Boldly Go Solo

A solo traveler goes wherever the road takes him

Andrew Fu set out from California with the idea of visiting every state over a period of months. Since then, the 25-year-old has driven a tractor and shoveled manure in Kansas. Hung out with a fisherman in Florida. And helped break a record in Georgia for making the most pancakes in eight hours.

Most recently he was shopping for a new car in the Washington, D.C., area, after crashing his Honda Element. That's where we met up for coffee.

Fu started traveling at the end of March. On his own. After quitting a well paying job and before attending business school in the fall. He headed South after he hit cold and slippery roads in Colorado.

Every day is unique, he says. He has found that he enjoys the solitude and reflection traveling solo affords him. He's surprised to find that even after two months he has not hit any lonely patches. "I thought I'd feel lonely by the second month. I don't know why I haven't hit that. There's a lot of solitude at times. Sometimes I find it very comforting."

He ends up places on a whim. After someone mentioned sights in Texas, he found himself floating and swimming on the Comal River. I completely understand. I decided to go to Iceland after seeing an ad in a magazine. And chose to go to the balloon fiesta in Albuquerque after a conversation on a rafting trip.

Fu has a few months more for his adventure and recommends that others set out on the road. "People should live their dreams," he says. The beauty of his adventure is not knowing what he's doing next.

And he doesn't know of anyone who's sorry about going on such an adventure. "Anyone who's hit the road, I don't think there are any regrets."

About going alone? If you can't do something by yourself, it must not be that important to you, he surmises.

As for the pancakes? Fu contributed mightily to the 80,000 flap jacks poured and flipped in Atlanta that day. It took its toll. "I don't think I want to flip a pancake for a long time."

Photo: Joshua

 

 

 

Solo travelers - negotiate and look for the many deals to be had

"...shore towns dangle last-minute offers to lure frugal travelers to close-by getaways." This was the line of a Washington Post Web story focusing in on Memorial Day weekend getaways to the beach. Granted, it's too late for Memorial Day deals now.

The point is, though, that if ever there were a season to find deals, negotiate away a single supplement or get a hotel to lower its rates, this is the one. Yes, I've said it before. But I was surprised to learn, while researching a story recently for the Philadelphia Inquirer, that even beach lodgings can be negotiated, and during high season no less.

I always thought visitors are taken for a wash at the beach during June, July and August, no matter what. Too many people, not enough rooms, short season being the issues. But then I was told this by someone who tracks Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, specials:

"Most people don't realize they can negotiate the price of a room or a condo for a week," said Frank Shuman.

If they negotiate at popular Rehoboth Beach, I'm guessing they negotiate just about everywhere. Keep it in mind, no matter where you go.

More daring adventures and things for solo travelers to dream about

Back in early April I wrote about five high adrenaline adventures for daring solo travelers that a Boldly Go Solo reader, Tom, had sent in. The list has gotten way longer. It's fun for  both for daring travelers and armchair adventurers to read.

Some of them you've heard before. Run with the bulls. Try the bobsled and the luge. Spend New Year's in Times Square.

Others are not quite as familiar. The nine most extreme places on earth. Seven underground wonders of the world (labyrinths, crypts, catacombs). Snowdecking.

Many things on the list are not about travel per se. And several are links to more lists. Tom's suggestions are more of a "bucket list" of things to see and do and participate that he found intriguing.

Things such as playing volleyball over a border fence. Visiting the Crystal Cave of the Giants. Things that you or I may not be able to do or replicate.

Or things that don't merit a trip but are fun informational tidbits. Such as the town in New Zealand with the world's longest name: Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu.

Who knew?

Photo: Crystal Cave of the Giants. Richard D. Fisher

The Boston Globe travel section says "Why Go It Alone?"

The Boston Globe had a good story Sunday about why travelers--including solo travelers--should consider doing group travel. Groups can offer deals, company, experienced guides, time savings on trip planning and ease of travel.

The article suggests questions to ask tour operators that will help you choose the right trip.

As you know from previous posts, I'm all for joining adventure travel groups and biking, hiking and kayaking the hell out of a place. As well as skiing, horseback riding, ballooning, etc.

See if this article helps make the case.

Take a photo of an information board and you have an instant carry along map and brochure

Smapping. That's what Mike Sowden calls it when you become your own cartographer/photographer:

"Smapping is the process of taking a digital photograph of a map that you won’t have access to later, except if you take a snap of it."

This is brilliant. I've done something similar by snapping signs and information boards when I didn't want to copy down a lot of facts. Just photo it, and it's yours for posterity. It's like having a researcher/assistant on board taking notes.

But I didn't really think about it for local maps. That is, to have one on your camera, instantly.

Using a photo of a map in real time may not be as nice as having an actual map of a place. But if you don't have one, I could see where a photo could come in very handy. As Sowden points out, it may seem small, but you can zoom in for details.

I like taking photos of local historical or informational signs because they're often more detailed than explanations in guidebooks. Or contain facts that you might not see anywhere else.

Another reason I snap is to place the scenery that I'm photographing once I get home. Sometimes, the places all begin to merge in my mind days or weeks later. If I take photos of signs as I enter or leave a place, I will know where my photos are from. 

Photos: Ellen Perlman

1- Valley of the Kings, Egypt

2- Manapouri, New Zealand

3- Skylab sign in Houston Space Center Museum

Solo travelers don't have to dine alone

After years of solo travel, I've learned that I like the freedom and serendipity that come along with having all my time to myself. But not everyone feels that way.

A recent New York Times article describes various Web sites that help women business travelers meet up with other women in cities where they'll be working. They can find company and go out and do things they wouldn't do alone. I don't see why a vacation traveler couldn't take advantage of such sites if they appeal.

Maiden Voyage is a network for finding company for dinner in a city far from home. LadiesAway is another site for businesswomen looking for ways to contact other women in a city they're visiting.

But "ladies?" "Maidens?" What's the deal with using these labels for successful businesswomen? Really, now, aren't these just a tad outdated? By decades? Perhaps centuries? What's next? Sites called "Spinster Suppers?" or "Bachelorette Brunches?" But I digress...

There's also a site called Global-Dinner-Network, which has 2,000 registered members. If you're the type of traveler who knows you won't leave your hotel room for dinner alone, especially after dark, these seem worth looking into.

But I have to admit, I just don't see tying myself down by making dinner arrangements before I even get to a place. Then again, I don't know what it's like to be on the road for business night after night.

I travel just enough to get excited every time I land in a city that's not my own. Particularly if my company's paying my hotel and dinner bills.

Locals provide the inside scoop for solo travelers

Who better to tell you all about the things to do, places to go and food to eat than someone who lives in the town you're visiting? That's why I posted here about things to do in Washington, DC, that I know about from living here. And which travel guides don't often include. 

That's the theory behind Spotted By Locals, a group-written blog with posts on 21 different European cities. Completely written by residents of those cities. It includes places such as Berlin, Budapest, Geneva, Hamburg and Stockholm.

Many travel guides, and sites such as Trip Advisor, take contributions from travelers. The Amsterdam couple who created Spotted By Locals chose their bloggers, or "spotters" specifically to write about their own home towns, offering tips from their personal, local perspective.

Spotted By Locals isn't about solo travel per se. You'll have to come back here for that. And it's not about joining adventure travel groups as a solo traveler. You'll have to come back here for that.

No, Spotted By Locals is for travelers to European cities who want to find the unique places frequented by the locals. It seems like it would be a good, if not comprehensive, resource for when you end up in one of the cities it covers. It would give you an "in" as you explore. 

For example, one blogger wrote about a dive bar in Barcelona that is a hip hangout for students, street musicians and dogs. A place where you can bring your own food without getting kicked out. 

Funny!  

Two Portuguese bloggers recommend Cha da Lapa, a lovely "hidden gem" of a patisserie with food made on site. Perfect for a lunch stop after visiting the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga. (The two bloggers like the fried meatballs.) If you're there for tea, you can try the blattertart. (The blattertart???)

This blog seems like a good one to read for fun from time to time. Even if a trip to Europe isn't imminent.

Photo: Ellen Perlman. Fado performance in Lisbon, Portugal.

Solo bikers can test themselves on the Tour de France route

 The steep mountain passes. The determination to make it up peak after peak in the Alps. The burning thighs. The peloton. The utter exhaustion. This can be you on vacation!

If you think you have a bike race in you, or just the desire to hear the imaginary roar of the crowd as you cycle (even if it's at tricycle speed) you should look into the many companies that offer rides on some part of the Tour de France route. 

Many cycle companies offer trips in sections of the six countries the tour passes through during its 21 stages (including the principalities of Andorra and Monaco).

The company Great Explorations offers an Alps to Provence to Paris trip that takes cyclists to three to four stages of the Tour. It includes a stay in a hotel overlooking the Champs Elysee on the final night of this year's race. (Lance Armstrong is back this year!)

From the hotel's balconies, guests can watch the peloton head down the grand boulevard for the victory ride.

Bikestyle Tours, Beaux Voyages and Thomson Bike Tours are a few of the other companies offering "Tours de Amateurs." I particularly like Thomson's description of its "Giants of the Alps" tour in June. And I quote..."boldly going where no bike tour has gone before...!!!" Boldly go solo on the trip!

The seven-day tour includes the "biggest and most spectacular passes" in the Italian and French Alps. Read: steep as hell. But I've got to believe some of my readers are hard core cyclists?

(One of these days I'll write about the Grand Canyon trip I took during which I biked both a century one day--100 miles--AND 120 miles on another.)

FYI: This year, the Tour de France is from July 4 to 26.

Photo: Thomson Bike Tours

A veteran traveler and award-winning travel writer and editor started as a solo traveler by accident

Jane Wooldridge, travel editor and writer for the Miami Herald, didn't plan her first solo trip. She was less than a week into a month-long backpacking adventure with a friend when he bailed on her. She stayed.

In front of a hostel in Munich that had no beds for the night, she soon met four other college kids from Britain, Germany and Italy, also needing a place for the night. Together they found cheap lodgings. And then went out for beers.

For years after, Wooldridge traveled alone. All over the world. On Sunday she wrote a piece about the adventures she's had during decades of travel and 25 years at the Miami Herald. And 30 years of travel abroad. And 10 years as travel editor at the paper.

She concedes she was lonely at times. And still is. And sometimes panicked. But she's also met people that became long-time friends or others who provided "cherished memories." She's willing to take the risks and meet her fears and loneliness head on for the chance to travel, a passion she rates just behind "breathing and love."

As Wooldridge puts it:

Stay at home, and you'll never unearth protoceratops skeletons in the Gobi Desert with paleontologist Jack Horner (who happened to be staying in our same yurt camp), tour a traditional African village with one its dozen queens, see the sun rise over the Outback and set over Rome's Tiber River, witness an ox-pull contest in rural Nova Scotia, feel the spray of Iguazu Falls, taste the unmatched sweetness of pesto made from Genoa's distinctive basil, see Ian McKellen storm in Chekhov's Wild Honey, slide down the Great Wall in the snow with a troop of Chinese soldiers, fall in love in Hong Kong, be honored at a basi ceremony in Laos, hear Wagner in Vienna, sleep in the shadow of South Dakota's Black Hills.

Mostly, I think, I travel because I'm reminded of how little I know and how much there is to learn.

Read the full story for the flavor of some of her adventures, both good and bad. And read highlights from some of the places she's been. And ponder where your next solo adventure will take you.