Stepping onto the plane I was overwhelmed with emotion. I had been planning a trip to Thailand for seven months. Part of me was terrified because travelling alone as a woman is intimidating but the other part of me couldn’t wait to be independent and live my life. The most exciting thing about travelling is the unknown and even though this made my anxiety sky rocket I still woke up excited every single day.
Here is what you should keep in mind before you embark on a travel holiday or trip on your own.
1.Make sure you have a good travel book, in fact take a couple. I found that Thailand has so many amazing places to go and visit that I had to keep cross referencing where to go and what see. Travel books will also tell you the places to stay away from and the busiest places to go at night where you will be safe.
2.Always carry a map, mosquito repellent, a rain coat, water and some wipes. It is very easy to get carried away while you are wandering the streets in a foreign country so these five items are essential every time you leave your hotel or hostel. I can’t tell you how many times I got lost walking round Bangkok and a map and water came in extremely handy. I also found that never leaving the hotel without a rain coat is a must and make sure it’s a good one, not a festival poncho. Lastly you need to take a good mosquito repellent, I didn’t take any malaria tablets with me so I made sure that I applied mosquito repellent all throughout the day.
3.I count myself very lucky that I have parents who have been encouraging me to be independent from day one. Decide where you want to stay very early on, make sure it is in a popular town or village, somewhere quite touristy so you will always be able to find help in an emergency. Ideally, choose a private room in a hostel.
4.Do your research. When it comes to travelling I have always been quite relaxed but going at it alone was a whole new gig. One of the first things I did was research numbers for emergency services and made a note of the place I was staying. I also made sure I had a record of the places that I had stayed in and told the hotel staff where I was going.
5.Make sure you keep someone in the loop. I would make sure that I texted my parents to let them know where I was in Thailand and if I could give them the name of the hotel or hostel I would. You can never be too careful.
I think one of the most important things to remember when you are travelling is to be confident in your choices. The luxury of travelling around countries such as Thailand is that anywhere that you go will be beautiful, the food will be incredible and the people will be lovely.
Safe travels!
Very helpful, thanks! Especially it’s useful for those who is going to travel solo for the first time