How to Travel Alone

Travel alone at least once in your life. It will either be a disaster or give you unshakable confidence in your resourcefulness. This article will show you how to get around in scarily-exposed fashion.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Ingenuity
• Big backpack

1. Pack for plenty of solitary hours. Even if you're the friendly type, you'll have plenty of in-between time on trains and planes. 2 or 3 books in your language of choice, cards, music + a camera are absolute essentials.
2. Plan on visiting a city, or somewhere with a bit of human traffic. No matter how you feel, interactions with others -- particularly locals -- are an essential part of the travel experience. Structure interaction whenever and wherever you find it desirable, whether by booking a hostel, traveling by couchsurfing (see my article on this indispensable travel tool), booking a tour, hitchhiking.
3. Don't stick to an itinerary. Museums are nice, and some are even worth seeing, but you'll find out much more about the actual culture you're visiting by walking around with a camera and bumming cigarettes from pretty girls/guys.
4. Stock up on icebreakers. You'll be meeting plenty of new people, so plan in advance to avoid the painfully repetitious "Where are you from?" "Where are you going?"-type interactions. Simple magic, card tricks and dumb jokes (Q: How do you make a tissue dance? A: Put a little boogie in it!!) work. Of course, the best antidote is a good story.
5. Don't be shy about offering or accepting invitations. The magic of traveling alone isn't in staying alone.
6. Trade email info with your new friends whenever parting. Ask locals to send you a postcard at your home address because you're feeling cheated, sending out all these postcards and not receiving any yourself. Hug and say goodbye, and look forward to the next thing.

Tips & Warnings

• Check out my article on couchsurfing: How To Couchsurf
• Plenty of parasites pray on lone travelers. Always be aware of your surroundings, and don't be afraid to walk away/yell "Police!" if someone is hassling you.