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Have you ever traveled alone?

Duck Rodgers

Duck Rodgers

Well-Known Member
I'm not talking like a business trip. I'm talking like you went to Disney World by yourself, or Paris by yourself, or Aruba by yourself, or whatever, just for fun. You got your hotel, and did your thing for a week as if you were there with a group or something.

I've always kind of wanted to but never really have. I flew to Phoenix to meet with one guy a few weeks ago and then drove to Tombstone, AZ by myself, like I mentioned I was going to do on the board awhile back, and did some touristy stuff. It was kind of awkward. Like, for instance, I went on a horseback riding trip in the surrounding area and it was me, the two tour guides(who were married), and 6 members of a family. It just felt weird. And when I was at the little motel I was staying at people kept asking me where my friends, girlfriend, or wife was.

Anyway, just curious. I remember we had a topic awhile back about going to the movies alone and that was even a hard thing for people to imagine doing.
 
Duck Rodgers said:
I'm not talking like a business trip. I'm talking like you went to Disney World by yourself, or Paris by yourself, or Aruba by yourself, or whatever, just for fun. You got your hotel, and did your thing for a week as if you were there with a group or something.

I've always kind of wanted to but never really have. I flew to Phoenix to meet with one guy a few weeks ago and then drove to Tombstone, AZ by myself, like I mentioned I was going to do on the board awhile back, and did some touristy stuff. It was kind of awkward. Like, for instance, I went on a horseback riding trip in the surrounding area and it was me, the two tour guides(who were married), and 6 members of a family. It just felt weird. And when I was at the little motel I was staying at people kept asking me where my friends, girlfriend, or wife was.

Anyway, just curious. I remember we had a topic awhile back about going to the movies alone and that was even a hard thing for people to imagine doing.
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Yes, I have traveled alone several times. My purpose is that I wanted to better get to know the local cultures and meet new people. I found that traveling with friends and/or family kept that from happening as much because we all tend to hang out with one another and continue in our own little world.

I have found the cultural experience to be much more meaningful, I had a greater experience that changed me, I think, for a lifetime. The flip side to that, the downside, is that I have no one to recount those experiences with, to relive them. All things considered, I prefer going places with someone rather than alone, but I'm sincerely glad I had the experiences I had.
 
I've traveled alone a few times. Not on vacations, just delivering cars from one place to another. I travelled cross country twice that way. Looking back, my reaction is the same as PKM's - you get a better feel for your surroundings when you're alone as opposed to traveling with family.
 
I moved to a new country as a teenager all alone! Does that count? As far as solo-tourism, It's harder to have fun if you're alone. A few years back, a friend of mine who lives in Germany invited me to spend a couple of weeks with him and his wife. I had a blast. He showed me around, and I really got into the culture. Last year, thinking that I knew enough about Germany to visit on my own, I flew over to Aachen and spent 10 days in Germany and Belgium. It was fun, but not as much fun as having someone with you.

The biggest problem is that if you're not into the party scene (I'm not) or touristy stuff, and just want to see a place on its own terms, it's difficult without someone who knows their way around. You'll have to ask a lot of questions, and deal with people being rude to you. And I generally felt like an idiot.

But travelling in the U.S. solo is no biggie. Who cares if people ask about it? You'll know your way around, and you'll be able to do whatever it is you want to do.
 
I love traveling alone! Mostly because my friends are too broke to travel, or would rather spend their money on stupid crap. I will say that I think it wouldn't have been as fun if I had stayed in a hotel. I always stay in hostels and end up meeting tons of cool people (including lots of cute Euro girls) who actually want to go do things and have fun.

I'm going to Europe by myself in March and am nervous, but excited. Flying into Dublin, then to Berlin for a few days, back to Dublin, to travel around Ireland a bit. Should be awesome.
 
^^ That's a great point about hotels. When I would go to San Felipe, for example, I would sleep on the beach where all the local fishermen would sleep. Hang out with them by a beach fire and get to know the local people .. couldn't do that staying in a hotel room.
 
PKM said:
^^ That's a great point about hotels. When I would go to San Felipe, for example, I would sleep on the beach where all the local fishermen would sleep. Hang out with them by a beach fire and get to know the local people .. couldn't do that staying in a hotel room.
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That sounds incredible! I'd love to do that.
 
SiroMar said:
But travelling in the U.S. solo is no biggie. Who cares if people ask about it? You'll know your way around, and you'll be able to do whatever it is you want to do.
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I'm not a traveling noob or anything so I kind of understand what it would be like to be in places alone. I've never been in too many tourist type situations alone, but plenty of times in cities doing the business hustle. It's just I usually go in pairs on vacations, which is the best way to go IMO. That way you're always only waiting on one person or deciding what to do with one person. We always do whatever we want. I'm more interested in the psychological element of it. Like if I decided today that I wanted to go to London for the Olympics next month, but I asked around and everyone else was broke or had time issues and I didn't feel like helping pay for anybody else to come along, would I still want to go? I think there is an element of freedom there if you can be comfortable doing that type of thing that I'm still missing.
 
Marty McFly said:
I love traveling alone! Mostly because my friends are too broke to travel, or would rather spend their money on stupid crap. I will say that I think it wouldn't have been as fun if I had stayed in a hotel. I always stay in hostels and end up meeting tons of cool people (including lots of cute Euro girls) who actually want to go do things and have fun.

I'm going to Europe by myself in March and am nervous, but excited. Flying into Dublin, then to Berlin for a few days, back to Dublin, to travel around Ireland a bit. Should be awesome.
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What's the total time split you're doing? That's an interesting city to city connection. You don't hear too many Dublin/Berlin split adventures. But if I'm remembering correctly, you're a German speaker right? That sounds fun though.
 
Duck Rodgers said:
What's the total time split you're doing? That's an interesting city to city connection. You don't hear too many Dublin/Berlin split adventures. But if I'm remembering correctly, you're a German speaker right? That sounds fun though.
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I'm a decent German speaker - it's fading fast since I never use it here. I've only been to Southern Germany and Switzerland where I had a hell of a time understanding anything. Luckily they knew what I was saying, I think.

Yeah, it should be interesting for sure. I'm arriving in Dublin on 3/8, spending the night, then flying to Berlin the next morning (Saturday). I'd like to do some train trips while there and maybe go up to Kiel to see the Baltic if I have time. I will fly back on Friday and spend that weekend partying in Dublin for St. Patty's day. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday will be a combination of Belfast/Cork County/Cliffs of Moher and a few other day trips, but I haven't gotten around to planning specifics yet. Then I fly home on Thursday.

Pretty excited!
 
jazz_fanatic said:
Plus, I get lost in my own neighborhood.
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That part is good for travel. Getting lost should be everyone's goal in foreign environs. If it comes naturally, you're ahead of the game.

I think dumbasses(not saying you're one) have better travel experiences on the whole. It's not the guys that know every nook and cranny or have mapped out every transportation line and five star cafe in advance that you want to travel with. It's the idiots that have no idea where they are going, don't know anything about the area they are traveling in, don't know the language, have never even seen pictures of the place in advance that are most fun. That whole exploration aspect is where it's at.

I'd go back to 1970-1980 for travel purposes if I could.
 
Damn, Duck .. I had formed an opinion of you early on that was, well, not great .. but I'm loving your posts, one after another, multiple topics .. my bad, you must be a good dude.
 
PKM said:
Damn, Duck .. I had formed an opinion of you early on that was, well, not great .. but I'm loving your posts, one after another, multiple topics .. my bad, you must be a good dude.
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Haha....thanks. It's kind of weird because I could sense that too. That would make for an interesting topic probably. Which posters do you think hate you currently? .... or something like that.
 
I think traveling alone would be great. Sometimes people become liabilities because they have a different agenda and would rather see different things. I know my friends and family don't really have the same taste and appreciation in structures and arts as I do, so it'll be annoying as hell to suck up to others all day. However, it might get lonely to experience an epic trip by myself. I would rather go with a group first, explore the most common attractions, then separate for a few days for my own adventure.
 
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