“My gran had always told me that a woman — any woman worth her salt — could do whatever she had to.”― Charlaine Harris.
Not long before I finished reading ‘Forbidden Lessons in a Kabul Guesthouse’ by Suraya Sadeed, I realized it isn’t always as adventurous as it seems when women travel alone. Our very little treacherous mind plays pranks time and again. Some travel alone to meet children, some to accompany a loved one, some travel solo due to a tragic demise where they ought to be available and others because they love their very own single travel. There could be endless reasons
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In 2001, when Nooran Khan booked the first flight out of New Delhi, little did she know she’d be hounded at the airport. She was torn between the love of her life being unsafe in NY and the love of her independence being questioned by skeptical officers at the airport. After an hour of her arrival at the airport, she gave up! Not sure if she did the right thing, she left. On the way back home, thoughts, questions and worry clouded her head while tears were the only way out.
Suzie Mclaren often travels alone. Her love for travel transpired with her single mother moving places ever since Suzie was a toddler. Suzie speaks seven languages, holds dual citizenship, travels extensively and loves to do it all by herself. “Gutsy women travel. They travel all the time. They travel with everything around them, their persona, their firm head, their researches and their preparations. They trust god but lock their bags and doors everywhere!” she says. She loves charity, making new friends, treasuring pictures and has a journal for the destinations covered. She aspires to write a book soon…
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With the way weddings go, Roseline Fernandes wished to get married in Kuala Lumpur. After all, Hussain Sayyed and her eyes met at the illuminating Petronas Twin Towers. “Destination weddingsare always fun. Every invite gets the better of the host city and as taxing as it gets on the bride and the groom, your best friend cum wedding planner takes care of it all!” Hussain exclaims. Roseline lived in Liverpool, UK and Hussain had recently moved to istanbul, Turkey. With relatives and friends all over the globe, their highly efficient wedding planner and Malaysia Airlines to their aid, the wedding was a spectacle. “Traveling alone has always been memorable, you’re in awe of the world around you. There are those moments of brilliant self realization and the excitement of what awaits once you land too. Many of my girlfriends travel by themselves, its not easy at first but to brave it one has to begin somewhere.” adds Roseline.
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Certainly women traveling alone comes with its share of DO’s and DON’Ts, here are a few I received on my way to this blog:
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DO’s
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DON’Ts
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| Keep multiple copies of your traveling and personal documents. Make a checklist of all essentials and while you check what to carry along make sure you don’t leave anything unlocked behind. Have a close friend or a relative hold a spare key and check into your place at least twice a week to at least clear your mailbox and newspapers. | While compassion is common in women, often in strange land a disguised thief or a devil mind can’t be identified easily. Don’t go overboard with your concerned side. Travel groups are a good way of ensuring reliable company while you travel alone. |
| Make sure security is your priority. Avoid situations where you might want to bring out all your self defence skills. However, take a class on self defence, upskill yourself on keeping your cool in unpleasant situations and carry the women safety essentials like a pocket knife, pepper spray if traveling to places you’re totally unsure of. | Be friendly, don’t be familiar. Don’t accept invitations from strangers. Its not bad to make friends with total strangers but take your time on it. Do not go to secluded places or dark spots with someone you’ve just met. While a casual fling could be something you were looking for, it may be the best to weigh all options and not seem too easy since you can’t decipher people’s strategy. |
| Reconfirm your entire travel plan at least 24 hours before departure. Call up your travel agent / airline / hotel / booking agent and recheck that all your bookings stand confirm. There are many instances where overbooking, political unrest, epidemic or natural calamity might have washed away your plans already. | Don’t dress carelessly. While the world is moving towards modernization, there are several countries where you might get raised eyebrows or cusses in local dialect. It is important to also study the weather of the particular region so as to not burn or freeze yourself to death till you buy something apt. |
| Do understand the baggage policy and allowance of your airline and the country’s customs. As long as you are cool with paying off for those extra lbs of baggage, ensure that you know what to carry and in what proportion. | Don’t overpack. Its the best not add too many things if you’re travelling for long or to several countries. Adventure travel can be strenuous and those considering wayfaring travel should try and keep the bags as light as possible considering you might want to shop there! |
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As Susan Heller once quoted – ‘When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.’
We women are no strangers to overspending. Often while traveling alone make sure you have a proper budget and finance planned. Carry your money in various forms cash, checks, traveler’s check, international credit cards, international debit cards and the works. Make sure you carry local currency too. It could get difficult in case you decide on exploring a remote village and choose to be a solo traveler. Make sure your conveyance is taken care of and you have all telephone numbers and connections in place.
Ridhima Sharma on her trip to Goa went crazy finding fuel. “We were four girls on the trip, moving around on rented two wheelers and traveling like a bunch of insane explorers. Our worst nightmare came to life when on our way back to Anjuna, the only gas station was shut, with over ten kilometers to cover and a long stretch of dingy streets to encounter. A local passing by asked us to follow him into the woods but that didn’t seem like a good idea. After an hour long wait, another local came along and pulled out two bottled water containers filled with petrol saving us of some scare there! The next morning I made sure we’d buy more of those and stock fuel than jeopardizing our lives ever again.” said Ridhima when asked about her experience of the all women tour to Goa.
I have learned this strange thing, too, about travel: one may return to a place and, quite unexpectedly, meet oneself still lingering there from the last time. — Helen Bevington.
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For women who travel alone, being calm and composed is a must. Letting your hair down is also necessary at times. Treat yourself with a beautifully planned itinerary. The world is changing, if there’s bad that you worry about there’s also a lot of good you should anticipate. Women travelingalone is a budding situation and should be handled with elan.
For “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness.” - Mark Twain.