Taxis

As it is, I have an extreme hatred for taxis. 

I'm traveling with these bags....

Because:

They are light. Super light. Lighter than my back pak in highschool for damn sure. Think 15 pounds. 

I can run/walk/skip wearing them.

I don't have to check my luggage (unlike the poor Belgiun I met in Mui Ne who's luggage got lost in Russia)

It's less to keep track of and both bags have excellent pocket systems 

But the big big big one?  I don't have to rely on taxis to get to my hotel alone. 

This was an annoyance when traveling as a couple, but now that I'm alone, it's beyond annoying, it's unsafe. The most horror stories I've heard from other solo women travelers have had to do with being locked into the back of cabs and getting mugged. 

I don't mind sharing a cab with another backpacker at all, but it's such a luxury to be able to walk easily wherever I am on my own feet to walk the 5 minute walk it takes to get to where my hostel is and also know exactly where I am thanks to GPS on my phone. 

I feel so lucky that I traveled previous to this to know how to pak light and also grateful for the updates in technology that didn't exist the last time we were in Asia. Excellent wifi everywhere. Phone service. 

What else has changed traveling alone?

I book and reserve hostels ahead of time when in a very new city I'm nervous about. It takes the edge off. 

I also request bus pick up from my hostel when heading out of town. I don't care if it costs more. 

I'm very likely to say hello to strangers anywhere. Locals/tourists/couples/anyone. You never know if that person might be a new friend, maybe not in that moment, but at the next hostel in the next town sleeping on the top bunk.....there they will be all smiles right back at me because they remember me saying something nice to them before. It happens all the time. 

So yes. I'm a huge believer in traveling light, with a smile, as I wander past the line of taxis or tuk tuks yelling to me. So so glad that I did!