Monday, February 13, 2012

To Backpack Solo or to Not Backpack Solo - Is That the Question?

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I've been lucky enough to have backpacked through 19 country both solo and with friends and both are great in their own way. There are great things about both ways of travel and I cannot say that I prefer either one over the other.
GOING SOLO
There's something "scary" about backpacking by yourself. At least that's what I hear when I tell people that I have done it. Yet, all these people who say this to me have never done it. The truth is, yes, it is very "scary" the first time you step out of an airport in a country you have never been to and everything is different. The signs are in a different language, the cars drive on the "wrong" side of the road, etc. This is exactly why I wanted to go solo to Thailand. I wanted to get "scared". I wanted to see if I had enough confidence and resiliency to get through 3 months of being on my own and away from my family and friends. Before I left for this trip I did a lot reading about solo backpacking. I wanted to find out the experiences that people had from other people who have done it. I can honestly say I was a little nervous when my parents dropped me at LAX on the warm, sunny day of January 9TH, 2008. I was nervous when I stepped out of BKK and had taxi driver after taxi driver run up to me asking " where are you going, my friend?". The truth was, I had no clue where I was going. I had no clue what I was doing in a country that I had only seen in the movie "The Beach". I was nervous as I wandered the streets of Bangkok at 3 in the morning waiting for the check in time at a hostel that I had yet to book. All the nervousness went away when I met hundreds and hundreds of other kids who were just like me. Kids that left their home to explore the world we live in. I made many friends, some of whom I still talk to till this day, whether it was a weekend trip together or a night drinking and telling stories about each other's travels. When you travel solo it allows more freedom than ever imagined. You don't have to discuss with anyone what tomorrow will bring. You just wake up whenever you feel and go. When people ask me why I did it I tell them " because not many people do it and I don't want to be like everyone else". That trip gave me more confidence in my self to go out and talk to strangers, to not be afraid of trying something new. I will never forget my solo backpacking trip. I honestly can say its been my greatest accomplishment so far in my life.
BACKPACKING WITH FRIENDS
In early 2010 I had mentioned to a couple of buddies at work that I planned on taking 30 days of leave ( which is the max they will allow us to take) and head back to Thailand to wander around. Ed and Tim seemed intrigued by this idea and said they wanted to come. I was stoked because I had never traveled with buddies before. Then as the time came closer I was talking on the phone to my good child hood friend Jason and he mentioned that he wishes he could backpack like I have done and so I told him I was planning another one in a few months and he said he wanted to come. It was set. My next trip included two of my buddies I work with and one of my best friends. Leading up to the day I did some reading about "travelling with friends" and in pretty much every article I read it mentioned how the trip will either make you closer to each other or make you hate each other's guts. I found this odd but could see how it could happen. I mean, you're travelling and living with these guys for 32 straight days. I quickly found out that travelling with three other guys was a lot different from being by myself. You don't have to be willing to try to meet people everyday to keep from being lonely. This was nice. We did some amazing things that I will never forget. It was great to be able to share all the new experiences that I experienced with my friends. To show them that there are other great places in the world and that you don't need to stay in 100+ USD hotels a night or eat 30 USD plates of food for dinner to have a memorable time.
It's hard for me to pick one or the other. Both going solo and with friends has its advantages and disadvantages but one thing is for certain: Memories will be made. You just have to get out and make them happen.

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