Travel alone? thought?

[OCGuy]

What happened with your SO? Did you give her $100 in mutual funds for Xmas or something?

 

[MichaelD]

Hostel? Did you see the movie? WTH is wrong with you? Alone. Hostel. In Europe. HEEELLOOOOOOOOO????

One last piece of advice before you possibly disappear forever: If you walk into the lobby of the Hostel and there are two super-fine girls drinking coffee in the lobby and smiling at you, run. Run like your ass was on fire and Satan was chasing you with a bug sprayer full of gasoline.

 

[BoomerD]

meh. I used to travel for work a lot...sometimes I'd be in a place a few months by my self.

I never thought anything of going out for a meal or a movie by myself. If I ended up with "free time" while I was on a job, I'd often do the tourist thing and check out the local sights and such.

I understand that it's not for everyone...some people are just too insecure to travel by themselves, or just crave companionship.

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: BoomerD
meh. I used to travel for work a lot...sometimes I'd be in a place a few months by my self.

I never thought anything of going out for a meal or a movie by myself. If I ended up with "free time" while I was on a job, I'd often do the tourist thing and check out the local sights and such.

I understand that it's not for everyone...some people are just too insecure to travel by themselves, or just crave companionship.

I agree and this is my situation now, to an extent. But there's a big diff b/t staying at the Best Western Paris and Mehebat's Youth Hostel...Room Be For You! hotels. :Q

The days of Americans stuffing a backpack with clothing, beef jerky and a 35mm camera and backpacking it across Europe AND SURVIVING are looong gone. For quite a few years now, even the social recluse sheep fuckers of the deep fields of Europe have had the internet....and have come to realize that they are not alone in their "unique fetishes." Such as cutting off your eyelids while you're strapped to a chair with your penis inside a dead frog's mouth. Or something like that.

You know...freaky stuff like that. Hostel = really bad news.

 

[DaWhim]

Originally posted by: PricklyPete

Originally posted by: DaWhim
How many of you doing this?

I am going to spend my christmas and new year in paris and edinburgh....alone. I just intend to meet up some people in the hostel.

some of my friends gave me a shocking expression that I would go to travel just on my own and I don't see anything wrong with it. It is easier to plan too.

I did this a lot while I was in college...and on purpose. I like to "get away" from my normal life and doing it on your own is the best way. You also end up meeting fascinating people.

I think it is greatly dependent on your personality on how well it works. If you're friendly, you should have no problem meeting people and having a good time.

On that note...while Edinburgh is awesome...I don't know if I would choose Christmas/New Years as the time to visit. I was just there around Thanksgiving for a wedding and it was cold, days were short, and the weather was...well lets just say south of perfect. I'd stay on continental Europe if I was going that time of the year.

I have been living in london for well over 3 months, the weather is the same in here as in Edinburgh. I heard they have the best new year's eve in europe and the train only cost me under 40 pounds for round trip.

 

[DaWhim]

Originally posted by: daveshel
I don't mind traveling alone. The loss of companionship is offset by not having to compromise anything.

that's what I like, not having to compromise. it really sucks to go to trip with all girls. why did I repeat my mistake?

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: DaWhim
How many of you doing this?

I am going to spend my christmas and new year in paris and edinburgh....alone. I just intend to meet up some people in the hostel.

some of my friends gave me a shocking expression that I would go to travel just on my own and I don't see anything wrong with it. It is easier to plan too.

I traveled *alone* extensively around Europe.

But I was very rarely alone. If you travel by yourself you'll meet many many more people than if you travel with a friend.

I could never have duplicated the experience if I had gone with others. I got invited into *locals* homes etc. quite often and it was partially due to being alone.

Arriving so close to Christmas might be a bit of a problem, manny young people traveling at that time tend to go back home for Holidays. I arrived well before Christmas and ended up going with a German girl I met in London back to her home in Berlin for the Holiday.

Good luck on your trip

Fern

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: DaWhim

Originally posted by: daveshel
I don't mind traveling alone. The loss of companionship is offset by not having to compromise anything.

that's what I like, not having to compromise. it really sucks to go to trip with all girls. why did I repeat my mistake?

Compromise what??? I've enjoyed the entirety of every vacation that I've been on in my adult life.

 

[DaWhim]

Originally posted by: TallBill

Originally posted by: DaWhim

Originally posted by: daveshel
I don't mind traveling alone. The loss of companionship is offset by not having to compromise anything.

that's what I like, not having to compromise. it really sucks to go to trip with all girls. why did I repeat my mistake?

Compromise what??? I've enjoyed the entirety of every vacation that I've been on in my adult life.

Just like the last trip i took to budapest/vienna, my friends wanted to join the tour group in vienna. i said screw that, i just wanted to walk around the city and got lost without knowing where I would be going. so we ended up going separate.

my friend wanted to see the jewish stuffs in hungary, but i was no jewish nor did I care about that. they went to see what they wanted, i did my own stuffs.

 

[Farang]

I like being with other people better but yes I've done it. Later this month I'm going to New Zealand riding a bicycle by myself for 3 months. I will probably be doing a lot more solo travel because it is hard to travel with friend to far off places, everyone has different commitments, desires, and money constraints. You never know though this summer I ended up in India for 3 months because a phone call I got from a friend.

 

[bobsmith1492]

I traveled for 3 months alone. It's ok for a month or two but gets old.

 

[PELarson]

Originally posted by: DaWhim
How many of you doing this?

I am going to spend my christmas and new year in paris and edinburgh....alone. I just intend to meet up some people in the hostel.

some of my friends gave me a shocking expression that I would go to travel just on my own and I don't see anything wrong with it. It is easier to plan too.

I'm a loner so all my trips are alone.

England for 2 weeks.
Across the US by train for 2 weeks.
Two weeks by rail in Canada.

I like it and have met some interesting people.

Go for it!

 

[DVad3r]

Do it, I go out alone also, it's the best for meeting people, and it shows you have character, you don't need an entourage around you to boost spirit/activity level. I'm planning a road trip around the states this summer on motorcycle solo, can't wait, it's going to be great.

Don't get me wrong though, having friends do stuff with you is cool, I just can't count on any of mine because they are all too busy working, being vegetables, or pussy whipped on leashes with girlfriends.

 

[acheron]

Originally posted by: DaWhim

Originally posted by: TallBill

Originally posted by: DaWhim

Originally posted by: daveshel
I don't mind traveling alone. The loss of companionship is offset by not having to compromise anything.

that's what I like, not having to compromise. it really sucks to go to trip with all girls. why did I repeat my mistake?

Compromise what??? I've enjoyed the entirety of every vacation that I've been on in my adult life.

Just like the last trip i took to budapest/vienna, my friends wanted to join the tour group in vienna. i said screw that, i just wanted to walk around the city and got lost without knowing where I would be going. so we ended up going separate.

my friend wanted to see the jewish stuffs in hungary, but i was no jewish nor did I care about that. they went to see what they wanted, i did my own stuffs.

should have gone to see it -- the synagogue in Budapest is pretty amazing. 2nd largest one in the world. (and I am not Jewish either).

 

[zerocool84]

I think it's weird to go to places by yourself. Going to movies/bars/restaurants by yourself is weird to me and would never go on a trip by myself.

 

[speg]

I drove accross the US alone last summer, spent a weekend in Vegas. It was a lot of fun. I did stop at a friends place along the way though.

 

[feralkid]

Originally posted by: Baked
Rent a room, pick-up a pair of twins and get a pound of blow.

Watching a movie and eating out at a restaurant alone is fine, but traveling alone for leisure is creepy and sad.

Co-worker: "So did you go anywhere during the holidays?"
You: "Yeah, I went to Paris."
Co-worker: "Cool! With your SO?"
You: "No, by myself."
Co-worker: Slowly backs up and exits R&R lounge

I think you're projecting your own insecurities a bit.

We don't all worry as much as you seem to what our co-workers would think about our travel choices.

In fact, most of my co-workers encourage personal growth through individual experience.

My SO travels where she likes, I go where I like...if we do it together, great; if not it can be equally rewarding.

 

[The_Dude8]

Originally posted by: Fern

Originally posted by: DaWhim
How many of you doing this?

I am going to spend my christmas and new year in paris and edinburgh....alone. I just intend to meet up some people in the hostel.

some of my friends gave me a shocking expression that I would go to travel just on my own and I don't see anything wrong with it. It is easier to plan too.

I traveled *alone* extensively around Europe.

But I was very rarely alone. If you travel by yourself you'll meet many many more people than if you travel with a friend.

I could never have duplicated the experience if I had gone with others. I got invited into *locals* homes etc. quite often and it was partially due to being alone.

Arriving so close to Christmas might be a bit of a problem, manny young people traveling at that time tend to go back home for Holidays. I arrived well before Christmas and ended up going with a German girl I met in London back to her home in Berlin for the Holiday.

Good luck on your trip

Fern

Where do you stay in europe? hostel?

 

[onlyCOpunk]

Backpacking is always good to do alone. You meet so many people and do things you probably never would do if you had a companion.

 

[DanTMWTMP]

I travel alone, but mainly due to work. The traveling done after I'm done with a certain assignment is usually done alone, but I meet up people along the way, which is cool. I'm always on my own schedule, free to do whatever I want to do (and not taylor to everyone else that I would've been traveling with), and go wherever the hell I want to go. My trips overseas alone was far funner and more refreshing than going with people I know. If I do, it's the same crap: local bar, get drunk, go partying.. zzzz... I can do that anywhere in the world.

 

[IEC]

Leave ATOT for real life? Leave the comforts of home and unlimited* Internet?

Preposterous

 

[DaWhim]

Originally posted by: Spartan Niner
Leave ATOT for real life? Leave the comforts of home and unlimited* Internet?

Preposterous

my average daily post has dropped from 8 a day to 5 a day. it is pretty sad. I am on 1000 mins and 2gb quota a week, but i can survive on it.

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: The_Dude8

Originally posted by: Fern

Originally posted by: DaWhim
How many of you doing this?

I am going to spend my christmas and new year in paris and edinburgh....alone. I just intend to meet up some people in the hostel.

some of my friends gave me a shocking expression that I would go to travel just on my own and I don't see anything wrong with it. It is easier to plan too.

I traveled *alone* extensively around Europe.

But I was very rarely alone. If you travel by yourself you'll meet many many more people than if you travel with a friend.

I could never have duplicated the experience if I had gone with others. I got invited into *locals* homes etc. quite often and it was partially due to being alone.

Arriving so close to Christmas might be a bit of a problem, manny young people traveling at that time tend to go back home for Holidays. I arrived well before Christmas and ended up going with a German girl I met in London back to her home in Berlin for the Holiday.

Good luck on your trip

Fern

Where do you stay in europe? hostel?

My fist stop was London and I found a kind of hostel/hotel thingy and stayed there. Evrerybody there was from some place else - Australia, Germany, Spain Scotland etc.

I took a room with about 3 other guys, so I met them. Then I'd eat in the dining room and met a bunch of other pepole. As most of them had been staying there a little while and know each other it didnt long to know a whole bunch of people.

Oh, I think I got the name of hostel/hotel place from some advertisement; it was a phone number of a hotel reference service posted on a bullitin board at the big train station (when I first arrived I went over to put my luggage in a locker so I could walk around more freely). So I ended up at the that place by mere coincidence.

I later purchased a camper (a converted old VW bus), but the people running the hostel/hotel let me park it there so I could use the bathroom/showers. I'd eat with them (even though I didn't pay ) but sleep in my camper.

Since I had the camper I got even more *popular*, I'd take some of those I had met at tye hostel/hotel on trips with me (to the Lake District and around Scotland etc).

At Christmas a German girl was taking a few of the other people to her home in Berlin for the holiday. They invited me and I drove them all in my camper. There I met even more new people, ended up moving in with another German girl and hung out in Berlin on-n-off for 2 yrs.

While in Berlin I'd spend half the year cruising around Europe etc in my camper. Here again I would usually start off traveling by myself but at campsites would meet other people and they would travel with me around Europe.

I did that for a number of years until one time hanging out in Paris I met a Parsian girls through a guy at the same campground as me; I took her with me (and some others I had met at the campsite) all through France, Spain, Portugal, and down through Morroco. I ended up getting married to her and that ended my humongus Euro camping trip. After that I just traveled around for a fews at a time when on vacation. But it was good run for 3 or 4 years

Through the years and the different people I met, I ended up meeting and staying with new friends all over the place - Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Liden, Paris, Berlin and other towns/cities. Got to *live with the natives* so to speak.

Too many Americans I met just traveled round together staying at hotels (with each other) in big cities for a few days eating at tourist spots (or even worse, McDonalds). While it might have been fun, IMO it certainly wasn't "getting to know Europe", no matter what they thought.

Fern

 

[scott916]

Fantastic. What did you do for money?

 

[ViviTheMage]

I would go alone if I had to.

I stayed at a few hostels over christmas/new years last year...somewhat smaller hostels and there were not ALOT of people to meet up with, unless you stay in the bunk type/dorm settings, then you will for sure meet a lot of people.

BOOK NOW, they are pretty full...at least the places I looked at...even London .

DaWhim, I got your number, I will probably call you when I am in London, if you are there that is!