A Shy Girl’s Guide to travel Solo

It Will Only Get Better!

If you want to experience the joy of solo traveling, there’s one thing that’s going to help you break out of your shell a little. You can feel less anxious about talking to people, it’s travel after all. So talk less but travel. The more you practice something, the better you get at it, right? So if you’re constantly meeting new people, asking others for directions, ordering in cafes on your own, etc, etc… gradually you’re going to get better at it and feel more comfortable doing it too! There was a time many years ago when I used to feel shy in walking up to a shared cab full of strangers and board it to embark on a 5-6 hours of long journeys. But, now after traveling in over-crowded small buses, sleeper coaches in Indian Railways, shared cab or jeep rides, or boarding flights, I am only getting better at all of it!

There will always be Someone

Just remember one simple yet important thing: for every shy, awkward person in the world, there’s somebody confident to balance them out. Every time I’ve nervously entered a new hostel, I’ve found one that someone. Someone socially dominating enough to introduce themselves, lead a conversation, invite you to come have dinner or join on an early morning hike or something. All you need is an open mind and a willingness to say yes. You’ll find someone, and it won’t be at all hard to make friends, you’ll see. Because some people are social enough and confident enough for two! Blessed to have made such friends and happy to have them in my life!

“TRAVELING – IT LEAVES YOU SPEECHLESS, THEN TURNS YOU INTO A STORYTELLER”

IBN BATTUTA

Create a “Patronus”

If you don’t know what a patronus is, we can’t be friends! In Harry Potter, it’s a spell that wards off dementors (who feed on fear) by clinging to a happy memory. Without realising it, that’s exactly what I do on days when I feel scared. Remember an old good and happy memory and get lost in the memory for a bit, and soon, you will be humming one of your favourite tune instead of feeling anxious. I got a silly bird tattoo in front of a crowd of strangers at a local tattoo shop in Nepal in 2016, which was a surprising act of bravery and confidence for me. So I use it as a reminder. I give it a quick glance, remind myself I can do anything (even if it’s silly & survive it) I want to, and then go for it. Even if the “big scary thing” is walking into a hostel dorm for the first time and saying Hi to everyone (which still scares me every single time, I swear but it never seems like that from the outside).

.

Ask, ask and ask!

I’ve always sucked at making conversations with strangers. If people talked to me, I’d be polite, I’d answer their questions, but the conversations would just fizzle out soon. It took a few solo trips to understand what I was doing wrong. Not asking questions. Being shy and reserved made me awkward, and that’s why conversations usually dissolved when someone else wasn’t around me to carry them for me. So if someone asks where you’re from, don’t just answer. Ask them right back. And when they tell you, ask a question about it too.

“TWENTY YEARS FROM NOW YOU WILL BE MORE DISAPPOINTED BY THE THINGS YOU DIDN’T DO THAN BY THE ONES YOU DID DO”

H. JACKSON BROWN JR.