What Solo Travelling Taught Me

1. Confidence

Confidence is key in everything you do, including solo travelling. Most, but not all, solo travellers were once scared of solo travelling themselves. I know I was... scared that I may be lonely for the entire length of my journey, scared that I wouldn't make any friends, scared something might go wrong, and the list goes on and on... But the further you go on your solo journey, and the more people you meet along the way, the more it will make you less scared of the entire experience! And you know what it brings to you at the end of the day? Confidence.

2. Problem-solving Skills

What do you do when your ATM card doesn't function and you're down to your last few dollars in a foreign place? What do you do when the internet on your phone doesn't work and you couldn't use Google Maps for directions? What do you do when you fall sick unexpectedly during a vacation? What do you do?! When you travel in a group, one or more people will scream out alternatives for options which you could use. When you're solo travelling however, you're on your own. Perhaps if you were lucky enough, you'd meet some friends by then who cared enough to help you and your predicaments. But more often than not, solo travellers are, well... solo. So the more problems you meet along your journey, and the harder they seem to be, the more improved your problem-solving skills will too.

3. Budgeting

Do not, and never, underestimate the importance of budgeting in travelling. So you think you'll do fine just because you're travelling to a destination with weaker currency rates than yours? Nah, think again. Regardless of the destination, travelling will nevertheless run the money off your pockets. And budgeting is specifically highlighted to solo travelling because you're out there on your own, and when you're low on cash (be it on your own hands or in the bank account), well... you're screwed! Because you're the only person that you can rely on in terms of finance, solo travelling will undoubtedly bring out the conscious budgeter within you.

4. Humbleness

You may be the top sh*t back home. You've got a great position at work, great partner, great house, great everything. But when you're on the road with the limited belongings that you carry around behind your back, and maybe staying in budget places for the sake of budgeting... you really learn how to be humble. And really, that isn't a bad thing at all. Your perspectives on people, culture, and the surroundings will be forever changed after solo travelling. You will experience staying in places a bit different to the ones back home, and communicating with people from all sorts of backgrounds and walks of life (something you may have never done back home) and over time, you will eventually learn how to be more open-minded and accept others for the way they are.