10 rules for self-travel

10 rules for self-travel

Come to an unfamiliar place during the day, not at night.

Even in safe Europe it becomes uncomfortable if you accidentally mistake the number of the last night bus or become entangled in the Flemish names of Brussels lanes. What can I say about night trips to Shiva (forgotten areas of Delhi), when your taxi driver suddenly turns and says: "Listen, maybe, well, your hotel? My friend has an excellent hotel! "- and sharply turns the steering wheel. At such moments you remember about the life of the heroine Sandra Bullock from the movie "Everything about Steve," which writes a marker on his hand with a driver's license for a trucker to be found in the event of her death.

Trust your intuition

In uncertain, stressful situations, such as immersion in someone else's cultural and linguistic environment, our subconscious mind works much faster and more clearly than our consciousness. Intuition is exacerbated, visual memory works better, clinging to all unfamiliar signs and house numbers, there is a sixth sense: to go there or not to go? Give the passport to this strange Indian, who does not even have a border guard uniform? Take a ticket with a transfer in Vienna lasting 40 minutes? If it seems that it is not worth it, then it's not worth it.

See local news

Understand what is happening around you, it is important in the mountain resort, and in the Kashmir village - suddenly there will be a landslide or salt riots? Even if you do not know the language, a television picture with armed wooden sticks by men can sometimes be quite enough.

Create a support group

In advance, find local, ready to help you: guides, couchsurfers and friends in the city where you are going. Most likely, you will not need their help, but the thought that you have someone to turn to, if your bus from Vienna to Budapest was suddenly canceled, and the train is already late, gives confidence and calmness.

Attach to your

Not everyone can easily find friends in unfamiliar countries and are able to ask for water so that they are left for the night. It's easier to get along with people who like doing the same thing you do: save turtles in the Gulf of Mexico, taste the wines of the Loire Valley, sing along with Nick Cave at Sziget. Eventive tourism or volunteering is the most comfortable way to travel alone and yet not feel lonely.

Know your neighborhood

If you stay somewhere for a long time, take as a rule to drink morning coffee, buy fruit or fill a scooter in the same place - you will unbeknownly have friends who will be glad to see you. Your greengrocer, your gas station and the familiar owner of the coffee house are people who will help you feel comfortable and safe in a strange city.

Be in touch

Even if you feel confident and safe, your family and friends will surely be worried during your solitary journey through Inner Mongolia or the Peruvian jungle, especially if you do not go to the phone for weeks. An international SIM card, a solar battery for charging a mobile phone, an adapter for charging from a cigarette lighter will add a little peace of mind to this insane world.

Keep a diary

Solo travel is the best way to understand yourself and find out what you like, what you love, who you really are, not pretending and not wanting to seem better. No one knows you around, so you can come up with yourself again. Traveling will help remember impressions, not only from contact with another city, but also with itself.

Take witnesses to yourself

If you go to some unobvious and non-tourist place, deviate from the route, let friends or relatives know about it. At least one person should know where you are and with whom. Let it even be a concierge at the hostel.

Do not overload the backpack

No one will carry your backpack, and no one will look after him if you go to the toilet or to the ticket office. He has to be dragged everywhere with him, so he should be as light as possible. Give up the computer, the second pair of warm socks and, of course, those things that duplicate each other.