There are many blogs and articles about traveling solo. People do it for different reasons - friends don't have the same time off, other don't want to go where you want to go, or you just want to be alone. Many of the articles deal with safety (especially for women), how to eat alone, what to do by yourself etc. I know quite a few teachers that travel alone occasionally especially to beach locations - great time to relax and recharge.
I travel with friends sometimes, but a couple times a year I travel alone. Usually its because I want to go to a place that my friends have already been or something like that. I'm pretty good at it - I don't mind eating alone most of the time and I am good at navigating airports and new cities. Sometimes I get a little bored, but I like that my itinerary is not attached to anyone else. That if I'm not feeling well or tired, I can take a nap or skip something in the itinerary (like when I fainted in Sri Lanka). I love to walk for hours on end and not everyone likes that.
I have traveled alone to Israel, Spain, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and many cities on a cruise. Even so, I prepared mentally for traveling alone in India this weekend. When you travel in developing nations, you can expect a certain number of beggars, hawkers, rickshaw drivers wanting your business, and men following you. I got some of that in Sri Lanka and Cambodia - even in Mumbai where I live, but Varanasi was a whole other level! It was so bad, that I spent a lot of my time just relaxing in my hotel.
I purposefully got a hotel away from the ghats trying to guarantee more peace. On the first day I got a rickshaw to take me where to meet my guide for a walking tour. He took me right there and it was great. My guide was good, we got a little separated a few times but no one bothered me. We ended as it was getting dark and he said he'd walk me along the ghats for safety reasons because it is sparsely populated there. He left me at the main ghat where there were tons of people and he had shown me earlier where to walk to get an auto rickshaw. He left, I got a bottle of water and thought the 10 minute walk was going to be fine. I was immediately accosted by two guys - one in front, one in back - bothering me, trying to convince me to go with them. It took me a few minutes to shake them. Then a shopkeeper started following me and trying to get me to go to his shop or hire him to be my guide the next day. He kept asking me to take him home with me so he could find work. I found a auto and got in the back. The shopkeeper and his friend both got in with the driver in front (there is only one seat up there!) I didn't like it at all - why are there three men in the rickshaw with me. I kind of knew where my hotel was so I knew we were heading in the right direction. and we were going slow enough that I could jump out anytime I wanted. The shopkeeper talked to me the entire time - practically begging me to take him to Mumbai or the US. The next morning, I got a rickshaw to the ghats at 4:30 am. The driver was fine and didn't try to scam me or anything so I asked him to take me to Sarnath after breakfast. I get in and another guy gets in too. augh! they took me to Sarnath and when we got back, I paid the driver what I had agreed to pay him and the second guy wanted money too! I said that I didn't ask for him. At least he let it go pretty easily when I said no. I stayed inside for the afternoon and went to try a walk in the evening and after 10 minutes, I went back because I had been bothered like 30 times. I couldn't even enjoy a walk!
When I went to Amritsar (a Sikh city) I could feel peacefulness and spirituality in the golden temple even though it wasn't my religion. I expected to feel the same in Varanasi, but I didn't because I was so concentrated on my safety. Being with someone else makes it easier to ignore some of these people, you can just act like you are in a deep conversation with your friend. I don't think I will be traveling in India alone again. I still enjoy traveling alone, but I want to have fun and be comfortable and that doesn't happen in India.
I travel with friends sometimes, but a couple times a year I travel alone. Usually its because I want to go to a place that my friends have already been or something like that. I'm pretty good at it - I don't mind eating alone most of the time and I am good at navigating airports and new cities. Sometimes I get a little bored, but I like that my itinerary is not attached to anyone else. That if I'm not feeling well or tired, I can take a nap or skip something in the itinerary (like when I fainted in Sri Lanka). I love to walk for hours on end and not everyone likes that.
I have traveled alone to Israel, Spain, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and many cities on a cruise. Even so, I prepared mentally for traveling alone in India this weekend. When you travel in developing nations, you can expect a certain number of beggars, hawkers, rickshaw drivers wanting your business, and men following you. I got some of that in Sri Lanka and Cambodia - even in Mumbai where I live, but Varanasi was a whole other level! It was so bad, that I spent a lot of my time just relaxing in my hotel.
I purposefully got a hotel away from the ghats trying to guarantee more peace. On the first day I got a rickshaw to take me where to meet my guide for a walking tour. He took me right there and it was great. My guide was good, we got a little separated a few times but no one bothered me. We ended as it was getting dark and he said he'd walk me along the ghats for safety reasons because it is sparsely populated there. He left me at the main ghat where there were tons of people and he had shown me earlier where to walk to get an auto rickshaw. He left, I got a bottle of water and thought the 10 minute walk was going to be fine. I was immediately accosted by two guys - one in front, one in back - bothering me, trying to convince me to go with them. It took me a few minutes to shake them. Then a shopkeeper started following me and trying to get me to go to his shop or hire him to be my guide the next day. He kept asking me to take him home with me so he could find work. I found a auto and got in the back. The shopkeeper and his friend both got in with the driver in front (there is only one seat up there!) I didn't like it at all - why are there three men in the rickshaw with me. I kind of knew where my hotel was so I knew we were heading in the right direction. and we were going slow enough that I could jump out anytime I wanted. The shopkeeper talked to me the entire time - practically begging me to take him to Mumbai or the US. The next morning, I got a rickshaw to the ghats at 4:30 am. The driver was fine and didn't try to scam me or anything so I asked him to take me to Sarnath after breakfast. I get in and another guy gets in too. augh! they took me to Sarnath and when we got back, I paid the driver what I had agreed to pay him and the second guy wanted money too! I said that I didn't ask for him. At least he let it go pretty easily when I said no. I stayed inside for the afternoon and went to try a walk in the evening and after 10 minutes, I went back because I had been bothered like 30 times. I couldn't even enjoy a walk!
When I went to Amritsar (a Sikh city) I could feel peacefulness and spirituality in the golden temple even though it wasn't my religion. I expected to feel the same in Varanasi, but I didn't because I was so concentrated on my safety. Being with someone else makes it easier to ignore some of these people, you can just act like you are in a deep conversation with your friend. I don't think I will be traveling in India alone again. I still enjoy traveling alone, but I want to have fun and be comfortable and that doesn't happen in India.
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