The Pros & Cons of Solo Travel
While bumming around London, I am reminded why I like to travel alone, as opposed to a tour group.
Pros:
You can do what you want, when you want.
You can eat when & where you want.
You can sleep when & as long as you want.
You don't have to wait for members of your party to catch up.
You don't have to make un-necessary bathroom breaks.
You don't have to be on a schedule.
You don't have to look like a tourist if you don't want to.
You don't have to stop at every single crappy souvinier shop.
I thought of another: you can get into almost anywhere, because resturants/concerts/movies can always squeeze in a party of one. :)
Cons:
No one helps you carry things.
Admission to museums and galleries is not paid for.
Food is not paid for.
No one drives you around/no sleeping on a tour bus.
That's all I can think of, really. Simon & I were talking about it last night: how Americans on a whole prefer to book themselves on a tour group as opposed to doing it themselves. Is it a lack of a sense of adventure? Or is it a need to feel secure? Or do people have such lack of confidence in themselves that they would rather pay others to do the thinking for them? Or is it the convenience of chilling out? what do you think? Post a comment! (you weenie people!)
posted by Erin Hagopian @ 10:15 AM
3 Comments:
hmmmm...your mother prefers that you travel in a group!!
guess who! (ha!ha!)
I blame two sources for the travel malaise of Americans.
One being the overall majority negativity of the US media that can only seem to disseminate negative stories on our overseas neighbors. UK = Mad Cow, France = Snobbishness; poor sanitation, refrigeration, air conditioning…blah blah blah.
Second being the state of our education system ( apologies to Erin’s mom). We have removed competitiveness and individuality from our kids. We are forming a communal society from the ground up. Sound familiar, is history repeating itself? From a mass youth rally in WWII Germany “My comrades. At your command, my Fuehrer, here stands a young generation which knows no classes and no or castes." Grading on curve, don’t want to show great achievements of one as the others might suffer from an inferiority complex. No more sports, or when there are sports at a younger level, no keeping score. Sorry folks, in life there are winners and losers!
Sorry readers…a bit more of a knock on education than I planned.
Bottom line, we are raising a generation of followers and not leaders. Americans who would rather be part of a group all safe and warm and not out in front leading and exploring. I fear that if today’s youth were to have ventured to America (if they had the guts to leave England in the first place) we would all live in a mile or two from the Atlantic.
Have a good time, hello Simon, and keep the news and photos coming!
I think that the travels and adventrues that you have inspire others to get out there and try to have some for themselves!
I admire and think of you as a great adventurer, for I have never been outside of the United States.
I think that Americans are afraid to go to other countries because of the lack of lingo. I know i'm not fluent in French or Italian or any other language ect. but even so there are many tourist that do go in large groups. And its not just americans that travel in groups, other nationalities do too and probably for the same reasons of lingo differences.
also I think that when we are very young that we are taught that we should not travel alone or talk to strangers, and that there are strength in numbers and that maybe you would be less bothered if there were more people around.
but by traveling by yourself you can slip away as easily as a jewel thief and yet for that same reason you could be captured and not come back and no one would know, and that would be aweful! a lot of people that know you would be sad. I hope that all of your future travels are safe and that by now you probably know how to avoid dangerous situations.
I also think that people in general have the fear of what could happen if something went wrong and that it keeps people from trying new adventures.
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