How solo is solo travel?

People!  I am heading back onto the road!  What a great moment to look forward while also looking backwards.  These days remind me so much or our first time traveling back in 2009.  I'm getting a little antsy, nervous and excited and this time, I know what and how to pak!  LIGHT!  Planning, organizing, buying stuff, researching, freaking out a little bit, but this time I know a little better what to expect!  Also, this time, technology is actually way better than it used to be for keeping in touch and knowing where I'll be thanks to offline Google maps, T-Mobiles awesome international coverage, my iPad and free wifi all over the place.

Okavango Delta, Botswana, 2010

Cappadocia, Turkey 2012

I will be traveling to Vietnam/Cambodia/Thailand for 2 months!  That's got nothin' on our year plus previously (actually we only spent 3 months in -Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos and Japan, this trip will fill the South Eastern holes), but I am hoping to write while I'm there (I'm
bringing light weight excellent tech with me this time) and the big. Big. BIG! Change is that for 6 weeks I will be solo.  R man's tagging along for the first bit to have our annual 'romantic couples destination getaway'(Utah, Chile, Turkey adventures) and after that, I'll be roughing it Southeast Asia style like way back when..... 

Bali Indonesia, 2010

I'm also going to try and resist shaving my head this time around...although, it's so so satisfying to not deal with hair while traveling.

Malaysia 2010

Will I in actuality be alone?  No.  There's no need to imagine me in a jungle with an Indiana Jones
hat staring down half naked locals with spears.  The particular route I am taking is quite popular and I'll be doing it with hundreds of my closest touristy backpacker friends.  This area of S.E. Asia is a staple for many a European traveling for the first time in their young lives on 'gap year' (the year they take off between high school and college) or even people like me from all over the world taking a longer 'holiday' adventure...because they have 4-8 weeks off paid vacation a year.  What?  Me?  Jealous?  

A lot of them are also women traveling alone and often times, at hostels chatting over a beer, friendships are made and travelers unite and travel for a while together, since they're heading the same way.  I've met some of these solo ladies and traveled with them myself the last time we were there.  We've made many close and dear friends this way over the years joining forces, trading travel advice and enjoying each other's company.   Plus, travel time is different.  One day on the road traveling with a new friend is equivalent in real people time to weeks or months...time stands still with no need to end a hang out early for waking up the next day to get to work and day time is a never ending wide open weekend for adventuring!  This is a wonderful opportunity for me to meet and get to know new people from new places!  Traveling with someone else can actually get a little boring.  Traveling as S&R, oftentimes meals would be spent non-verbally staring out windows, because we literally had nothing new to say to eachother having spent every moment together, there's nothing to catch up on!  This way, there will be new stories to share with new people, and you!   Traveling solo also allows taking some time to myself whenever I want to walk, sleep, read, write, eat, drink or just be. 

I'm excited for the opportunity to make all the choices I'll get to make alone and see what those choices will be.  Am I a beach bum at heart with a good book and fruit smoothie?  Might I actually choose to go on hikes or tour packages?  Will I want to spend time in big cities?  Am I a coffee drinker when I'm alone?  Will I eat breakfast?  Snack all day long like the Asians do?  Enjoy temples or get bored?  Be fascinated by history of places or spend more time people watching?  I don't know yet! 

Borobudur, Yogyakarta Indonesia 2010

Working in the food industry, I have always found people sitting alone in restaurants to be a little depressing and have a hard time doing it.  In this sense, Asia is a perfect place to go as street food tends to be eaten alone, people watching, plus!  I can focus on the deliciousness of my food bite by bite!  What an extravagance!

Rice packet stuffed with fish and spicy coconut curry sauce on the side from street market, Terrenganu Malaysia 2010

Mini Rice flour pancakes from the night market, Krabi Thailand 2010

I dedicate this first S.E. Asia travel blog entry to my family in order to share all of the preemptive activities/purchases/preparations I am doing in order to secure my safety while alone and make you feel a little better!  ;) (grand daughter points....*CA CHING!!!!!)

*That's the sound of hundreds of coins falling into a bucket! I'm all about the extra credit.

- I have travelers insurance purchased

- I have checked in with all of my financials and have back up plans for back up plans if something gets lost or stolen

- I'm bringing a travel lock and cable to keep my stuff secure

- I have a travel book and I'm also doing a lot of prep study of the places I'm going with lists of names of good hotels/hostels/restaurants/transport/adventure guide companies reccommended in other travel blogs and books, but I'm also open to the unknown and the mystery of the moment.

- I have purchased PEPTOL BISMOL....or rather, my mom did for me, thanks mom!  Golly shuck.

- I will have high quality sun screen and bug spray AND a tooth brush cover

- Travel undies, soap and laundry line are good to go!

- I just dropped off our passports yesterday at the Vietnamese Embassy, so we will have no problems entering the country...this is the part I feel the most nervous about, luckily, we now live in a city that has an embassy for almost every country in the world..HANDY THAT!  It was more expensive than I thought it would be, $80 each, but hey...that's still less than what I paid for Argentina or Tanzania, you know, to keep it in perspective....it all goes around, plus, what I'll be spending daily for an excellent quality of life while in Vietnam...once it all averages out for the honor of visiting a new place, $80 for a visa is a bargain.

However, grandparents and parents alike, you are being warned, traveling always has its pros and cons, just like life anywhere.  One day I could be sipping smoothies on the beach and the next, I won't be able to figure out how to cross the street.  This trip I've decided to leave nothing out, the goods and the bads...so yes, you'll worry, but you're Minnesotan so you'll worry no matter what!  *Wink, wink

I'll keep you posted now on upcoming travel plans as my excitement rises.  Eeeeeeeeee!