Traveling alone
Mingle
Veteran
I decided to back out of the Tokyo plan for now in order to go somewhere nearer and cheaper. So now I'm going to Barcelona and I'm going ALONE!
I mean I have always considered myself an introvert who can enjoy ones own company but that still sounds like a scary thought. This feels like its really gonna be a true test of my ability to just BE with myself. Makes me realise perhaps I need other peoples company more then I thought.
One thing I'm concerned about is the pickpocketing which Barcelona is notorious for, gonna have to be a bit savvy when I walk around. It's a scary thought but also quite exciting. No more carelessly carrying my wallet in my back pocket. Don't think I'm even gonna take it at all. I'm gonna take loose cash and devide it between my pockets. I even got a money belt. Makes me realise how lucky I've been to be so aloof with that kinda thing growing up in Surrey.
Its gonna be nice being able to meditate in a new place and sit on the beach just really taking in my surroundings . Just feels like mindfulness is a big part of traveling alone.
Comments
I always found travelling alone to be exhilarating. As for safety, carry your passport and credit card (if you carry those with you at all) in a pouch under your clothes. Cash, if it's really a problem, you could carry in a light jacket in the inside pocket. Small change/lunch money you can carry in your pants pocket.
I'll carry it in my shoe's if I have to. I think even that "danger" alone makes traveling quite worth while. Passport and cards I'm just gonna leave at the room in a safe. Think im more likely to lose em having them with me.
If your shirts have a pocket, you could carry larger bills in the chest pocket. It's impossible to pick a shirt pocket.
Really? OK I'll keep that in mind.
Cargo pants have lots of pockets. When are you leaving? Send us a postcard, 'kay?
I'm going on the 1st of October. Never been before. All very exciting.
Has anyone else been and fallen victim to quick hands?
... which are.... what?
Pick Pocketing
There are neck wallets that you wear like a necklace so pick pockets can't easily get at your stuff.
I've traveled alone and I think it helps you be more open to meeting other people while traveling just keep aware of potential scammers. If something seems too good to be true, like one spot just happen to have opened up for some rare excursion or a very attractive woman is really coming on to you, proceed with caution. And don't take candy from strangers, seriously it could be drugged.
Don't drink alcohol..Keep a clear head and enjoy the exotic sights & sounds...
Is it your first time out of the UK ?
Nope, I have been to America before. This is the first time on my own where I'm doing the organising though. I have the usual anxieties "am I gonna get stranded?", "am I gonna get mugged?" "is my plane gonna crash?" and "am I gonna enjoy myself being on my own?"
Was thinking about getting that but I already bought a money belt. How much money would you recommend I take for a day out?
For many years both at home and abroad I keep my wallet in my front pants pocket. Around the wallet are two large elastic bands. Hand to reach in and grab.
I visited Barcelona back in the early 1970s (I was hitch hiking around Europe) and all I can remember was this song being played everywhere "Viva Espana" ...No doubt you'll meet lots of English speaking people there....
And @Mingle ....Remember "If you fear you shall suffer...You already suffer what you fear!"
Or Sadhguru puts it this way
I hope so, the only Spanish I know is "Olah" gonna have to do some quick learning. I do know a bit of Italian though and from what I hear the language sounds very similar or is that just me?
As for Sadhguru, I always liked that guy for some reason. Seen a few of his vids.
Karate?
People......seriously.....he is about to go on holidays to another city and this entire thread has turned into different ways to avoid being mugged!
Just go and bloody enjoy yourself mate!
Apologies if I was a little harsh in my post above guys.
Good on you for tackling your obvious anxiety about this head on @Mingle. I hope you have a great time!
(Well, to be honest, he brought the subject up, which actually makes him a little over-anxious, not to say paranoid.)
Providing you're sensible, you'll be fine.
My 21-y-o stepson has just gone on a 4-week jolly jaunt round France, Italy and will end up in Germany where he will be settling for a year to go to Uni.
He's found student Hostels, which are really cheap, but has taken the precaution of using a bum-bag for immediate necessities, and leaving all his irreplaceable valuables in a security locker at the local Rail station of wherever he is near to. He only carries his bank card with him, and student ID for immediate use. No cash. If he needs cash he either draws some from the nearest bank machine, or goes to the station to retrieve some.
This too, is a little paranoid, but around students from other countries, in unsecured (very often 'open-plan' Hostels, these are standard sensible precautions.
Yeah I'm driving to Adelaide for a week on Tuesday! That's something to be worried about @Bunks
Although maybe driving into Adelaide with a Swans scarf dangling from the rear window isn't the best idea?....... But it'd be so much fun.
For about twenty four years, I played poker professionally. For about twenty of those years, I carried twenty to fifty thousand dollars US around with me almost constantly and traveled almost as continuously, playing in numerous countries and almost every state. Only one attempted mugging and that was after cashing out five figures in a Los Angeles casino (which I didn't actually leave with but put in my safe deposit box at the casino).
My strategy was to always keep large amounts of cash in my front pockets with an elastic band around it as @grackle suggested - anything over thirty thousand divided roughly equally between my two front pockets and a hundred or two in my back pocket traditionally used to hold a wallet. I never tucked in my shirt but let it hang over my pants (and therefore my pants pockets which would show a bulge). Except when I was working, I'd only ever get money out of my back pocket so no one would see large sums. The thing about it is, how many times have you gotten mugged when you had no money on you? So unless you are advertising that you are carrying large sums of money, no one knows.
You'll be just find. Know the areas you will be in. My oldest son travels alone quite a lot (he is almost 20) and has never had a negative experience beyond tropical storm Hermine trying to ruin his NYC trip a few weeks ago, lol. Be familiar before you go, google maps is great for that. He prefers to stays at hostels and YMCAs because it saves him quite a bit of money. While his friends are all sinking their money into their 15 year old cars, he is seeing the world during his college breaks. You will probably find that you are great company for yourself.
Traveling with others can be more difficult, actually. You have to consider their desires, needs and preferences. Maybe you REALLY want to go to that cafe, or to go ziplining but they didn't, and so you miss out on things because others with you don't want to do them. That happens every time we travel as a family or other group. When you are alone, your wish is your command.
@Mingle
My children travel a lot and what they have done is scan their passport ID pages/information and send them as an email to themselves...this way, they have their passport information readily available, anywhere anytime should their belonging (including their passports) get stolen, just so long as there's an internet connection, ...You can do this with other important documents too...
That's a dam good idea.
It's nice to be able to say a few words in the local language @Mingle (The locals appreciate the effort)...
Some everyday Spanish phrases
Gracias . I'm actually trying to learn a bit. Just got a translator app. Do you find it easier to learn when you're out there by the context?
I tried listening to some Spanish in my sleep last night, cant say I learned anything. Think its just pseudoscience. I mean then I'd be able to justify falling asleep at college.
It depends how receptive your brain is. If you have an aptitude for learning languages (as some have) then you would be more receptive....
People are better at learning audially first of all, before learning how to speak a language.
Some time ago, when the USA and Russia joined forces and collaborated in a Space programme, the USA astronauts learnt to understand Russian without necessarily needing to speak it. Their Russian counterparts did the same, with American. That meant that both sides could communicate with the other, in their own language, and still be understood.
it's the same premise as teaching a child how to understand words. If you're playing with a young, pre-speaking child, you can say to them "Go get your pink ball!" and they will comply, even though they can't orally respond. That's because they can learn aural language rapidly, and learn to enunciate and pronounce, later on.
Same with dogs. They can learn around a 200-word vocabulary, which is why when we say 'fetch!' they understand.
It takes around 2 weeks for our ears/understanding to become acclimatised to another language, which is why so many people travelling to foreign lands, seem to lament that they had to come home 'just as they were getting used to the lingo'...! Most people happen to take a 2-week break....
I was in the area some years ago, I was travelling solo to Andorra. If you get a chance the mountain monastery of Montserrat is near to Barcelona and worth a visit, a very spiritual place where many hermits used to live, and the monastery itself is beautiful.
If you do a google images search on Montserrat Spain you will see the place.
Perhaps this link might be better @Mingle ....Just relax and enjoy the experience
muchas gracias
Hasta la vista!
( I'll be back )
It appears I joined just in time to wish you a grand experience. I was in Barcelona only last year ... arrived with similar apprehensions, but had a flawless time. You will, too. I hope you'll keep us posted, either en route (although I myself, when I'm traveling, prefer being disconnected) or once you're home in the UK. Merry miles! ––Ray (Denver, Colo., USA)