The first time I traveled by myself was a short trip of 2 days; I decided to take the scenic route to visit my friend in Manchester from Amsterdam, and stopped in two cities for a day each. Unfortunately, I sprained my ankle and made it a lot worse from all the walking-around-because-I-was lost that I did.
This time, I decided to fly to South Korea for a week from Hong Kong. As I wanted to see more of the country, I decided to visit Busan in addition to Seoul (and decided against Jeju-do, once again).
The original plan wasn't to be solo, but my determination to go prevailed over my disappointment with other's conflicting schedules. A few weeks before I flew, I found out one of my friends would be in South Korea around the same time frame, and when we shared our itineraries, we realized we would be in Busan on the exact same days. As serendipitous our encounter was, it made being alone once again feel a little more empty; I had half a day left in Busan by myself, and then headed to Seoul feeling excited but also sad to leave the comfortable rapport I had started to build with the port city.
As per the regular programming, I got lost finding my hostel, and ended up choosing the top bunk near the window as opposed to by the door. I ended up meeting my bunkmate on my way out the door, and after exchanging our greetings, I was off to explore my neighbourhood.
Upon returning to the hostel that night, I once again ran into her and a couple of other roommates; and while everyone was decently friendly, my bunkmate suddenly popped up and said hello again, and we started to thoroughly introduce ourselves. A medical student from Sudan, she was here for a conference on diabetes, we came from very different lives yet instantly clicked.
We started chatting every night about our respective days, from sharing photographs of me sweating on Bukhansan to her presentation at the conference, and bonding over the many types of instant noodles from the convenience store.
Despite bonding in the hostel, we both had our own plans so we would only see each other at the hostel. There are a few things about travelling alone that bring about anxiety: personal safety, getting irrevocably lost, having no one to talk to, and eating alone. In regards to being robbed, I felt very safe in South Korea, even safer than back home, so that factor wasn't an issue this trip. Getting lost is sadly inevitable for me, but this time I had my wifi egg and my broken Korean to get myself out of potential scrapes. Eating alone was still a bit of a hurdle mentally; the actual act of dining alone is fine, but I still find myself needing to muster the courage to step into the restaurant and ask for a table. Another side effect of travelling alone was that my appetite was incredibly low. I rarely felt hunger, and at times needed to remind myself to eat proper meals. Thankfully, seeing my friend periodically and talking to my bunkmate got rid a lot of the loneliness and need for connection. I also found listening to music while on public transit and during my hikes really helped me curb the mindlessness I would normally feel.
We started chatting every night about our respective days, from sharing photographs of me sweating on Bukhansan to her presentation at the conference, and bonding over the many types of instant noodles from the convenience store.
Despite bonding in the hostel, we both had our own plans so we would only see each other at the hostel. There are a few things about travelling alone that bring about anxiety: personal safety, getting irrevocably lost, having no one to talk to, and eating alone. In regards to being robbed, I felt very safe in South Korea, even safer than back home, so that factor wasn't an issue this trip. Getting lost is sadly inevitable for me, but this time I had my wifi egg and my broken Korean to get myself out of potential scrapes. Eating alone was still a bit of a hurdle mentally; the actual act of dining alone is fine, but I still find myself needing to muster the courage to step into the restaurant and ask for a table. Another side effect of travelling alone was that my appetite was incredibly low. I rarely felt hunger, and at times needed to remind myself to eat proper meals. Thankfully, seeing my friend periodically and talking to my bunkmate got rid a lot of the loneliness and need for connection. I also found listening to music while on public transit and during my hikes really helped me curb the mindlessness I would normally feel.
On my last night in the hostel, I came back early to try and pack my bags before the next day. Our flights were both scheduled for the next day, although mine was in the late afternoon while hers was in the evening. With neither of us having any real plans for our last day, we decided to head out together. After a flustering morning at the local post office trying to explain the stamps I needed to mail out my bundle (it ended up costing around 10 CAD to mail out twenty postcards and letters - I would mail things daily if it was that cheap back home), we put our luggage in storage and headed out to Hapjeong once again. Her friend’s sister was requesting a certain album version (the markings of a true fan) and we made our way to Kyobo in search of the goods. A stop at a pharmacy was also made since she had been suffering from a cold due to the chilly weather that had suddenly descended upon Seoul shortly after our arrival.
We dilly-dallied a little too much, and differences in walking preferences (I love walking and the subway, she liked buses and taxis) meant we may have taken a little longer than our original plan. The one complaint I have against Seoul is how late everything opens - this was an issue last visit as well. Despite their websites stating that they would be open, many restaurants were still closed at 11am, and so we had to forego our original plan of fried chicken and settled on dak galbi.
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It would have definitely been a different experience if I had chosen the other bunk bed; it took three greetings before the other bunkmate said hello to me, and while there is still a chance that my bunkmate and I would have become friends eventually, bonding over spicy instant ramen, sweet cardamom tea might not have happened as quickly.
Overall, I was really content this time around, compared to the first time I had been alone in Europe. I was less anxious, more comfortable navigating, and able to unwind and enjoy my own company. I still have a lot of things I want to work on; speaking more with locals and not being ashamed of my terrible mastery of a foreign language, being able to overcome my fear of going into restaurants and cafes alone, and just slow down and take in the world around me. I cannot say if it is better to travel alone or with someone else, as there and pros and cons of both, but travelling alone means you can do whatever you wish, whenever you wish, and that felt truly freeing.
Overall, I was really content this time around, compared to the first time I had been alone in Europe. I was less anxious, more comfortable navigating, and able to unwind and enjoy my own company. I still have a lot of things I want to work on; speaking more with locals and not being ashamed of my terrible mastery of a foreign language, being able to overcome my fear of going into restaurants and cafes alone, and just slow down and take in the world around me. I cannot say if it is better to travel alone or with someone else, as there and pros and cons of both, but travelling alone means you can do whatever you wish, whenever you wish, and that felt truly freeing.
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