Solo traveling - Some perspectives

Full disclosure – I didn’t see the Buckingham palace, didn’t go up the London eye or take a cruise down the Thames, on my 10-day trip to the UK.

Why? So, here’s the best thing about being a solo traveller – you get to do just exactly what you want to do – your time, your interests, your schedules.  

I’ve often been asked about why I travel solo and if I don’t miss company and how safe it is. I started soloing because I did not find like minded folks to travel with. I like off-beat places, history, museums, old forts, dilapidated old structures, cultural interests– especially from a socio aspect. At least for me, this is one of the main reasons. So, my first trip was to McLeod Ganj (abode of the Dalai lama); something just perked my interest about that place.  Was a tad scary but I ended up really enjoying it, that soloing has become my go to travel mode.

I guess the big difference is whether you’re a traveller or a tourist or on a holiday. I don’t consider any of my trips to be holidays; they are experiences. When you travel, it's more about the journey than the destination. You don’t follow the 10 best things to see or do in a place – I mean sure, you do some of them, but its perfectly fine to not do them if you have no interest in them.

When you go off the beaten path, you discover nuggets and treasures that one would never find in any travel guide or could have planned in advance.

Let me list some of my experiences – a film festival (by Tibetan diaspora) at Mcleodganj, a lunch invite to the village headman’s house in Nagaland (I might have ended up being part of the menu, as this was at the village of the supposed fearsome headhunter tribe. Lol. They turned out to be the sweetest people I have met), an impromptu concert by a duo singing a folk Rajasthani song, performed in a story narration style in Bhuj (the two were just bantering among themselves, and when I requested if I could take a video, gave me a 15 minute performance), a special tour in Kutch to the house of an artist who practiced the unique Rogan art (there’s just half a dozen families in the world practicing this art), a 1 hour discussion with a cab driver in Seoul who gave me such insights into Korea, their people, the culture, lifestyle, the aspirations of youth, the socio economic scenario – something I could have maybe looked up and read, but got biased views), an art show – crown to couture – at the Kensington palace, that showed how women – right from 17c queens to modern artists at the met gala - used attire to make political or powerful statements, a pub (which used to be a prison) under the tower of London, still displaying vignettes of the gory bygone times (the tower area used to the ‘adda’ of bootleggers, thugs and prostitutes), a walk along the Thames (the queen’s walk) with a display of unique and quirky art installations by artists who call themselves eco warriors, a quiet little book shop specialising in just cook books, some old and rare (and this is on the same lane as the famous book shop – Notting Hill (of the movie fame, which everyone visits), a museum specialising in brands (even old time Londoners were not aware of this), a beautiful winding walkway through part forest in Yuksom, Sikkim… I’m sure there are more. But my point is, when you are on your own, you end up finding things experiences that you never planned on, which are quirky, interesting and giving unique insights and perspectives about a place and its people. 

  

Being a woman solo traveller, there is an aspect of safety to be considered. Fingers crossed, I have not come across any negative experiences thus far, even when I have ventured completely off-beat and off season. That both emboldens me to explore more but also makes me cautious to ensure that I continue to stay safe. One is more aware and instinctive when travelling alone. I have actually found people to be more friendly and helpful when they know you are travelling alone, contrary to popular belief. One needs to practice this strange dichotomy of being open and trusting while at the same time being cautious (but not wary) of people, places and experiences.  Successfully navigating a totally unknown place can be hugely liberating, a confidence booster, and more importantly an immense learning experience.

Soloing often has a perception of just picking up a backpack and just going somewhere. It actually involves a lot of planning (most of it well before you actually embark on one). I prefer to do all my bookings – travel, stay etc. by myself; that is, I don’t use any travel consultants or agents.  This again gives one the flexibility to pick what suits you, but also has an element of not following the tried and tested. Be open for some amazing experiences, or not so very - it could go either ways.  I usually do my own travel bookings – to and fro and the stay – what I do once I get there is usually open. I prefer to avoid large hotel chains for stay – again, this can be a trade off between getting something professional and efficient (but cold and standard) and the charm of something homely and authentic.  For me this is part of the whole experience and I have found some gems – Chonor house in McLeod Ganj is actually a guest house that is run by the main temple (next to Dalai Lama’s residence). It has just 6/7 rooms, but each room is a store house of art – every room is luxuriously fitted and has a theme. The food is simple and basic but cooked with care and love by people working with the temple. Deewanji Ni Haveli is a 300-year-old meticulously restored heritage home in old Ahmedabad, complete with a stepwell inside the house.  No intercoms to order your morning coffee – one just opens a jharoka overlooking the courtyard below and calls out for it😊. I must confess, I was initially a bit wary, as it is situated amidst a narrow gully in a crowded marketplace, and the walls and doors so thick that one cannot hear any noise from outside and vice versa.  I was travelling off season and was the only guest in that place. Scary, but I was treated like a royalty in my own haveli. Had a similar experience at Bhuj House, yet another 2/300-year-old Parsi manor. Again, being the only guest, even Imli the kitten treated me like her own and would come into my room to give me company. The staff would ask me what I wanted for breakfast or dinner and prepare to my liking.

 Alone or lonely – do I miss company?  Often, it’s after a long day and back in the room, and most places I stay in do does not have a TV. Or going into a restaurant to eat alone.  Or sometimes, yes, it would be great to share an experience with someone.  There are trade-offs, but well, so does life.  And I have chosen the road less travelled, and more often than not, it has been extremely rewarding.    Try it once, is my advice…you never know if you enjoy it unless you do.

 

A Whistlestop tour in Edinburgh

 

Great Scott, it is cold!!! Was my first thought on getting off Waverly station in Edinburgh from a comparatively sunny London - 12 degrees, chilled rain and a biting cold wind that blew off the Firth of Forth.  And it was only end of September, what would winter be like? Couldn’t be more of a dampener way to begin a 2-day sojourn in the land of legends and castles and poets and scotch, I thought, and boy, glad I was wrong. I looked up to see what Scotland was famous for, and guess what?  Apart from the great Scottish highlands, bagpipes and the bloody ubiquitous tartan chequered kilts (scarfs, jumpers, hats, shirts) – the place is called ‘Land of Oatmeal’!!. Lol. I’m going to give that a miss.

With no particular agenda or checklist in hand, I had decided to stay close to the new town (not sure why it is called that, since it’s a small city with the old and new seemingly mixed) and take in whatever I could in my 2 days there. Walking out of the station, just taking a 360 degree turn, I could see many of the famous landmarks from just where I stood – the Edinburgh castle, the St. Gilles cathedral, the National Art gallery, the Royal Mile, the Botanical gardens, and the Scott monument – a mammoth gothic tower that paid tribute to Scotland's greatest literary figure. To duck out of the rain, I headed to the Gallery – a short sprint away from the station and came to a screeching halt at the very first exhibit. 

Are you serious?? Leonardo da Vinci!! It was a small painting based on a biblical theme, probably something he created in between his more famous works, but still…Rembrandt, Raphael, Vermeer, Titian, Jan Van Eyck, Renoir, Rubens…in less than an hour I had gawked at works of some of the greatest painters of the world.

To get to know a city and its sights, one could read up, ramble around and make your own impressions, or just join a guided tour, which in my experience can either be really interesting – adding flavour to the sights – or be mundanely boring. Given the short time I had, I decided to join a tour – but a slightly offbeat one. Ben and Luca (that I found on GetyourGuide) called themselves storytellers and promised not the usual spiel. The 1^st tour was to the castle and I must say, the guide wove an interesting narrative to make the castle and its stories come alive. I enjoyed it much that I decided to sign up for a scotch and story session later in the day with the same team.

To kill the 4 hours I had in between the sessions, I did what best can be done in UK anyways, ramble. All (or most cities in UK) are great walking cities, where one just walked, stopped for sights or a bite, sat on park benches or town squares, and watched the world go by (weather permitting, of course), darted into interesting shops – selling everything from delicious croissants, vintage clothing, books  (found one specialising in just cook books) trinkets, jewellery, donor kababs, or just go from one museum or art gallery to the other, if that is of your interest. One could, at least in London, do a couple of weeks of this and still not run out of places and sights to see. 

Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, is as its name suggests, a mile-long street starting from the Holyrood palace - royal abode of Mary of Scott (I think she and her palace are far more interesting than that of the Elizabeth duo) and going up to the Castle, which has been occupied since 12thC till at least late 1700 by various kings and post that continues to be a military garrison. Every third shop (or second) sold tartan patterned clothing. But other than one gentleman at the castle, no other Scotsman I saw was wearing a kilt. So, I’m presuming all the tourists picked up one of these as a souvenir. 

Most ancient cities have been built on layers over centuries, so often have a labyrinth of structures underground that literally can unearth history. The Mary King Close (situated conveniently on the Royal Mile) is one such treasure. Going down 4 layers and a few eons, this is where the commoners lived and probably gives a true picture of life of those times, History is otherwise mostly relegated to royalty and their shenanigans, bloody murders and war and valour, pomp and splendour, with the town folk usually playing the extras as in with most period movies.   

Close – in Scotland – is like an apartment complex – and this was dark, dingy, desolate, desperately crowded and not surprisingly, the place where the great plague started. The commoners seemed to have been fairly poor and lived in deplorable conditions. But a vague impression of a flowery pattern on the wall or stories of the ghost of a little girl who died there and still seen there as she doesn’t want to leave her doll behind show vignettes of little bits of happiness in their lives. After the plague the place was stuffed with lime and was not inhabited since, at least not in the same conditions.  

You know what they say, when in Scotland…you got to try their scotch. Not being a whiskey drinker (btw, whiskey from Scotland is called Scotch), I did consider giving this a miss. I did say a definite no to their other famous culinary concoction - Haggis - a savoury pudding containing sheep's pluck (heart, liver, and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, and spices. But the scotch was accompanied by a 2-hour storytelling session; I much enjoyed the scotch, the stories and the company of the large group that accompanied it.

Edinburgh is small enough to be seen in a couple of days or add in a couple more to do the day side trips to see Nessie (Loch Ness) or Leith.  Or if you like a good hike, you could spend half a day going up to Arthur’s peak for a good top side view of the city. However, a city is not just about its sights, to get to know the pulse of the place, its people, tradition, culture, one would need a lot more time - and that essentially is the difference between being a tourist and a traveller. Though two days is too short a time, some impressions I got were that somehow, the people were more reserved, less friendly than in London. 'The stiff upper lip' that one associates UK with, was something I didnt see much in London; in fact, quite the opposite, almost everybody had a quick friendly smile to offer. And no, most often it wasnt just being polite - people were friendly and quick to help if you needed - which was not what I expected from this supposedly xenophobic nation.    

But as a city, Edinburgh is beautiful, more charming and has much to offer both the tourist and the intrepid traveller. BnBs are plenty and a good option and if you don’t want to spend much on stay. Buses and trams are a good way to get about if you don’t want to walk.  Frequent trains and buses ply between Edinburgh and London – trains being more expensive but gets you there in half the time.   One does not need a separate visa for Scotland. 

Though short but surely sweet.  This is definitely a don't miss city if you are planning UK.