Making Friends While On Solo Trip

Solo trip is a dream come true for the many of us.

But when it comes to getting permission from parents, a lot of us chicken out. Nevertheless, it’s good to see people taking initiatives and actually making the dreams a reality (thanks to all the Bollywood/Hollywood movies based on solo trips). Charting out a solo trip and executing it is no cake walk. It takes a lot of effort to find the rights places, hunt for affordable transport, stay and most importantly, to do things all by yourself and how can one forget about ensuring our safety from day one till we complete the trip. It sure is exciting, but can get a little scary too. Let’s forget about the scary part and focus more on the “exciting” part! So what you’re alone? It sure is a chance for one to meet new people and discover oneself.

Solo trips teach a lot of lessons. It helps us to grow in every possible dimension if we take the lessons taught by it seriously. Firstly, it is about some “me-time”. We often forget or lose ourselves in the busy scheduled days and there’s absolutely no time left to do a reality check or feel like yourself. Solo trips will definitely turn out to be a revelation. We learn, we fix, and we grow from this revelation. We find ourselves in the journey and the journey can also be empowering.

Secondly, it creates a platform to meet like-minded and unlike-minded people. No matter how different people may get, there will be one thing common for sure, the love for travel. Every person you come across in life will have a story, that story will have an impact on you, but anyhow, it is up to you to treasure that story or just let it go in thin air. Every person would have a different story, and there will definitely be takeaways from these stories. What’s more worth than getting a chance to know about these experiences?

Let me share a small story of my first ever solo trip. The first time I traveled alone to a place was to Bhopal. I knew the language, I had read about the place and everything but I wasn’t quite sure about how the people treated outsiders, also because it had been around 10 years since I visited the Northern side of India. But the moment I landed in the airport I just knew that everything was going to be fine. I booked an Uber and got inside it as soon as it arrived. My cab driver figured that it was my first visit to the city and I was a little uncomfortable with him knowing that. But I wasn’t scared or anything because I was carrying a pepper spray and I was prepared to face anything and everything. The confidence to do things which you gain, the mind space which you’re at when you know that you have to take care of yourself no matter what, makes you quite confident and it is definitely a moment of pride. So, as and when we were approaching to my destination, I realized that I wanted to buy a small lock, I thought I’ll buy it on the way. I immediately asked the driver to stop at a shop where such locks can be bought from. He found a shop and first got down from the car, went and inquired to the shopkeeper if locks were available and then asked me to get down. Now, that gesture was quite sweet and it boosted up my confidence and made me believe that good people do exist. So, what I’m trying to project here is that, even though you’re skeptical about things, don’t stop yourself from doing things which you’ve always wanted to do. If I had chosen to keep quiet and not talk to the driver during the entire car journey, I wouldn’t have learnt about the demography, monuments, local delicacies and a lot more about the city and neither would’ve been able to buy a lock. By the end of the trip our conversation escalated to job opportunities in South India, as that was where I was from. The cab driver of mine seemed less satisfied with his job in Bhopal and was looking to relocate. When I gave him the picture of down south, he asked me if he could be in touch with me. Without even thinking twice I gave my number to him and asked him to call me if he relocates to any of the southern states and if he wanted any help. I knew that I was making friends already and trust me, it felt good.

Sometimes you meet people, gel with them so well that you plan a trip together with them. This has happened to me. I met a girl while I was on a solo trip. She hailed from Delhi. We were at a café, sitting and enjoying our coffees and conversations. While we were at it, she mentioned about her solo trip which she had taken to Kasol and I was so excited to listen to her Kasol stories and by the end of the conversation, we had made plans on going to Kasol together! It is as exciting as superficial it may sound.

Thirdly, solo trips give you ultimate freedom. There is no one telling you what to do and what not to, you get to make your to-do list with the things that you love. It teaches you to cease every day that you live.

Solo travelling is not as scary as it seems like. You end up meeting people on the roads, restaurants, cafes, at the site-seeing places, etc. Thrilling experiences are not bad experiences. Similarly, travelling solo can be very thrilling and it would be even more thrilling to meet people from different parts of the globe. If at all you’re uncomfortable to walk up to people, then there are numerous apps to help you out. But to keep the thrill alive, The Blind Meet app lives up to its expectations. It doesn’t take away the charm of meeting strangers, but gives more clarity about place and time so that you can schedule it amidst your other plans. All the profiles on the app are 100% real, so you don’t have to worry about creeps popping up every now and then. It also gives a wide range of options from dating to networking to friendship, so you can go ahead and choose what you like according to your mood while on the trip.

So, what are the things to keep in mind if you’re preparing for a solo? Like a small checklist! well given below are a few necessities :

• If it is your first solo, choose a nearby comfortable place
• Choose a place which speaks the language which you’re exposed to
• Pack less
• Make all the arrangements in prior to avoid hassles and wastage of money
• Do some decent research about the place and things to do in that place
• Take city tours which are usually available as it covers a lot in a short span of time so that you can save time and see a lot more things
• If you’re travelling abroad, keep your passport and other documents safely
• Avoid situations where you can get mugged in European countries
• Last, but not the least, download the Blind Meet App and stop swiping and start meeting