This is my first post ever. Nothing fancy. Nothing elaborate.
Here goes.
This summer I got a chance to go on my first ever solo trip. I have travelled places with friends and family. But alone, never. After I started my trip, the first question I asked myself was - "Why hadnt I travelled solo all these years ? Who was I waiting for !" I was amazed by how much fun traveling alone turned out to be. Don't get me wrong. I am not the sorts to always be surrounded by people. I am both. I like to be by myself and read a book(or two). And I am also a total extrovert. Doesn't take me very long to say hi to someone. But traveling alone? I mean you need at least one more person to travel with, don't you?
NOOO. The first thing I realized when I got there was that it's so so easy to make friends when you are open to the idea of making new friends, and are living in a hostel.
BUT, selecting a good hostel is a priority if you are traveling alone. You MUST go for a hostel which has atleast 300-600 amazing reviews. And you MUST go through atleast 20 of them that say it's great to meet people here.
When I got to Munich - which was my first stop, I had booked a hostel which had okay reviews. For me, all that mattered was that the reviews should mention it's a "clean" hostel. Huge mistake booking that one. It was the "4you hostel" which basically dint have an age limit. So people ranging from age 10 to 60 could be found there. When you are travelling alone, you want to make sure you are surrounded by similar aged people. Make sure you book a hostel which mentions that they don't take people over 35 or 45.
Anyway. So I was quite bummed and on my first day I thought to myself "did I make the right decision coming alone?" "Is my entire trip going to be like this?" :/
Then I met Johannes! We were in the same dorm and we got to talking. Johannes was the sweetest and he was the perfect first person I could've talked to. He had travelled for almost a year and was finally heading back home. He taught me a little german - basic stuff to help me be polite, he also told me not to get disheartened since this hostel wasn't that great and I will definitely be making a lot of friends along the way and having amazing experiences. He made me a lot more confident about me traveling alone and I slept feeling much much better about my trip than I did when I first arrived. The next day was going to be awesome!
-xx-
Aashka
P.S. There is an unspoken bond between travelers. It's the love for traveling ! ❤️
