A lonely traveler, regardless of age and gender, comes face to face with his desires, fears, dreams. Being alone with the world, we feel a slight dizziness from freedom and a keen sense of responsibility for ourselves.
Not everyone dares to decide to travel without fellow travelers: it can turn out to be boring, uncomfortable and unsafe, in the end. And yet there is something of a rite of passage in a solitary journey – whether we are going to India or along the Golden Ring of Russia. Such trips awaken independence, give you the opportunity to live at your own pace and in accordance with only your desires. Such freedom beckons – but at the same time it frightens.
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Set a goal. The fear of being in an unpredictable world and being abandoned, which our parents broadcast to us in childhood, is behind the boredom and wariness that we sometimes experience when we find ourselves without company in an unfamiliar place. “More often, ideas about dangers are inspired by imagination, not reality,” says clinical psychologist Oleg Sorochan. To prepare for a trip without companions, he advises setting yourself a clear goal (like learning about the customs of the region), preparing a notebook or netbook for travel notes, and chatting with friends on the Internet to keep your spirits up.
Feel sharper. “When I travel alone, I am not distracted by communication with fellow travelers and am tuned only to my own feelings,” says 43-year-old Maxim, “It’s like meditation: I take a break from my language, from people – this is such an egoistic pleasure.” “Being face to face with other cultures or natural phenomena, we can only rely on ourselves,” continues Oleg Sorochan. “And our sensory perception is sharpened: the smells, sounds, colors around us acquire a special depth and brightness.”
Get in touch. Loneliness facilitates direct contact. For some reason, locals and other tourists talk to a lone traveler without feeling like they are violating any boundaries. On the other hand, you can’t help but turn to others, at least to ask something. Three words in the local language or two days in one place is enough to make contacts or get an invitation to dinner. “Traveling without companions, we are completely independent, and this strengthens our self-confidence and develops intuition,” says Oleg Sorochan. “And solitude helps to move away from routine life, to conduct an audit in it.”