Face it, travelling solo is not for everyone. If you’re socially retarded and unable to make friends I definitely wouldn’t recommend this as you’d be VERY lonely. One of the best coping mechanisms when travelling solo is making friendships, as nobody likes being completely alone... especially on the other side of the world. But you need to be cautious, as there are a lot of bad people out there! There are many cases of theft, cons etc. among the travelling community, be it cons preying on tourists, a bum in the hostel trying to score some booze/drug money, and just some general lowlifes. That’s why you’ll end up learning to be a great judge of character over time, and this skill will help you forge great friendships. Obviously you’ll also make some mistakes in the beginning, but you learn from them.
The friendships that you forge while travelling can certainly be some of the best. As well the skill of being able to judge a person’s character quickly helps tilt the odds in your favor. Nothings perfect and you WILL meet some bad people, but just take those as lessons learned and move on. These friendships that I’ve forged have helped me all over the world, from the Aussies who’ve adopted me as one of their own, to Stone Dogg in the Bay Area, even at home some of my Canadian friends who’ve shown me around their city. Pack your bags and get out there, you’ll learn a lot!
* Hehe you’re probably wondering... he’s talking about mistakes and bad shit happening, what happened? Those stories are boring really, seriously who wants to hear about bar brawls and Russian strippers? Didn’t think so ;)
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| Good times in Greece! |
A great example of this is my friend Nick who I had met in Greece. Imagine inviting someone you knew for a whole 2 days 3 years ago into your home. There’s a very big risk involved there but he chose to take a risk and offer me a place to stay my first weekend here in Australia. Who knew if I’d be some complete psycho. Same goes for me, choosing to stay over at some guy I knew for 2 days 3 years ago also had an element of risk. This is where the ability to judge character comes in handy as it turns the odds in your favor when it comes to this sort of risky element. Also without taking that risk I would have missed out on an amazing experience (camping on the great ocean road), as well I would have never ended up volunteering!
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| This was very late into the Oz Day festivities. |
I must say that the friendships I’ve forged while travelling have fantastic, and certainly helpful in terms of integrating into the local culture. A great example would have been from a few weeks ago for Australia Day. While I could have joined the travellers here in the hostel and attend the festivities in the CBD and the fireworks on the Yarra River, instead I joined my Aussie friends for a BBQ. I also got to play cricket (more like hit the ball) which has given me more respect for the sport. It’s also something that I wouldn’t normally have tried anyways.
The friendships that you forge while travelling can certainly be some of the best. As well the skill of being able to judge a person’s character quickly helps tilt the odds in your favor. Nothings perfect and you WILL meet some bad people, but just take those as lessons learned and move on. These friendships that I’ve forged have helped me all over the world, from the Aussies who’ve adopted me as one of their own, to Stone Dogg in the Bay Area, even at home some of my Canadian friends who’ve shown me around their city. Pack your bags and get out there, you’ll learn a lot!
* Hehe you’re probably wondering... he’s talking about mistakes and bad shit happening, what happened? Those stories are boring really, seriously who wants to hear about bar brawls and Russian strippers? Didn’t think so ;)
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