My first solo trip was to Beijing…seems quirky but yeah, my stint with travelling solo started in the Dragonland. It was mid October and the Durga Puja frenzy back home in Delhi had taken me off guard. I did not even pack the right clothes for that trip. My first solo travel taught me that it was a must to check the temperature of a place before I headed to that destination. From getting shoe bites on my way to The Great Wall of China to reaching the hotel and asking the staff for cotton buds where I was given bed sheets in return, travelling solo is not easy. It does come with its own set of challenges. We all need to start warming up to our broken company. We all are meant to dirty our hands, fall in the snow, run in the fields, soil our jeans, burn our tongue, lick our fingers and sleep under the stars. We are all meant to travel. Travel solo. And here is why:

To know that there are free lunches in this world

So we have been taught that every relationship has a barter system. We trade food with love, gifts with emotions time with money. We are taught that if we miss an anniversary, we need to compensate with a foreign holiday. We give precious gifts because we don’t have time to spend. Not really. There are free lunches in this world. So travel to find them.

We deserve those endless glasses of orange juices that the orchard farm owner will pour for us because he wants us all to lick our tongues when we taste the freshness of his oranges. We deserve that glass of hot milk that a stranger will give us when we are shivering in the cold. That meal the sick guesthouse owner will cook for us because he made us a commitment.

To make yourself fiercely independent

So that you know you will find a way or make your own. You will often get lost, sometimes deliberately, sometimes not. You will know that the most important things are the memories you have made, and the people you have met along the way. You will be tough and you will learn to love yourself. Not just that. Solo travel makes will make you more creative, more resourceful. You will always, always create opportunities, find a way to network. And yes, you will make money to keep yourself going.

To know the gorgeous feeling of teetering in the unknown

Being the solitary wanderer, you climb up that gorgeous hill top and lay your eyes on that beautiful sunset. You can sit down for hours and reflect on how magical life can be, soak it all in quietly. The solitude can also help you reach that meditative zone, which becomes your stress buster.

Megha Paul

Megha is a hoarder of books and indie magazines. She is either on a trip or planning one. And in between, she becomes a storyteller and writes travel stories, too. You will find her exploring the city for new coffee shops. She prides herself with awesome taste in music and dreams everyday of receiving her Hogwarts letter.