What I learnt from travelling solo

I learnt a lot more about me.

That’s the surprising part about travelling solo that I did not expect. Theoretically I should have, as tonnes of Pinterest travel quotes have already predicted. However, I’ve come to realize that unless you do it, you really don’t know what self-discovery is beyond a noun.

This might sound narcissistic, but since I am treating this blog as a semi journal of my travels, I’m going to attempt to write down what I’ve learnt about myself and see if I’ll learn more or change them along the way. Do close this window if you are not interested (and why should you?)

My learnings:

1. I am really not a party person. As of this moment, it is Saturday night and I am staying in THE party hostel (where I can hear the music from the dorm). However all I want to do is to blog, read and go to sleep as it is raining outside and I just did an 18-hour bus ride. And that is ok.
2. I should try and learn from my mistakes. Trying to figure out where to go after arriving at a place is probably one of the most stressful things for me, but I always end up being unprepared anyway.
3. I like to plan out my day but whenever I get lost, I enjoy it (for a limited period of time). I usually am the GPS/map reader among the group but relish the opportunity to give someone else that responsibility and just be a follower, and won’t blame them even if we get lost! The worst is if I don’t plan though and I end up overpaying for taxi, eating crap food or seeing random things, and leading someone else to do the same! Double horror!
4. I really hate walking/trekking. The trek from Hydroelectric to Aguas Calientes was torturous and I really don’t find trekking the least bit attractive. That makes me very different from most people here.
5. If I like/dislike you, it is very obvious (to me). Within 30 minutes or so I could probably tell and then start to reduce my interactions with that person. I find that I interact better one on one with girls than with a group of guys whenever I am trying to explore the city.
6. I am quite the introvert, but often times find myself the social connector in a random group of travellers and I will take the lead in suggesting a good food place for all to go. I feel a little bit weird trying to talk to everyone in a big group, but still do it anyway (in a seemingly effortless fashion).This might give people the impression that I like to socialize.
7. I really feel for animals, especially the street dogs. Perhaps it is because I am missing my dog now, but I find myself thinking if I should buy dog food for the strays or how it will be nice to pet a puppy for 4 hours. Perhaps I should volunteer at a shelter when I get back.