Travel alone? thought?

[ViviTheMage]

Originally posted by: darkxshade

Originally posted by: Deeko

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've been living alone in an unfamiliar city for 9 months now, eating in a restaurant alone still feels weird to me. I've done the movies alone plenty of times, and I'll go to fast food type places...but going to a real restaurant myself always seems odd. What do I do while I'm waiting for the food, stare at everyone else in the restaurant?

There are a ton of things you can do, you just haven't thought about them yet:

-talk to yourself
-rub your nipples and blow kisses to strangers
-shadow boxing in place

to name a few

I actually laughed at that...your first post to be funny too.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Originally posted by: 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?

*SNIP*

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

Some of us do not have the time or money to spend 3-4 years cruising europe...so the two weeks out of the year i like to go to Europe, tend to be short 2-3 days in big cities..sad, but it's still pretty damn cool to me.

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: scott916
Fantastic. What did you do for money?

I started out by cashing in my 401(k) (I had made good profit by buying selling bonds back in the early 80's when the interest rate was +20%.

I then sold all my posessions (car etc).

I had a bunch of credit cards and played the old game where you use one to pay off another's minimum balance etc until they caught on and canceled them all

I was in big *do-do* then.

So, I first found these *hitchhiker* places in bigger cities in Europe. Basically they look for people with a car going the same way/places as those needing a ride and match them up. The hitchhikers have to pay a per-mile fee to help with gas expense. Well, having a camper that could seat about 8 people I'd load up and make a nice profit on the gas money. My camper had only a 4 cylinder engine, so it got good mileage.

I would also occasionally do some manual type work under the table.

My big break came when I was really up *the creek*. I was stuck in Berlin during the Winter, out of money (and back then Berlin was behind the Iron Cutain - you'd have to drive a long ways to get to the other side. If you stopped in east Germany you'd be arrested, unless you stopped at an authorized gas station for us non-communist citizens).

Anyway, I was just walking all around Berlin, it was fugging freezing, snowing and dark. I remember coming upon a little corner market and as I got closer I saw a rack of those free-type publication. Looking at them (nothing better to do), I noticed one was in English so I started reading it. In it I saw an ad for a stock broker and he was offering US tax return preparation services. See, I had quite my job as a tax CPA before heading to Europe - long story short I contacted him and started making money as a tax CPA again.

I hadn't realized it, but there were a ton of US citizens in (West) Berlin, not only active military but retired ones who stayed there and started a business. I was the only US CPA in Berlin and that saved me from desperation (I was stuck there with no many and my German girlfriend getting pissed about it - no money that is).

Anyway, I'd make money in Berlin for several months doing tax returns, then split and travel all around.

Fern

 

[DaWhim]

Originally posted by: Fern


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

I have heard of your story before, but it is no as detail as this one. yea, it is pretty amazing.

most of my friends has this mentality above for travel, just do what all tourist do. I am quite reluctant to follow that.

 

[DaWhim]

Originally posted by: 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!

i will be in london on 29th and 30th, then coming back at night on Jan 4th, 2009 from edinburgh. after this, i will be back to my normal work life. feel free to ring me up, we can definitely meet up.

 

[Farang]

Check out couchsurfing.com I'm not really sure it is my type of thing but it looks like a lot of people like to meet others for 1-2 days.. that why I personally do not really like the whole backpacking scene. It isn't worth it to me to meet people if I'm only going to know them for a couple of days.