

How that first, scary solo trip can turn into the time of your life.

I’m not quite sure why I decided that I absolutely had to have a bum bag for my first ever solo trip. Not just any old bum bag and certainly nothing like the stylish, classy ones that are all over the high street at the moment. No, this was enormous, boringly brown and very practical. It had hundreds of slots and partitions into which I stashed all my travel documents, money, cards, passport, and lists of places to see; you name it, it was in there.

Certainly, when I travelled with my ex I didn’t see the need to have one but then this was my first holiday alone; no group just me, and as I sat nervously at Heathrow T3 waiting to board my flight I spent my time opening, checking and rechecking the contents hoping that it would in some way make me feel less anxious. It didn’t.

Prior to my divorce, I had booked a ‘must-do’ trip for two to Borneo including a hop over to Sipadan Island, which is on every divers hotlist. As there was no way that I was going to lose my deposit, I suddenly decided, sod everything! I was absolutely going to go on the trip that I’d already planned, and I’d go by myself. I remember sitting at the airport feeling absolutely petrified, looking and feeling like a nervous wreck with my great, big bum bag, wondering why the hell I had thought it was such a good idea. I called a couple of friends and my sister and then I was off. (more…)


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