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Not Your Average Gal

Not Your Average Gal

Copywriter. Content Creator. Constant Sassypants.

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Australia-Oceania

Solo Travel: Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway

October 21, 2017 By Caroline Peterson

As a child, I was painfully shy. I can’t emphasize the word painfully enough. I stuck to my mom’s side so closely when we were out running errands that she would often accidentally step on me, or I would step on her shoes because I was tagging so closely behind. Once you got to know me, I was a bright, outgoing kid, with a cheeky sense of humor. But the outside world, with strangers and the chance of messing up and embarrassing myself? It petrified me.

Well, that grown up kid flew to Spain alone, met up with buddies, then explored Lisbon, Portugal by herself. About a year later, she hopped on a 10 hour flight from Auckland, New Zealand and flew to Hong Kong to explore the city alone, capping off a 12-day trip to Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. When I do travel with the hubster, he understands when I say I’m getting up early to snap some pics and grab a coffee alone.

There’s something soul-satisfying about traveling alone. I fully believe everyone should travel solo at least once in their lives.

Solo Travel: Feel The Fear and Do it Anyway
Lisbon, Portugal
Solo Travel: Feel The Fear and Do it Anyway
Barcelona, Spain

 

Fun fact: You will get scared.

There’s scene in the movie The Good Dinosaur where Butch, a T-Rex, and Arlo, a Brontosaurus, have a heartwarming exchange. What? Save your judgement for later. It’s a good flick! Arlo tells Butch he must not be scared because he stands up to bigger dinosaurs. Butch sort of laughs and replies in only the way someone with more experience can, “If you ain't scared, you ain't alive.”

I was so nervous stepping outside of my hotel in Lisbon, Portugal that I delayed it by a solid hour just moseying around my hotel room. I FaceTimed the hubby. I redid my hair. I double checked the bus schedule. I knew what I was doing, but I was scared.

Solo Travel: Feel The Fear and Do it Anyway

Solo Travel: Feel The Fear and Do it Anyway
Lisbon, Portugal

 

When you travel solo in a foreign country, you’re the one with the accent. When you’re the only blonde or western looking person in the bunch, you feel like the spotlight is on you. (The hubster and I were stopped twice in South Korea to have our pictures taken with total strangers.) Everything feels magnified. More often than not, though, people are more willing to help, or chat with you, or take your picture if they know you’re a tourist. They want to show off their little corner of the world, so they will be friendly. Feeling the fear and doing it anyway is essential to learning more about one another.

Some bloggers come across like they are fearless. They aren’t. They are just as nervous and fearful as the next normal person; don’t let the pretty pictures and captions convince you otherwise.

And you know what? In those first few heart-pounding moments alone, when you step outside your hotel, or off the subway or out of the taxi, you will be overflowing with a breathtaking, finger-tingling sense of being alive.

Cause, “If you ain't scared, you ain't alive.”

Solo Travel: Feel The Fear and Do it Anyway

Solo Travel: Feel The Fear and Do it Anyway
Hong Kong

 

You will do something embarrassing, and you’ll survive.

While in Hong Kong I took a food tour with Hello Hong Kong that would give even the snobbiest foodie wet dreams. It was magical. I finished the tour not only with a full belly, but also feeling inspired. I learned so much about the ins-and-outs of Hong Kong. I was staying at hotel in Kowloon, across the bay from Hong Kong Island where the tour started. In the morning, instead of taking the famous Star Ferry across the bay, I just took a taxi to get to the tour because I had just arrived the day before and wanted to get my bearings.

My friendly tour guide, Michael, walked with me back to the subway as he hopped on a train to get home and he pointed me to the ferry docks, right along the way for me to take the Star Ferry to my hotel. I must have misunderstood where the Star Ferry was located, as there are plenty of ferries that take you elsewhere around Hong Kong. I waited at a the wrong dock for probably a solid 45 minutes. I was completely alone, except for a few locals eating lunch that probably wondered what the hell this blonde chick was doing, standing alone, looking at her feet.

In the amount of time that I waited, the Star Ferry probably came and went 3 separate times (it’s a quick ride) before I decided to question whether or not I was in the right place. Duh, Caroline. I definitely wasn’t. I was flustered and embarrassed as I walked around the ferry terminal trying to figure out where the hell I was and which ferry to take. I could see my hotel across the bay—son of a nutcracker! I finally found where I was supposed to be going-the signage doesn’t always have English options-and bumped into a couple I heard speaking English. They were from Florida too! We chatted and I quickly forgot about my embarrassing 1 hour+ wasted. In fact, I ran into that friendly couple in the airport lounge on my way home. Serendipity.

Solo Travel: Feel The Fear and Do it Anyway

My favorite embarrassing story though was when I did a hop-on hop-off tour in Lisbon, Portugal. It started pouring, so I moseyed my way downstairs on the double decker bus and found the only empty seat next to an elderly woman who didn’t speak a lick of English. I know this because she pointed at the headphone jack for your cheap-o headphones to listen to the tour in your chosen language, and waved it away saying she didn’t want to use it.

So I just listened to the tour in my headphone jack, but in the meantime a British couple had joined the tour and with nowhere to sit, they just stood in the aisle chatting quietly with each other. As you know if you’re a reader here, I love all things British. This couple could have read me bedtime stories and I would have died happy.

They mentioned that they’d like to hear the actual tour, but with no seats available, they didn’t have a headphone jack. So I politely told them that they could just listen with the extra spot we had available in our row. Except I said it WITH A FULL-ON ENGLISH ACCENT. I don’t know where it came from, guys. I just, spit it out like I was full-fledged Brit who had just downed a pint and bangers and mash at lunch. I worried the entire time they would ask me where I was from, so much so that I got off the bus a stop early!

Solo Travel: Feel The Fear and Do it Anyway

Solo Travel: Feel The Fear and Do it Anyway
Hop-on, Hop-off Tours for the win!

 

You’re bound to do something embarrassing or be in an embarrassing situation while traveling, because it’s not home. It’s not your culture. It’s not your everyday life. Great news though, you’ll most likely never see these people again!

When in doubt, simply ask.

Learning how to ask if someone can speak English in the local language, is key. Lost? No signs in English? Look for a friendly face, smile and say “English?” You will find the more you travel, the better equipped you are to assess who to ask and who to avoid. More often than not, people are far more kind than you assume.

Making use of your hotel concierge or AirBnb host does wonders too! Explain you’re alone and they’ll be happy to provide you options of where to go and where to avoid.

Another awesome option I’ve used is to explore is Trip Advisor or Facebook groups. I usually look for what the best walking or food tour is in the area. I’ve met, hands down, the friendliest people on my food tours. Some have invited me out to gamble with them the next day on the island of Macau, some have met up with me at a bar later and some I’ve emailed afterwards.

Solo Travel: Feel The Fear and Do it Anyway Solo Travel: Feel The Fear and Do it Anyway

While not totally my jam when traveling alone, I know a ton of people who swear by going to a bar each night as a solo traveler. Bartenders are always willing to chat, most likely speak English and can usually, and accurately, tell you where to avoid going when you leave their bar.

I popped into a pub near my hotel when I arrived in Sydney, Australia. I was waiting for my friends to arrive the next day and just explored The Rocks area of Sydney by myself. At the pub, I ordered a cider for my jet lagged self and sort of stared into space, while readjusting my bar stool awkwardly several times. The bartender most definitely took pity on me, sitting by myself, on a Friday, during happy hour as most people were getting off work and meeting up with friends. She offered a warm smile, explained what food was good to order and talked to me a bit about the local cider I was drinking. That was it. That was all that was needed to calm my nerves. So I definitely get why people often say belly up to the bar as a solo traveler.

Solitude is good for the soul.

How many times a week or, heck, even a day do you say to yourself, “I just need time to think!” The hustle of our everyday grind is wearing on our souls. I am 100% not impressed with people who proudly wear a badge of honor that they’ve worked so hard they barely have time to piss (or call their wives or see their kids). It’s not impressive – it’s actually embarrassing our culture admires it.

Solo travel offers the solitude your mind needs. One of my favorite things in the entire world is quietly walking around a new city, camera in hand, shit-eating grin on my face, snapping photographs of everyday life in another culture. It’s almost a zen-like experience.

Solo Travel: Feel The Fear and Do it Anyway Solo Travel: Feel The Fear and Do it Anyway Solo Travel: Feel The Fear and Do it Anyway

Your inner namaste may be something different on your solo travel adventures. Here are few other things I’ve done: Sat by the beach reading a trashy book. Gone for a run early enough that the city is just waking up. Treated myself to a social-media-free dinner where I just sat…and ate. (Imagine that?) Shopped for the perfect Christmas gift along rows of sellers at local markets. Took a “junk boat” cruise (a type of ancient Chinese sailing ship) and sat quietly taking in the sites and sounds.

Solo Travel: Feel The Fear and Do it Anyway

You should travel solo at least once in your life.

When people ask why I go on solo adventures, my retort usually is, “Why not?” But for those who need a bit more than a sarcastic response, hear me out.

The confidence gained when traveling solo is life changing. And I don’t say that flippantly. When you get back from traveling alone, and life throws you the inevitable curve ball, you know you can handle it like a champ. For fucks sake, you just got back from a trip where you were lost and asked twice by a stranger if you wanted to “Smok-ah the marijuan-ah?” (I pretended I didn’t understand, Dad.)

You learn you can depend on yourself. No more asking for validation if your choice is correct. No more debating over making the wrong decision. It’s up to you and you alone, and you learn that you’re pretty darn capable of handling it all and depending on yourself.

Solo Travel: Feel The Fear and Do it Anyway
Morning run in Sydney, Australia
Solo Travel: Feel The Fear and Do it Anyway
A temple my concierge suggested in Hong Kong

 

When you travel alone, you’re keenly aware of your surroundings that you may otherwise miss with a group or travel buddy by your side. The hubster bought me a “Field Notes” notebook to take notes during my adventures. Looking back on them, I wrote the most incredible details that I probably would have missed or otherwise forgotten. As a solo traveler, you’re somewhat forced to pay attention to these minute details and human interactions. As an armchair sociologist, I love that!

If you’re scared, it’s okay. (Read above.)

If you claim you have no where to go, I shall throw an atlas in you general direction.

If you don’t have the money, utilize travel hacking as I have.

You don’t have to go to extremes and travel to Hong Kong (ah-hem), you can take a weekend trip nearby at a hotel or AirBnb.

You can take baby steps too. Next time you’re on vacation, go visit a museum alone. Go get coffee and sit in a park alone. Tell your hubby and kids mama wants to see the Target in that area and run free down the aisles!

You can do this! I promise.

Feel the fear and do it anyway.

 

Share your stories! Have you ever traveled (near or far) on your own? What did you love or hate about it?

Pin me!

 


Get some more solo travel inspiration from my favorite kind of Not Your Average Gals:

Adventures Around Asia

 

Young Adventuress

 

Be My Travel Muse

Filed Under: Australia, Hong Kong, Travel

Hotels: How I Stayed in Fancy Hotels for 10 Nights for Under $400

January 13, 2016 By Caroline Peterson

I should have spent over $4,500 to stay in the hotels I fell asleep in during a wine-induced haze. But I spent less than $400. How? Take a looksie.

This is a series of Trip Reports where I'll breakdown the costs associated with airfare and hotels and how I pay for a significant portion of it with miles and points, like I did recently to Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong.

Airfare: How I Flew In Business Class To Australia, New Zealand And Hong Kong For Under $100

So how did I stay in some fancy schmancy hotels for less 8% of what they cost?

What it cost:

Park Hyatt Sydney:
4 nights – 2 free-night certificates + 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points = FREE
Waiheke Island, New Zealand AirBnb:
2 nights = $127/per person
Rydges Auckland hotel:
1 night – AMEX Membership Rewards = FREE
Intercontinental Hong Kong:
3 nights - 150,000 IHG points + I upgraded at check-in and paid $80/night =$240
Total: $367

Brush up on The Basics of Earning Miles and Points, so you know how travel hacking works. Obviously, I spent some time sleeping overnight on planes during this 2 week vacation, but that wasn’t a problem because I flew in business class like a boss. (Did that sound as badass as I wanted it to? Good.)

What it should have cost:

Sydney Park Hyatt City Harbour View Room
Just a normal view from my balcony…

 

Sydney Park Hyatt: Park King (upgraded to City Harbour King due to my Hyatt Platinum status)

I used my 2 free night certificates I received after meeting the minimum spend on my Hyatt credit card. Plus, I transferred Ultimate Rewards Points to Hyatt for the remainder of the stay. Currently, this my most favorite hotel redemption so far. It was a spectacular hotel.

$941 AUD/night x 4 nights = $2,648.91 USD

 

Waiheke Island AirBnb
I was okay waking up here everyday.

 

Waiheke Island, New Zealand AirBnb: You know, a house.

This is sort of a no-brainer. $381 split between 3 wine-loving gals = bundles of New Zealand fun.

$381 USD

 

Screen Shot 2016-01-13 at 07.37.36
Source

 

Rydges Auckland hotel: Standard Double Room

My friend used her American Express Membership Rewards points to stay in this hotel overnight before we took off on separate paths for the remainder of our vacations. Plus, it was one of the few hotel rooms that had 2 double beds. Bizarre, right?

$264 NZD/night x 1 night = $173.68 USD

 

Intercontinental Hong Kong Harbour View Room
Harbour View Room of the stunning Hong Kong skyline. Light show every night!

 

Intercontinental Hong Kong: Harbour View Room

I used my IHG points that I accumulated through meeting the minimum spend on my Chase IHG credit card, as well as earning bonus points for being a Spire Elite (one of the statuses in their hotel program). In the end, I don’t regret paying cash to upgrade to a Harbour View room, but truth be told, I should have pushed the front desk staff more to get it for free. Even though I’m a Spire Elite (the highest status), I was just too nervous to come across as pushy. Oh well, lesson learned. In the end I only paid $240 for room that should have cost me over $1400. I’d call that a win!

$3,700 HKD/night x 3 nights = $1,430.37 USD
Total: $4,633.96

 

You can read more about my favorite credit cards to use  and decide for yourself which programs make the most sense for you. For this 2 week vacation, I’d say I did pretty dang good for the hotels.

If I were backpacking through Southeast Asia, using my points probably wouldn’t make as much sense since rooms cost $15.

It’s all in how you want to work your points for your needs. Sometimes people feel an obligation to stay at the best hotel for the best points redemption value and sure, that’s great and all, but in the end it’s what you need at that time and if it wasn’t the very best value, so what? You still got a great deal most likely!

In an upcoming post I’ll share the travel costs I paid out of pocket and the grand total associated with that. You’ll probably be surprised.

Filed Under: Australia, Australia-Oceania, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Travel, Travel Hacking

Airfare: How I Flew in Business Class to Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong for Under $100

January 8, 2016 By Caroline Peterson

The biggest costs to any trip are usually airfare and hotels. So how in the world did I fly three 10+ hours flights, all in business class for under $100? Let me show you.

This is the first part in a series of Trip Reports where I’ll breakdown the costs associated with airfare and hotels and how I pay for a significant portion of it with miles and points, like I did recently to Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong.

So how did I fly in glorious business/first class for under $100?

Here’s how:

LAX – SYD: Virgin Australia Business Class – 80,000 Delta Miles + $37.10 tax
AKL – HKG: Cathay Pacific Business Class – 30,000 American Miles + $20.90 tax
HKG – JFK: Asiana Airlines Business Class – 80,000 United Miles + $41.60 tax
Total: $99.60

I’m sure you’ve read up on The Basics of Earning Miles and Points, so you’re well versed in travel hacking, right? Obviously, staying at hotels and flying will earn you hotel and airline miles, but for those of us who aren’t jetsetting 24/7 just for funzies, travel hacking works.

I used Delta Skymiles that I’ve earned by flying with them for years, as well as miles earned on my Platinum Delta America Express to book a Virgin Australia business class ticket. Virgin Australia is a partner of Delta and easily bookable online on Delta.com.

Business Class in Virgin Australia...with, you know, a bar.
Business Class in Virgin Australia…with, you know, a bar.

 

I used American miles that I earned simply by meeting the minimum spend with the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select card and AAdvantage Aviator card (formerly theThe US Airways Premier World MasterCard). Cathay Pacific is a OneWorld partner and was booked through American Airlines.

Note the headline on The Wall Street Journal...what shadow? From my stretched legs on Cathay Pacific?
Note the headline on The Wall Street Journal…what shadow? From my stretched legs on Cathay Pacific?

 

I used United miles that I earned through both my United MileagePlus Explorer card and my Chase Sapphire credit card to book on Asiana Airlines, which is a Star Alliance partner. You can easily transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to United miles and book from there.

It was my own little apartment.
It was my own little apartment on Asiana.

 

As I mentioned previously, I utilized a great company to help me find my Cathay Pacific and Asiana Airlines flights. There was a $200 fee associated with it that I felt was well worth it, since I was flying around the holidays and Australia/New Zealand are notoriously hard award ticket routes. I could have booked all of these flights, meaning there wasn’t some special pricing I got by knowing a hidden website or password. I just didn’t know where to look and that’s where PointsPros helped me out. I highly recommend them and may post about my experience in the future.

Additionally, I also had to get to LAX, fly between SYD and AUK, as well as, you know, get home to FLL, so there were tickets that I paid for out of pocket that I will lay out for you in the final total of costs for a 2 week trip. Hint: All total, including hotels, was under $1500.

Do I have your attention now?

*maniacally raises eyebrows*

Still think travel is too expensive for you? Nah. With minimum effort and a lot of organization, you can easily travel in business class on three 10+ hour flights, for under $100.

Stay tuned to see how little I spent on hotels for this trip.

Filed Under: Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Travel Hacking

Thoughts Before I Embark on my First Solo Travel Trip

December 3, 2015 By Caroline Peterson

I woke up the other night in a panic. I was in my own bed, but the thoughts raced, “What am I going to do in this new city tomorrow?”

The hubster has been has been away on a rural clinical rotation in the middle of Florida for 2 months. During the week, I’m sleeping alone. Don’t feel sorry for me, it’s a new king-sized bed and I sprawl out in the middle with my ginger kitty smack-dab next to me, while I’m wearing my Spice Girls tshirt and no pants.

Ah, the life.

But as I was going to bed that night, the thought struck me that I would be doing the same in less than a few weeks, alone, in a new city, on the other side of the earth, in a foreign place that didn’t speak my language. I brushed it off and went to sleep.

Clearly, the thoughts stayed around for my dreams.

I know myself. I’m a bit more anxiety-driven than most. It’s certainly improved over the years, but there are moments that I do tomorrow’s dishes and cause unnecessary worry. I think part of the reason I haven’t thought of traveling solo to Hong Kong much was because I knew if I did, I’d start worrying.

What if my debit card doesn’t work and gets eaten by the ATM and then I’m left with no access to Hong Kong Dollars while I’m there, so I have to resort to selling my body to earn dolla dolla bills to pay for some dim sum from a street food vendor?

See? I’m crazy.

Lisbon, touring alone after the gals left.
Lisbon, touring alone after the gals left.

I put together an excel spreadsheet of possible things to do while I’m in Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. I sent it off the floozies I’m traveling with in Australia and New Zealand. I haven’t gotten a response yet (when this was written). Most likely because they’re thinking:

THIS CHICK IS NUTS.

In most instances, when traveling, I’m over-prepared. I like to know options of things to do, I want to know the layout of the city, I scout out reviews on TripAdvisor of the best room with a view. But, I learned pretty quickly after having to cancel out trip to Southeast Asia this past summer, that looking too much into things can set up high expectations.

Canceling our trip was a gut check.

I haven’t done a ton of investigating for this upcoming trip besides putting together the options of things to do.

Nothing is planned in regards to what is going on for certain days, really at all.

I’m on a flight to Detroit, heading back for the holidays, and I’m getting a quick glimpse into what I’ll be doing for hours on end while alone on a plane. (Get prepared for a backlog of posts, peeps!)

Hollywood Beach
Hollywood Beach

 

Yes, I’m actually currently flying with the hubster, but he’s back in coach.

Yes, I’m for real.

Yes, it’s hysterical to say that.

But, real talk. This is what it will be like for me while I fly alone to Australia (15 hours), then to Hong Kong (10 hours) and back to the US from South Korea (14 hours).

Let’s not kid ourselves, (okay, the 2nd 3rd glass of wine is kicking in…) having my laptop open, listening to my tunes (Phil Collins – In The Air Tonight) while writing at 30,000 feet without any interruption besides the beautifully dotted night landscape of the land below is the bomb.

Shouldn’t say bomb on a plane.

Lock it up, C9.

I know I can do this solo travel thing. I’m a pretty friggin’ adaptable gal. I mean, I learned pretty quickly that even in South Florida I needed to bring a jacket into a restaurant to acclimate myself the the nauseatingly cold A/C that blasts from the ceiling.

Once I push through feeling uncomfortable, I will have some monumental learning experiences. That’s the logic speaking. Now if I could just tell my anxious head to buck up, I’d be set!

Any tips for me? What would you do along in a major metropolis (besides buy cute scarves and jewelry — that’s a given)?

Filed Under: Asia, Australia, Australia-Oceania, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Travel

Destination Revealed: Where I’m Going

September 27, 2015 By Caroline Peterson

I’ll describe how the process went once I finally decided that traveling would need to be done solo this time.

  1. Ask readers where I should go.
  2. Contemplate super expensive European destinations.
  3. Look over super expensive group tours.
  4. Ask your dad to go with you. (He said, “No.”)
  5. Sit on the decision for many weeks as life gets hectic.
  6. Remind yourself that you have plenty of miles and points to make this cheap.
  7. Remind yourself that you have girlfriends going to Australia in December.
  8. Contemplate wanting to travel alone vs. with friends.
  9. Remind yourself you can have the best of both worlds!
  10. Book a flight to meet up with said friends and stop somewhere solo on the way back.

Boom. Nailed it.

I will be traveling to meet up with some awesome gal pals who already had their destinations chosen and arranged. These are the same floozies I went with to Spain and Portugal last year. Term of endearment, I swear.

Lisbon, Portugal
I’ll meet them in Australia and from there, we’ll go to New Zealand. On my way home, I’m going to make a small stopover in Hong Kong. No biggie.

That's 26,307 miles I'll be flying.
That’s 26,307 miles I’ll be flying.

 

"MC Sydney Opera House" by Christian Mehlführer, User:Chmehl - Own work. Licensed under CC BY 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons.
“MC Sydney Opera House” by Christian Mehlführer, User:Chmehl – Own work. Licensed under CC BY 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons.

Australia

I’m flying into Sydney a day before the girls get there. Since it’s on the edge of high-season in Australia, it was one of the last few days that week where I could snag a good deal with miles. I’m flying business class on Virgin Australia all by my lonesome. (I know, woe is me.) But I really wanted my first lie-flat international experience to be with the hubster. That sounded way more naughty than I intended. But, such is the lack of flexibility with that minor thing called med school.

I’ll spend the first day exploring Sydney. Read: Taking multiple selfies in front of the Sydney Opera House. Once the girls arrive the next day, we’ll cause trouble around Sydney for a few days.

 

"Skyline (7187438034)" by Simon_sees from Australia - SkylineUploaded by russavia. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
“Skyline (7187438034)” by Simon_sees from Australia – SkylineUploaded by russavia. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

New Zealand

I used an agency to help me find the rest of the flights using miles and points because 1) I was spending too much time on my own without many respectable options and 2) The use of my points was ending up to be a poor value because it was around the holidays and high-season in Australia. Meaning, I wasn’t about to drop 150,000 miles for a one-way ticket somewhere when I knew there were better deals.

Cue to New Zealand.

I mentioned to the agency (I’ll write about the experience in another post — highly recommend) that my girlfriends were also going to New Zealand as well and if there were better options from there, I can adjust my sails for New Zealand. I wasn’t necessarily planning on going to New Zealand at all.

Well, they found an awesome deal out of Auckland, New Zealand that I couldn’t pass up and hence, I’m going to New Zealand with the gals. My girlfriends are awesome and flexible and also didn’t have anything planned…so they hadn’t even chosen when they’d be in NZ yet. With a good deal on my flight, they gave me the thumbs up and said we could set out for NZ after a few days in Sydney. We’ll be in Auckland for a few days.

I’m flying out of Auckland in Cathay Pacific business class on a 10 hour flight for a solo trip to…

 

"Hong Kong Skyline Restitch - Dec 2007" by Diliff - Own work. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
“Hong Kong Skyline Restitch – Dec 2007” by Diliff – Own work. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Hong Kong

I ultimately knew wanted to get to back to Asia and now is my opportunity. I explored options in Kuala Lumpur, Taipei and Tokyo before ultimately deciding on Hong Kong. The fact that it will still be relatively warm in Hong Kong is what sealed the deal for me.

Oh and dumplings. *omgicantwaitfordumplings*

I’m staying at a hotel on points near where all the action is, based off the advice of a coworker that used to live there. I’m both excited and scared to explore alone. I know I’ll be fine. Hong Kong used to be a British Commonwealth, so, from what I heard, it’s relatively easy to get around only knowing English. Perfect for my first truly solo trip.

I’m flying back to the states, via Seoul, South Korea, in business class on Asiana airlines. Again, all on miles and points.

I am so excited that I can hardly contain myself! Traveling is all about prioritizing and leveraging what you want to do, so you can make it happen. And I am! I can’t wait to share more with you guys.

(Also, a big congratulations to Kim and Katie who were the first to guess correctly about where I’m going on this trip. I’ll be bringing back something fun for you gals!)

What do you think?
Have you ever been to Australia, New Zealand or Hong Kong?
Any suggestions for me? I’m all ears!

Filed Under: Asia, Australia, Australia-Oceania, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Travel

Where to go Solo?

July 19, 2015 By Caroline Peterson

Solo travel. I’m doing it.

Perhaps.

Maybe.

(I knooooow.)

I’ve learned recently that I probably shouldn’t plan for things expecting them to happen. It’s most likely a result of having to cancel our recent trip to Southeast Asia, but either way, I’m apprehensive about saying I’ll “for sure” do something.

With some extra PTO in my bucket, I’d like to plan a little getaway. A much needed getaway, more specifically. Medical school prevents the hubster from traveling with me and most people I know aren’t willing to travel as far and as much as I’d like. Which is totally okay, I’m just not willing to wait for that day to come.

I’ve always deeply admired those gals who just head out for solo travel adventures. These women have shown me that solo travel doesn’t have to be so intimidating. Read Be My Travel Muse and Adventures Around Asia for some rockin’ inspiration.

I do have super fun, close girlfriends (the same ones I went to Spain and Portugal with last year) who are going to Australia in December. How fun! I’m looking into the logistics of it and haven’t totally thrown the idea out.

A morning alone in Barcelona, Spain.
A morning alone exploring in Barcelona, Spain.

 

But something is nagging at me a bit.
A sort of feeling that says it knows better.
A little voice that says:

Go alone.

I’m not totally sure why. Perhaps this is the sort of time and reflection I need after an emotional couple months and an incredibly intense few years?

Couple nights alone in Lisbon, Portugal
Couple nights alone in Lisbon, Portugal

 

I’ve traveled alone in the sense that I’ve flown to far off places alone, even spending days waiting for another person’s arrival. I lived in London alone for a month finishing up an internship, but I had already been there for months prior and well, London is essentially like another home to me. I knew it well at that point. While in London, my flatmates and I had the opportunity to travel to different countries for the weekend (I love how easy that is to do in Europe) and I remember one time saying that I’d just go alone if no one wanted to come. They ended up coming and I was secretly relieved.

I haven’t specifically gone somewhere with the intention of traveling solo the entire time.

It’s a thought that both excites and scares the shit out of me.

So, basically, I know I’ve got to do it at some point. So why not now? If time, price and logistics work out…this Florida gal is heading out of town…alone.

So where should I go solo? 

This is where I love to reach out to my readers and ask their suggestions, just as I did when you helped us choose our next adventure earlier this year. You rocked it out with recommendations.

First, a few caveats:

  • My preference is Central Europe, Eastern Europe and Central America. Am I open to other suggestions? Absolutely. With the miles and points I have in my accounts, those are the options I feel comfortable with for getting the best bang for my buck.
  • I may do a tour with a group of like-minded travelers. Do you have any groups or companies you’ve toured with that you’d recommend?
  • I’d like at least one city that’s a bit off the beaten path, but mainly will keep it to well traveled locations.
  • I’m looking towards travel for early fall. My blood has thinned and the thought of being around snow doesn’t warm my heart. (You are absolutely allowed to call me a wimp. I’ve officially lost my 23 years of Michigan winters street cred.)

If you are traveling or live in any of those areas and want to meet up for a couple days or even just a beer, let me know!

Let the suggestions begin below. Where should I go solo?

Filed Under: Australia, Australia-Oceania, Europe, New Zealand, Travel, Travel Hacking

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