FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Traveling alone in supposedly dangerous countries
Old Feb 9, 2007, 6:25 pm
  #10  
Rabidstoat
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 309
My parents and friends think I'm nuts for traveling anywhere solo! I tend to go on long trips internationally, 2-4 weeks, every few years.

I've been to South Africa, they thought that was pretty adventurous. Actually, Cape Town gave me weird vibes (though I met a cool female cab driver there). My trip next month is a month in southeast Asia -- Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos -- and no one can understand why I want to go there.

I, on the other hand, can't understand why people have no desire to see foreign cultures up close. Plus I like the 'adventure' of traveling solo around the world. It's a pretty safe adventure, but still gives me a feeling of accomplishment. I guess I got hooked ever since I did a summer backpacking in Europe after college with a friend. I gained so much confidence, best thing I ever did.

I'm probably not as security-conscious as I should be. I do make sure my parents know where I'm going, keeping in touch in email. And I tend to stay at middle-class places -- not that it's a guarantee of safety, though. I do tend to either turn in early, around dark, or else I stay somewhere populated and public and take a cab directly back to where I'm staying. I won't walk around on the streets at night, I actually wouldn't do that here where I live outside Atlanta. I'm not a night owl. And I tend to join up with either other travelers during the day, or 1-2 day tour groups, for English-speaking company.

Oh, and not more than a single drink at a meal, if that. I never drink at all at home, but sometimes the easiest thing is to have a beer or glass of wine, and I will. But I avoid anything I think will impair my sense of judgment when traveling alone.
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