Showing posts with label travel tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel tips. Show all posts
We took the public bus from the airport to the city and thankfully our hostel was very near a bus stop. It was, however, incredibly hard to spot so we did walk up and down the same road multiple times cursing at google maps for not being much help. (Note to self; have a proper look on street view at where your accommodation is before you arrive. It's always hard to navigate a new place, but it's even harder when it's dark.)We checked into our hostel, which was the most basic of our trip thus far - mattresses on the floor - and headed out for dinner. I had a pork and vegetable stirfry and it was delicious.
The following day we took the public bus to Buddha Park. It took about an hour to get there but was definitely worth it. We spent a while wandering around the park and then climbed up inside the huge Buddha which provided a great view of the entire park.We then got back on the bus and headed to the mall/market. Here, we had lunch and a bit of a wander before heading to the Patuxai Monument. We paid our entrance fee and then climbed to the top, and oh my, it was a great view of the city.
Following this, we took our first tuk-tuk of the whole trip to That Luang Stupa, where there is a huge gold sleeping Buddha. We then took our tuk-tuk back to the hostel to have a quick nap before heading for dinner at Tyson Kitchen. Here, the food was delicious and the cocktails even better! After dinner, we headed down to the riverside where we came across a huge night market and each bought a few absolute bargains.
Once we'd woken up the following morning, we took a tuk-tuk to the COPE visitor centre. There is still lots of unexploded ordnance in Laos, which, unfortunately, still goes off and injuries many people every year. COPE custom makes (for free) prosthetics for individuals affected by this unexploded ordnance. Wandering around their visitor centre was both a humbling and upsetting experience. We then headed back to the hostel, had some lunch, checked out, and boarded our minibus to the next stop: Vang Vieng. The journey to Vang Vieng was the worst drive of the whole trip. I have never been on roads like it... One girl on our minibus was vomitting out of the window and those sat in the back seats were being absolutely thrown around. But, after four hours we'd made it to our next destination.
We checked into our hostel, and then headed for dinner. In a weird turn of events, we ended up going out clubbing in a club called Sakura. Vang Vieng is a very popular holiday destination with South Koreans, and so all of the clubs play K-Pop. So, we ended up dancing to K-Pop (neither Toria nor I know any songs), drank the worst tasting vodka of our lives and stumbled home at 2am with a souvenir Sakura vest in hand... Not quite the night we had imagined for our third night in sleepy Laos.
The following day we woke up to rain that was NOTHING like we had ever seen before. I know our summertime in the UK is the rainy season in Southeast Asia, but, oh my, does it rain and then some in Laos. We spent the morning chilling before braving the weather for some lunch. We spotted a really cute looking restaurant that ended up being a stoner's paradise - there was a 'happy menu' featuring opium shakes and weed fries. It's safe to say we stayed very clear of allllll of that and opted for some pasta - the ultimate hangover cure.The rain didn't ease the entire day, and nor was it due to on the forecast for the week, so, after a quick google of the places with the best weather in Southeast Asia we booked some very spontaneous, last minute flights to Malaysia. We figured that we'd rather spend a bit more money and go somewhere that we could properly explore rather than waste the next week or so sheltering from the rain in our hostels... For dinner that evening, we had the most delicious Thai food at Happy Mango, it was incredible! If you're ever in Vang Vieng I would highly recommend paying a visit.
Once we'd woken up, we headed to buy snacks for our upcoming 5 hour bus ride to Luang Prabang. Thankfully, this one wasn't a school minibus and the journey was far more smooth. We did, however, drive through a quarry, a landslide, fog, sun, rain - the lot. We checked into our hostel before heading for dinner at one of the local restaurants. We then headed for drinks at Utopia having heard so much about it both online, in guidebooks and from other people we'd met on our travels. Now, it was nice but it certainly wasn't life-changing...
Breakfast at the hostel the following morning was incredible. We had banana pancakes and they were the best I've ever had - 10/10. We'd booked to go to Kuang Si Waterfall through our hostel, and so after breakfast we were picked up in a minibus and taken there for a few hours. If you google Kuang Si it is absolutely stunning. The most gorgeous turquoise waters, it looks like heaven. What we saw when we arrived was definitely not that. Due to it being rainy season there was just brown water EVERYWHERE and I mean everywhere. The footpaths themselves were waterfalls whereby the water was kneedeep... It was hard to picture it as a calm, serene spot, but it was nice to get out and do something having been trapped in the hostel the previous few days.
That afternoon I took a solo mission to the Royal Palace whilst Toria napped. It was pretty and a good way to learn a lot more about Laos history and culture. That evening we had dinner - I had the best mushroom fried rice ever - and then wandered the night markets. The markets were huge and there were so many different things to look at. Whilst lots of the products were the same as the other markets we'd seen there were also so many other things too. We then headed back to the hostel for an early night ahead of our early rise the following morning.
We set an alarm for 4.50am to go and observe the monks receiving alms and to climb Mount Phousi in time for sunrise. Now, we were most definitely in the wrong place but we did still see a few monks and it was nothing like I'd ever seen before. It really was eye-opening. We then clambered the steps to the top of Mount Phousi but unfortunately, it was really overcast so we didn't really see much of a sunrise. A bit defeated, we headed back to the hostel to sleep some more before setting an alarm for breakfast; a second round of the delicious banana pancakes.
From our hostel, we walked to the UXO visitor centre - another on the unexploded ordnance - before having our last meal in Laos. I had sweet and sour pork and my first Beerlao of the trip - I couldn't leave the country without having one, could I? We then flew to Bangkok, switched planes, and flew onto Malaysia...
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Much much quieter than Vietnam and Thailand, and fewer things to see and do
THINGS TO DO
Vientiane:- Buddha Park
- Patuxai Monument
- That Luang Stupa
- COPE Visitor Centre
Vang Vieng:
- Tubing (which we decided not to do because of the horrendous weather)
- Night Markets
Luang Prabang:
- Kuang Si Waterfall
- Royal Palace
- Mount Phousi
- Watch the Monks Receive Alms.
- UXO Visitor Centre- Avoid Kuang Si if it's the height of rainy season
- Be more covered up, the dress sense is far more conservative in Laos
- Budget a bit more money, it's more expensive than Vietnam, Thailand etc
WHERE I STAYED & REVIEW
Avalon residence, Vientiane
Very basic but there were cornflakes for breakfast, woop woop
Real Vang Vieng Backpackers Hostel
Good location, has a pool but not the cleanest of hostels
Sunrise Hotel, Luang Prabang
Really relaxed vibe, very popular with backpackers and INCREDIBLE banana pancakes
HOW LONG TO STAY?
A week or a week and a half. We saw the majority of the main sights and felt we'd had a good amount of time there to experience the country!
Laos - Tips, Tricks and Things To Do
9.1.19 • backpacking, laos, lifestyle, south east asia, travel, travel tips
We took the public bus from the airport to the city and thankfully our hostel was very near a bus stop. It was, however, incredibly hard to spot so we did walk up and down the same road multiple times cursing at google maps for not being much help. (Note to self; have a proper look on street view at where your accommodation is before you arrive. It's always hard to navigate a new place, but it's even harder when it's dark.)We checked into our hostel, which was the most basic of our trip thus far - mattresses on the floor - and headed out for dinner. I had a pork and vegetable stirfry and it was delicious.
The following day we took the public bus to Buddha Park. It took about an hour to get there but was definitely worth it. We spent a while wandering around the park and then climbed up inside the huge Buddha which provided a great view of the entire park.We then got back on the bus and headed to the mall/market. Here, we had lunch and a bit of a wander before heading to the Patuxai Monument. We paid our entrance fee and then climbed to the top, and oh my, it was a great view of the city.
Following this, we took our first tuk-tuk of the whole trip to That Luang Stupa, where there is a huge gold sleeping Buddha. We then took our tuk-tuk back to the hostel to have a quick nap before heading for dinner at Tyson Kitchen. Here, the food was delicious and the cocktails even better! After dinner, we headed down to the riverside where we came across a huge night market and each bought a few absolute bargains.
Once we'd woken up the following morning, we took a tuk-tuk to the COPE visitor centre. There is still lots of unexploded ordnance in Laos, which, unfortunately, still goes off and injuries many people every year. COPE custom makes (for free) prosthetics for individuals affected by this unexploded ordnance. Wandering around their visitor centre was both a humbling and upsetting experience. We then headed back to the hostel, had some lunch, checked out, and boarded our minibus to the next stop: Vang Vieng. The journey to Vang Vieng was the worst drive of the whole trip. I have never been on roads like it... One girl on our minibus was vomitting out of the window and those sat in the back seats were being absolutely thrown around. But, after four hours we'd made it to our next destination.We checked into our hostel, and then headed for dinner. In a weird turn of events, we ended up going out clubbing in a club called Sakura. Vang Vieng is a very popular holiday destination with South Koreans, and so all of the clubs play K-Pop. So, we ended up dancing to K-Pop (neither Toria nor I know any songs), drank the worst tasting vodka of our lives and stumbled home at 2am with a souvenir Sakura vest in hand... Not quite the night we had imagined for our third night in sleepy Laos.The following day we woke up to rain that was NOTHING like we had ever seen before. I know our summertime in the UK is the rainy season in Southeast Asia, but, oh my, does it rain and then some in Laos. We spent the morning chilling before braving the weather for some lunch. We spotted a really cute looking restaurant that ended up being a stoner's paradise - there was a 'happy menu' featuring opium shakes and weed fries. It's safe to say we stayed very clear of allllll of that and opted for some pasta - the ultimate hangover cure.The rain didn't ease the entire day, and nor was it due to on the forecast for the week, so, after a quick google of the places with the best weather in Southeast Asia we booked some very spontaneous, last minute flights to Malaysia. We figured that we'd rather spend a bit more money and go somewhere that we could properly explore rather than waste the next week or so sheltering from the rain in our hostels... For dinner that evening, we had the most delicious Thai food at Happy Mango, it was incredible! If you're ever in Vang Vieng I would highly recommend paying a visit.
Once we'd woken up, we headed to buy snacks for our upcoming 5 hour bus ride to Luang Prabang. Thankfully, this one wasn't a school minibus and the journey was far more smooth. We did, however, drive through a quarry, a landslide, fog, sun, rain - the lot. We checked into our hostel before heading for dinner at one of the local restaurants. We then headed for drinks at Utopia having heard so much about it both online, in guidebooks and from other people we'd met on our travels. Now, it was nice but it certainly wasn't life-changing...
Breakfast at the hostel the following morning was incredible. We had banana pancakes and they were the best I've ever had - 10/10. We'd booked to go to Kuang Si Waterfall through our hostel, and so after breakfast we were picked up in a minibus and taken there for a few hours. If you google Kuang Si it is absolutely stunning. The most gorgeous turquoise waters, it looks like heaven. What we saw when we arrived was definitely not that. Due to it being rainy season there was just brown water EVERYWHERE and I mean everywhere. The footpaths themselves were waterfalls whereby the water was kneedeep... It was hard to picture it as a calm, serene spot, but it was nice to get out and do something having been trapped in the hostel the previous few days.
That afternoon I took a solo mission to the Royal Palace whilst Toria napped. It was pretty and a good way to learn a lot more about Laos history and culture. That evening we had dinner - I had the best mushroom fried rice ever - and then wandered the night markets. The markets were huge and there were so many different things to look at. Whilst lots of the products were the same as the other markets we'd seen there were also so many other things too. We then headed back to the hostel for an early night ahead of our early rise the following morning.
We set an alarm for 4.50am to go and observe the monks receiving alms and to climb Mount Phousi in time for sunrise. Now, we were most definitely in the wrong place but we did still see a few monks and it was nothing like I'd ever seen before. It really was eye-opening. We then clambered the steps to the top of Mount Phousi but unfortunately, it was really overcast so we didn't really see much of a sunrise. A bit defeated, we headed back to the hostel to sleep some more before setting an alarm for breakfast; a second round of the delicious banana pancakes.
From our hostel, we walked to the UXO visitor centre - another on the unexploded ordnance - before having our last meal in Laos. I had sweet and sour pork and my first Beerlao of the trip - I couldn't leave the country without having one, could I? We then flew to Bangkok, switched planes, and flew onto Malaysia...
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Much much quieter than Vietnam and Thailand, and fewer things to see and do
THINGS TO DO
Vientiane:- Buddha Park
- Patuxai Monument
- That Luang Stupa
- COPE Visitor Centre
Vang Vieng:
- Tubing (which we decided not to do because of the horrendous weather)
- Night Markets
Luang Prabang:
- Kuang Si Waterfall
- Royal Palace
- Mount Phousi
- Watch the Monks Receive Alms.
- UXO Visitor Centre- Avoid Kuang Si if it's the height of rainy season
- Be more covered up, the dress sense is far more conservative in Laos
- Budget a bit more money, it's more expensive than Vietnam, Thailand etc
WHERE I STAYED & REVIEW
Avalon residence, Vientiane
Very basic but there were cornflakes for breakfast, woop woop
Real Vang Vieng Backpackers Hostel
Good location, has a pool but not the cleanest of hostels
Sunrise Hotel, Luang Prabang
Really relaxed vibe, very popular with backpackers and INCREDIBLE banana pancakes
HOW LONG TO STAY?
A week or a week and a half. We saw the majority of the main sights and felt we'd had a good amount of time there to experience the country!
If I hadn't already mentioned it enough times, this summer I am doing quite a lot of travelling, including 5 and a half weeks of backpacking around Southeast Asia. Last summer I spent 4 weeks solo travelling around Cambodia (you can read my tips for solo travelling as a female here and the first of my Cambodia Diaries on Phnom Penh here) and decided that I wanted to travel more of Asia this summer. My housemate and I are going together, and the current plan is to visit Thailand, namely Bangkok, Vietnam and Laos. We fly into BKK mid-July and the next day we fly to Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon. We will be in Vietnam for less than 30 days so will be able to apply for our visas online before we go.
As aforementioned, the first stop on our tour of Vietnam is HCMC. We fly in at about 4pm, have two full days there and then leave early on the third day. One thing I'd like to do whilst there is visit the Cu Chi tunnels - I think it'll be one of those things that you don't fully understand and comprehend until you see them for yourself. Ben Thanh Market is another place on my list to visit, gimme all the food.
With regards to getting around Vietnam, the current plan is to buy an open bus ticket that will allow us to travel all the way from the bottom Vietnam up to Hanoi. From what we've read online the tickets are very affordable and the service isn't horrendous - win win!
Next up is Da Lat. This is meant to be very good for canyoning, which it's fair to say I'm already a bit apprehensive about. I have absolutely no balance and the athletic ability of a wooden spoon, so we shall see how that goes... We're spending two whole days in Da Lat and then heading to Nha Trang.
We've heard mixed reviews of Nha Trang but decided we wanted to see it for ourselves for a couple of days and make our own judgement. Following this, we're then getting a sleeper bus to Hoi An.
Hoi An is potentially the place I am most looking forward to visiting. I have heard so many good things about it and I can't wait to experience it for myself. Our three days here will be spent wandering the ancient town, eating all the good food and just relaxing on the beach before heading to Da Nang.
The Marble Mountains are the main thing we want to see in Da Nang before heading to Hue two days later. I'm not sure we have any set plans for Hue, but I'd really like to see the Hai Van Pass. Then, after Hue is Phong Nha.
In Phong Nha we plan on visiting the Paradise Cave and Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park - google it, it's gorgeous. We have scheduled two full days here before heading to Ninh Binh on a sleeper bus. We have two full days in Ninh Binh (are you sensing a theme here?) and plan on taking a boat ride here between the rice fields and mountains.
Then from Ninh Binh we're heading to Cat Ba Island. Halong Bay is perhaps the most visited part of Vietnam, unsurprisingly, just look at that white sand, turquoise water and the limestone mountains. We're not actually going to go to Halong Bay, instead opting for a very similar but slightly less touristy option; Cat Ba Island. We're planning a few days on the Island before heading to our last stop in Vietnam: Hanoi.
After a good thorough explore of Hanoi we are flying to Luang Prabang, the first of our three stops in Laos. This itinerary is of course entirely flexible, and we probably won't stick to it, but if you're planning a trip to Vietnam I hope this was helpful!
Have you ever been to Vietnam?
ITINERARY : TRAVELLING VIETNAM IN 4 WEEKS
15.6.18 • itinerary, lifestyle, travel, travel tips, vietnam
If I hadn't already mentioned it enough times, this summer I am doing quite a lot of travelling, including 5 and a half weeks of backpacking around Southeast Asia. Last summer I spent 4 weeks solo travelling around Cambodia (you can read my tips for solo travelling as a female here and the first of my Cambodia Diaries on Phnom Penh here) and decided that I wanted to travel more of Asia this summer. My housemate and I are going together, and the current plan is to visit Thailand, namely Bangkok, Vietnam and Laos. We fly into BKK mid-July and the next day we fly to Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon. We will be in Vietnam for less than 30 days so will be able to apply for our visas online before we go.
As aforementioned, the first stop on our tour of Vietnam is HCMC. We fly in at about 4pm, have two full days there and then leave early on the third day. One thing I'd like to do whilst there is visit the Cu Chi tunnels - I think it'll be one of those things that you don't fully understand and comprehend until you see them for yourself. Ben Thanh Market is another place on my list to visit, gimme all the food.
With regards to getting around Vietnam, the current plan is to buy an open bus ticket that will allow us to travel all the way from the bottom Vietnam up to Hanoi. From what we've read online the tickets are very affordable and the service isn't horrendous - win win!
Next up is Da Lat. This is meant to be very good for canyoning, which it's fair to say I'm already a bit apprehensive about. I have absolutely no balance and the athletic ability of a wooden spoon, so we shall see how that goes... We're spending two whole days in Da Lat and then heading to Nha Trang.
We've heard mixed reviews of Nha Trang but decided we wanted to see it for ourselves for a couple of days and make our own judgement. Following this, we're then getting a sleeper bus to Hoi An.
Hoi An is potentially the place I am most looking forward to visiting. I have heard so many good things about it and I can't wait to experience it for myself. Our three days here will be spent wandering the ancient town, eating all the good food and just relaxing on the beach before heading to Da Nang.
The Marble Mountains are the main thing we want to see in Da Nang before heading to Hue two days later. I'm not sure we have any set plans for Hue, but I'd really like to see the Hai Van Pass. Then, after Hue is Phong Nha.
In Phong Nha we plan on visiting the Paradise Cave and Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park - google it, it's gorgeous. We have scheduled two full days here before heading to Ninh Binh on a sleeper bus. We have two full days in Ninh Binh (are you sensing a theme here?) and plan on taking a boat ride here between the rice fields and mountains.
Then from Ninh Binh we're heading to Cat Ba Island. Halong Bay is perhaps the most visited part of Vietnam, unsurprisingly, just look at that white sand, turquoise water and the limestone mountains. We're not actually going to go to Halong Bay, instead opting for a very similar but slightly less touristy option; Cat Ba Island. We're planning a few days on the Island before heading to our last stop in Vietnam: Hanoi.
After a good thorough explore of Hanoi we are flying to Luang Prabang, the first of our three stops in Laos. This itinerary is of course entirely flexible, and we probably won't stick to it, but if you're planning a trip to Vietnam I hope this was helpful!
Have you ever been to Vietnam?
So, summer 2017 saw me pack a rucksack, board 2 planes to Cambodia and spend a month there travelling on my own. I booked this trip in the previous December as a sort of taste of the gap year I wish I'd had. My parents dropped me at the airport, and from then on I was self-reliant. I volunteered with an agency Monday to Friday for 3 weeks and had accommodation provided for me. Which leads to my first tip:
Don't worry about feeling lonely whilst you're there!! Unless you are staying in private hotel rooms and ordering room service every night, you are bound to cross paths with lots of other people, many of whom are in the same situation. I became really good friends with the people I was living with, despite only spending a few weeks with them. (Coincidentally, this weekend I'm actually travelling to London to meet up with a group of the people I met whilst travelling!) So, if feeling lonely whilst out there is holding you back - don't let it!
Start conversations with people. Whilst in a hostel in Siem Reap, I was talking to a friend I'd made out there about our plans to visit Angkor Wat (featured in the above photo) the next day. A guy in the hostel overheard this conversation and said he was keen to see the temples too... So, I invited him along and soon 3 became 4. He was a solo traveller also and quickly became part of our group for that weekend. So much so that we then took him with us to all the other things we did that weekend... None of the above would have happened if he hadn't started that conversation.
Be extra cautious. There definitely is safety in numbers, so, when doing anything that could be considered risky take extra precautions... For example, don't go wandering the backstreets of a city late at night, and don't accept deals that seem way too good to be true. Both of the aforementioned situations could be perfectly harmless, but when travelling on your own it is important to be alert.
Keep in touch with people at home. Now, this might sound like a given but it's really important to let people at home know what you're doing and what's going on. I tried to message home once a day, just with a quick update to say that I was alright and my plans for the day etc. This meant that when I visited islands that had absolutely no signal/wifi, people at home weren't worried when I disappeared off the radar for 3 days.
Confidence: fake it til you make it. Even if you're totally unsure of what you are doing it's a good idea to not let it show. Firstly, because acting confident has been shown many times to lead to an increased feeling of confidence. And, also, looking like a rabbit caught in the headlights can lead people to take advantage of this and charge you more for things, ask you to pay for things that aren't necessary and just agree to things you wouldn't usually. So, fake it baby, fake it.
Don't worry about feeling lonely whilst you're there!! Unless you are staying in private hotel rooms and ordering room service every night, you are bound to cross paths with lots of other people, many of whom are in the same situation. I became really good friends with the people I was living with, despite only spending a few weeks with them. (Coincidentally, this weekend I'm actually travelling to London to meet up with a group of the people I met whilst travelling!) So, if feeling lonely whilst out there is holding you back - don't let it!
Start conversations with people. Whilst in a hostel in Siem Reap, I was talking to a friend I'd made out there about our plans to visit Angkor Wat (featured in the above photo) the next day. A guy in the hostel overheard this conversation and said he was keen to see the temples too... So, I invited him along and soon 3 became 4. He was a solo traveller also and quickly became part of our group for that weekend. So much so that we then took him with us to all the other things we did that weekend... None of the above would have happened if he hadn't started that conversation.
Be extra cautious. There definitely is safety in numbers, so, when doing anything that could be considered risky take extra precautions... For example, don't go wandering the backstreets of a city late at night, and don't accept deals that seem way too good to be true. Both of the aforementioned situations could be perfectly harmless, but when travelling on your own it is important to be alert.
Confidence: fake it til you make it. Even if you're totally unsure of what you are doing it's a good idea to not let it show. Firstly, because acting confident has been shown many times to lead to an increased feeling of confidence. And, also, looking like a rabbit caught in the headlights can lead people to take advantage of this and charge you more for things, ask you to pay for things that aren't necessary and just agree to things you wouldn't usually. So, fake it baby, fake it.
Do you have any tips for solo travellers?
5 Tips for Female Solo Travellers
23.1.18 • cambodia, cambodia diaries, solo travel, travel, travel tips
So, summer 2017 saw me pack a rucksack, board 2 planes to Cambodia and spend a month there travelling on my own. I booked this trip in the previous December as a sort of taste of the gap year I wish I'd had. My parents dropped me at the airport, and from then on I was self-reliant. I volunteered with an agency Monday to Friday for 3 weeks and had accommodation provided for me. Which leads to my first tip:
Don't worry about feeling lonely whilst you're there!! Unless you are staying in private hotel rooms and ordering room service every night, you are bound to cross paths with lots of other people, many of whom are in the same situation. I became really good friends with the people I was living with, despite only spending a few weeks with them. (Coincidentally, this weekend I'm actually travelling to London to meet up with a group of the people I met whilst travelling!) So, if feeling lonely whilst out there is holding you back - don't let it!
Start conversations with people. Whilst in a hostel in Siem Reap, I was talking to a friend I'd made out there about our plans to visit Angkor Wat (featured in the above photo) the next day. A guy in the hostel overheard this conversation and said he was keen to see the temples too... So, I invited him along and soon 3 became 4. He was a solo traveller also and quickly became part of our group for that weekend. So much so that we then took him with us to all the other things we did that weekend... None of the above would have happened if he hadn't started that conversation.
Be extra cautious. There definitely is safety in numbers, so, when doing anything that could be considered risky take extra precautions... For example, don't go wandering the backstreets of a city late at night, and don't accept deals that seem way too good to be true. Both of the aforementioned situations could be perfectly harmless, but when travelling on your own it is important to be alert.
Keep in touch with people at home. Now, this might sound like a given but it's really important to let people at home know what you're doing and what's going on. I tried to message home once a day, just with a quick update to say that I was alright and my plans for the day etc. This meant that when I visited islands that had absolutely no signal/wifi, people at home weren't worried when I disappeared off the radar for 3 days.
Confidence: fake it til you make it. Even if you're totally unsure of what you are doing it's a good idea to not let it show. Firstly, because acting confident has been shown many times to lead to an increased feeling of confidence. And, also, looking like a rabbit caught in the headlights can lead people to take advantage of this and charge you more for things, ask you to pay for things that aren't necessary and just agree to things you wouldn't usually. So, fake it baby, fake it.
Don't worry about feeling lonely whilst you're there!! Unless you are staying in private hotel rooms and ordering room service every night, you are bound to cross paths with lots of other people, many of whom are in the same situation. I became really good friends with the people I was living with, despite only spending a few weeks with them. (Coincidentally, this weekend I'm actually travelling to London to meet up with a group of the people I met whilst travelling!) So, if feeling lonely whilst out there is holding you back - don't let it!
Start conversations with people. Whilst in a hostel in Siem Reap, I was talking to a friend I'd made out there about our plans to visit Angkor Wat (featured in the above photo) the next day. A guy in the hostel overheard this conversation and said he was keen to see the temples too... So, I invited him along and soon 3 became 4. He was a solo traveller also and quickly became part of our group for that weekend. So much so that we then took him with us to all the other things we did that weekend... None of the above would have happened if he hadn't started that conversation.
Be extra cautious. There definitely is safety in numbers, so, when doing anything that could be considered risky take extra precautions... For example, don't go wandering the backstreets of a city late at night, and don't accept deals that seem way too good to be true. Both of the aforementioned situations could be perfectly harmless, but when travelling on your own it is important to be alert.
Confidence: fake it til you make it. Even if you're totally unsure of what you are doing it's a good idea to not let it show. Firstly, because acting confident has been shown many times to lead to an increased feeling of confidence. And, also, looking like a rabbit caught in the headlights can lead people to take advantage of this and charge you more for things, ask you to pay for things that aren't necessary and just agree to things you wouldn't usually. So, fake it baby, fake it.
Do you have any tips for solo travellers?
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