Feeling lonely
The fear of being alone for long periods of time has never been a big deal for me, since I am an independent person who enjoys being on her own regularly. That being said, I did feel lonely quite a few times during my travels; mainly during my solo road trips where I had to drive for days without seeing many people, and where I had to go into hikes or do activities on my own. In this specific case, I would have enjoyed spending some time with other people, sharing stories and laughing together; being alone in the middle of nowhere is fun but it can seem a little long after a few weeks. That being said, it mainly happened during my three-month solo Canadian road trip; Canada is a huge country and anyone would feel a little lonely at some point. This is a very specific example that is quite different from any other experiences I have had so far. When you travel on your own, you are never alone! You will meet people everywhere you go. Travelling on your own is the best way to meet local people but also travellers from all over the world. When I talk to people about my travels, I believe they picture me on a mysterious island, alone with my lance ready to catch some fish. Haha, wrong! I have never met as many people as during my travels. This is part of travelling, but I also know that the way I travel helps a lot: carsharing and hostels to meet other travellers, and Couchsurfing to meet local people.Feeling unsafe
The fear of insecurity is definitely the main topic when you are a solo female traveller. I have heard so many nasty things, I can’t even remember them all, especially when I tell people that I use Couchsurfing as a way of accommodation. Here is an interesting fact: since I left France over six years ago, the only time I got robbed was in a train between Marseille and Nice (south of France) during a short stay back home last year. Nope, the world is not necessarily scarier than France or Europe is; with definitely an exception of Canada which is by far the safest country I have spent time in. I traveled through Europe, Canada, USA, Australia and seven countries in South America, and nothing bad has happened to me. Don’t get me wrong though, I am not saying that the world is extremely safe and that nothing could happen to you; I am not saying either that you can walk and take photos with your brand new iPhone or camera anywhere without taking the chance to get robbed. I believe that I have been lucky so far, but more importantly, I believe that you need to adjust your way of travelling depending on the place you are in; common sense and watchfulness are important elements when you travel as a solo woman. As you can imagine, South America was the part of the world that I feared the most so far. If I had listened to all the atrocities people told me before going, I would have probably never dared going. All I can say today, is that this experience was another great success and people that I met on the way were wonderful!Feeling judged
Telling your friends and family that you want to go explore the world can be a little overwhelming. There is the fear of being judged and most importantly, misunderstood. While most of your childhood friends and cousins spend their time trying wedding dresses on and raise their children, you spend your time at The North Face to get information about the newest sleeping bags or headlights. But let’s be serious, do we really need other people’s approval? To go explore the world is a personal decision. No matter the reason.s why you decide to pack your stuff and go, it must come from yourself and you should not be influenced by anyone else. We all are different, we all have differents reasons why we want to go explore the world, and this is exactly why travelling is a unique experience for each of us.If you wish to go explore the world too, but you have fears or doubts, do not hesitate to contact me and I would be happy to answer any questions you might have. You can also leave a comment below if you liked this article. 🙂
