Travelling alone - making new friends

Travelling alone is not as lonely as you might think. I have been travelling “alone” for over six months now, and have met more people in this period than I would normally meet in about five years of normal life. I have felt less alone than I ever have and had one of the best times of my life.

The secret is communication. It is no good travelling alone if you are shy and don’t like introducing yourself to people, or striking up random conversations. I believe this is something that can be learned and practiced as I used to be shy.

Me flying solo in Ecuador - Photo: Tim Torres

I have met people in the most random situations, helped people in strange situations and bumped into people I know from the other side of the world while travelling! I have had more than my fair share of coincidences in my travels. I have also met more of the nicest, kindest and good people in my travels than I had met in my whole life.

It is all about your comfort level, but I know plenty of girls who travel on their own in “dangerous” countries. However, they don’t try this for their first backpacking trip. 

You build up to something like that, just like you don’t try running when you haven’t even crawled.

Common sense is needed and if you don’t have it, at least have the brains to travel with someone who does.

The Most Important Thing in Life - Relationships

The following powerful statement changed my life:

“The only thing you take to heaven with you is the relationships you make here on earth”.

After hearing this I thought about the relationships in my life and thought if I died right now, what relationships have I developed in my lifetime? 

Just a few of the great guys I know from University

I figured I needed to stay in touch with old friends better, and call the people I love more often.

Travel Poem - The Difference between Travel Secrets and Nomadic Wisdom

Living on the edge is still taking up space,

I am enticed no longer by the rat race.

Accomplish your dreams before it’s too late,

Seize the opportunity do not idly wait.

Like a lonely satellite I did wander,

Perceiving places and people to ponder.

Belief in ideas is timeless and essential

To learn, grow and realise ones potential.

 

Simplicity will be the traveller’s goal supreme,

When you lug your life and are living the dream,

Less beats more like a man can only lug so much,

I love relationships so let’s stay in touch.

To truly enjoy living life to the max,

It’s vital to chillax and stop bleeding tax.

Title does not define – I serve while I can,

I live the truth and am a slave to no man.

Where I have gone is greater than an aged address,

And better than belongings I possess.

You can go on without money and have fun,

But expire the second your time equals none.

Forever remember what you have been taught,

Pity no one that perishes for lack of thought.

Enjoy existing no envy no regret,

This is travel wisdom from nomads I met.

Keeping in Touch While Travelling

Going away for a short period like a week isn’t enough time to miss friends and family if you are busy, but when you are going away for a year, planning on how to keep in touch with loved ones is an important consideration.

With the age of the internet and Facebook this has got considerably easier. Emails and Facebook updates are an easy way to keep the ones you love back home updated on your life. Skype is also a wondrous God send, especially with free WiFi spots popping up all over like Starbucks and McDonalds.

Smart phones with WiFi capabilities like the iPhone mean you don’t even need to lug your laptop around anymore to get online!  

I take a phone with me for putting another SIM card in from the local country I am visiting if I am going to be there for longer than 2 weeks. 

It helps to stay in touch with people you meet on your travels. You just need an unlocked phone for this that takes a SIM card and works on the required bands for where you are traveling.

Even with all of this technology, sometimes a postcard can be more appreciated by loved ones than all the modern technology options we can come up with.

Writing a Blog is another good way to let people know you are still alive and what you are up to. For which Blog to choose see this.

Who Not Where

If there is one thing I have learned from travelling it is the following: What matters is not where you go, but who you are with that makes an enjoyable experience.

I have been in New York City on my own and felt miserable, yet I have been in Habrough, England (The village I grew up in with a population of 650) and had some of the best times of my life with my friends and family there.

Habrough - Photo: Matty Cruddas

Habrough has a shop, a train station, a pub and two hotels – not a lot happening. People look out the window when they hear a car drive past!

Oh and the silence at night is absolute. It is very weird going back after living in London and New York with that constant background noise you get in big cities! People are what make life fun :)