On Traveling Alone

I'm getting ready for what is basically the biggest adventure of my life. I quit my job and am spending my savings to go galavanting around South America. Everyone glamorizes it and says they wish they could go and how lucky I am, and I am entirely aware and extremely grateful for the privilege that it is to be able to take a trip like this. But, I can't help but also recognize the intense challenges which await me. The last time I traveled I ended up isolated and depressed and immobilized by culture shock. People seem surprised and impressed by the fact that I am doing this journey alone. It always perplexes me to hear other people say that or mention that they could never do that. In my head it is just being practical; I want to go, so I will go. I'd love to meet up with friends along the way but I wouldn't let not having a partner stop me from having this experience. I actually prefer to travel alone. Traveling alone allows one to be much more aware and present. For example, if I drive home while on the phone, sometimes I pull into my driveway without even realizing that I am already at my house. When I clean up my house while on the phone, I often forget where I put everything. This illustrates the extent to which one can become distracted while involved with another person. Traveling with a buddy sometimes you get so caught up in taking touristy photos to put on your refrigerator that you leave a place without having had a moment to yourself to actually take in your surroundings. I enjoy traveling alone because instead of remarking to my friend about the chilly weather, I am forced to reflect on where I am and how I am feeling. One of my favorite experiences of traveling alone is getting up from a seat on a bus or train, looking back to make sure I didn't leave anything, and then proceeding ahead without a trace behind me that I was even there. I like being able to wake up one morning, pack my backpack and head out to a new place without having to even tell anyone where I am going much less consult with a compromise with someone. I relish that kind of freedom. The taste of an unknown path ahead of you and all of your possessions on your back is incomparable. Nevertheless, there are a plethora of challenges which confront the single female traveler.

I'd like to share some stories of times which were either incredible, internal, individual experiences, or examples of when being alone was extremely stressful or scary.

India water leaking, being sick in cabin in jungle,
in the ashram alone by the ganges, waking up in cabin in jungle,