Slow travel – slowly traveling from point A to point B. This series highlights the 5 pros and the 5 con of slow travel.
The single most challenging and yet seducing aspect of slow travel is being alone. Here is Chapter 2: slow travel while being alone.
Solo travel is like this beautiful oxymoron. It’s addictive. It is taxing.
The new travel trend these days is all about solo travel. Exploring the world on your own time. Yeah, it’s awesome. I find it to be one of the most intoxicating ways to explore. It ropes you in, allows you to be in charge of your life. It fills voids and deep desires to make your own decisions. At the end of the day, you are your own boss.
Solo travel is a perfect addiction for the traveler. A traveler always is seeking new opportunities to be just a little outside of their comfort zone. If you are a true traveler, you become almost dependent on this feeling of not knowing what’s next. It pushes you to be amongst communities and be a part of situations that make your heart beat a little a faster and your palms sweat a little more.
I could go on about the siren that is solo travel, but that’s not what this is about. In fact, chapter 2 is about the other side of the oxymoron, the side travelers struggle to upload to society. It isn’t sexy to feel lonely, but it is real.
Solo travel is also grueling, especially for slow travel. It’s easy to make friends in a city. Traveling in a city, you’re an expat. There is always room for an expat.
If you are truly slow traveling around a country or region, this can be much harder, especially as a traveler. It is hard for a traveler to be alone sometimes for long periods of time. A book can only hold a travelers attention for so long, a journal has only enough pages, day dreaming eventually becomes repetitive, meeting locals that don’t speak your language becomes draining.
Solo travel is a bit isolating and is not impossible to be constantly entertained, but requires more creativity. I’m never someone to be “bored” because I think life is too short to be bored, but there can be more downtime in solo slow travel.
Think of it like this, if you were in Italy, the Italians take couple hour siestas during the day. This forces you to sit inside and be alone during these long siestas every day. If you are in a rural country side for 3 weeks, taking long siestas every day, you may yearn for more interaction like you would get in a city. This is only natural if it is not part of your culture or incorporated in your way of life. What if they don’t have wifi and you can’t watch your Netflix shows during the siesta? Lot’s of things to consider here and all very important insights to consider when slow traveling.
Sharing experiences with someone is valuable. A camera is limited on the memories it can show. In fact, even if you are traveling in couples, sometimes that can even feel alienating and lonely as well. It is normal, don’t worry. You will get through it, and you will also likely agree with this series and lean in favor of slow travel.
Jumping around is much easier, but not as enriching as slow travel and getting to be a part of the traditions, a community, a culture, a country. The rewards of chapter 1, cultural experiences, in my opinion outweigh the downfalls of moments of loneliness.
Check out this post on traveling through homesickness for some tips on how to get out of any loneliness rut slow travel may bring. Key word here is may, not all travelers experience the same magnitude of loneliness, but expect a little.
Maybe you have moved on fast enough not to feel this sense of loneliness. That’s totally fine and then this con doesn’t necessarily impact your travels. But, if you are starting to feel a bit lonely, push yourself to find that adrenaline that solo travel also brings. Desire the addiction again – remember what it is like and meet someone new. Perhaps take a day trip away from your home base. Or even more simply, move on to something new.
Don’t be alone too long.
