Can I Really Travel to Far-Off Places On My Own?

Solo travel is one of my greatest joys - it allows me to focus on my surroundings rather than on myself and opens me up to the world, whatever my travel destination may be.

The field of solo travel for women is growing - you'd be amazed at the number of women taking to the road by themselves. Sometimes I feel everyone I cross is a woman going solo.

It's not just my imagination, either. Study after study confirms not only an increase in the number of women traveling alone, but that we are actually enjoying it.

Won't we be harassed? Get lost? What about safe travel?

What about managing travel loneliness? How do we find female travel companions if we don't want to be on our own all the time? What about travel with kids - can we take them along even if we're going solo?

And what if we're on the road for a long time... how will it feel when we return home? Will we be hit with reverse culture shock? Do you have a few good international travel tips for first-timers?

There are plenty of reasons women can - and should - travel solo.

Solo travel for women means... more freedom to get off the bus when something catches your eye... being able to change your mind and your direction... being more open towards others... being more spontaneous... taking risks... fewer compromises...

There are plenty of wonderful sides to solo travel for women:

• You'll often get special treatment - I can't count the number of times I've been given preferential seating on a bus because I was a woman traveling alone.
• You'll meet more people - in countries where solo travel for women is rare, your solo status will awaken interest and curiosity.
• You'll become more self-confident when there's no one to blame or complain to - life just is.
• You'll be more approachable. Think about it: isn't easier to walk up to a woman on her own and ask for directions than to a group or a couple?
• You'll do what you want, even if others wouldn't think it's the right thing to do.
• Solo travel teaches you perspective - things you would have considered disastrous back home become mere inconveniences to be dealt with, not cried over.
• Travel at your own pace - sleep in, go out, make noise, move on - when you want to.
• Flexibility means you'll be able to take advantage of unexpected opportunities - like the traditional Balinese marriage I went to because I met someone at a bus station.
• Your language skills will get a quick brush-up if you're on your own with no one to turn to - a phrase book and wildly gesticulating hands usually do the trick and you'll learn something along the way.
• With no one to talk to incessantly, you'll have time to sit with yourself and get to know yourself.

In Zanzibar I met two women who worked together in Ethiopia and were vacationing on the island - they were parting ways, Rosie heading to South Africa on a bycicle, and Sam returning to Addis Ababa to rejoin her charity. We did as most travelers do - we exchanged addresses, not really expecting to see one another again.

As I neared Ethiopia, I dropped Sam an email (still a rare occurrence in those days). I was a little more than surprised when her car met me at the airport, and she put me up in her charity's house for several weeks. I had a wonderful time in Addis - courtesy of someone I'd met on a Zanzibar beach! If I'd been with a group, we'd never have met up and I certainly wouldn't have been hosted.

In Burma I hired a horse and cart to visit the ruins of Bagan and struck up a conversation with the driver. It turns out he used to be the town photographer until he was 'relocated' to another part of town, his house confiscated by the government. He was given a few sacks of cement and bricks to rebuild a house - obviously not enough.

He sold his camera to house his family.

Without a camera, he was no longer a photographer, and had to turn to driving to earn a living. He invited me to his house, I met his family, and was made aware of a slice of Burmese life I never would have seen otherwise. Had I not been alone, the dangers and fears of meeting with foreigners means this would not have happened.

And lets face it - solo travel doesn't really mean you're on your own all the time, not at all. It just means you make your own decisions - but anyone can come along for part of the ride.