1

Hello there!

So exciting that you're planning a trip!

To address your questions:

1) As a solo traveler, you are actually more approachable (or so I've found). In some places, I've spent a lot of time on my own and in others I was with friends every day. It's important to be comfortable being alone, as sometimes you will be, but I've found that in general if you want to make friends, you can!

A few ways to make friends on the road:

A) Join Couchsurfing.com. Contact locals in the area before you show up. There are usually lots of people who would love to grab a coffee and show you around their city. You'll make new friends and get to experience the city like a local!

B) If you see someone with a hiking backpack, say hello (especially if you hear them speaking your language).

C) Stay in hostels and introduce yourself to your bunkmates and other hostel-goers (hostels aren't just for the early twenties crowd!). Or, if you prefer quieter accommodations, at least stop by the local hostel to get some information about tours/things to do/traveler-friendly spots - and see if you can't find some traveling friends while you're at it.

You can also always ask your friends if they have friends in any of your destinations and meet up with those people.

2) I can't speak from personal experience, but I think these depend on the country and time of year. I believe that in China the general wisdom is to book ahead.

3) If you don't get a great answer from this forum, consider sending an email to a local in each place via Couchsurfing.com and see if they have any insights.

4) Read reviews online to get a feel for the places before you go (even if you don't book ahead, having a list of several hostels will be really nice when you get to a new place tired from a day of travel). Also, consider checking out things like Airbnb.com. Often you can rent a room in someone's house really cheaply. Couchsurfing.com is another great one. Just make sure to read people's references and only stay with people you feel comfortable with.

Feel free to send me a message (or pop over to my blog and email me: gigigriffis.com) if you want to chat. I'm a solo female traveler, so I can totally speak to any concerns in that arena. :)

2

Great response from #1. I'm also a solo female traveler. After one holiday I did when I was 20 with friends, I decided solo travel suited me much more - not because I didn't have fun with my friends but because we were in a bit of a bubble; we just hung out with each other and I didn't meet anyone else!

I find when I travel alone I'm forced to interact with strangers and it makes for a MUCH better trip for me. I think the thing to realise is that sometimes you will be quite alone and won't be 'clicking' with anyone else, and then at other times you'll be meeting heaps of people and making new friends. I find that it comes in waves and I've just learnt to enjoy each wave - I enjoy being alone (knowing it won't last forever!) and then I enjoy having people around.

3) I'm white, so can't really answer your question about discrimination. I have an African friend who travelled to Phuket in Thailand and said he got quite a lot of attention from locals, but all friendly - they were calling him 'brother' etc, and wanted to know how he came to Thailand (since there aren't many African travellers there!) He really enjoyed himself.

I do know that there are Africans in Bangkok who are discriminated against though, mainly by the police. I was involved in supporting a couple of Africans who were trafficked into Thailand and then claimed asylum, which is how I know this. They said they were hassled by the police because black people in Bangkok were assumed to be asylum seekers or illegal immigrants and were definitely not welcome. I would think that could be the case in places like Kuala Lumpur as well. So, in those kind of places (the big cities) I'd consider carrying your travel docs with you at all times.

Hope this has been helpful! GOod luck planning your trip!

Hope this is helpful!

3

Don't worry,you are not old enough for the older travellers branch yet.

At least I hope not...I'm older than you ;-)

4

I'm neither black nor female...but I have travelled quite a lot,and often solo.

As #1 says it is actually easier to meet other people...both other travellers and locals.In most countries the majority of solo travellers are female not male.Many people will talk to you....and you just need to take the chance to talk to them.Staying in dorms(or at least in hostels) is the easiest way to meet fellow backpackers.

There is certainly some element of racial prejudice in many of these countries...but it is not really directed at travellers.I would be very surprised if you had any problems.......

5

I don't think you will experience any overt discrimination. You will be ripped off in Asia but that's the case with all foreigners

6

Yeah i really dont see what your skin colour has to do with anything, half the places your going you probably stand out less than white people. Yeah theres the chance some jerks may discriminate against you just like anyone else of any other colour that might go traveling... is that going to stop you going?

7

1- I will be going on my own and I am a bit worried about feeling lonely and find it difficult to meet up with other people - what is your experience of solo traveling, specially women?

Posters above have already said it all, yes there will be times when you're by yourself but you'll also meet plenty of people. Don't be afraid to go and say hi to people.

2- I am planning some extensive periods of overland travel via trains and buses around India, from Hong Kong to Bali, then from Chili to Brazil, with a stint in Patagonia - is it safe to just plan as I go or would I be better off getting a train/bus pass for the whole journey each time?

This is a topic which comes up a lot, the general advice from those who've travelled extensively is to have a rough plan before you go but be ready to throw that plan away and just go with the flow, leave the details for when you're on the ground. The exceptions are if you're going somewhere during a festival, new year's... or in some places you may need to have things pre-organised (e.g. for the Chinese Visa). But really most of the time just go with the flow.

3- Would I be faced with racism/discrimination? I am planning to visit India, Maldives, Hong Kong, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Bali, NZ, Fiji, Chili, Argentina, Brasil - given how I stick out like a sore thumb everywhere, will I get any trouble from the locals?

I was talking about this with a black friend of mine regarding his experience in SEAsia. He did get a lot of attention but more curiosity rather than outright racism. Certainly there may be some racism/discrimination in these countries, just like in Europe but I don't think it's too bad as you'll be perceived as a tourist first. But yeah, you may have random people touch your skin, just out of curiosity.

4- As I haven't won the lottery yet - I don't play so it won't be any time soon... - I will be backpacking around and stay in hostels/guest houses with the occasional plush hotel when I get fed up with sharing toilets with 15 other people. What should I look out for to separate the doggy places from the safe ones?

You'll find that there are smoe very nice hostels out there and in many hostels/guest houses, you can get a private room with a en suite. In fact industrial hostels seem to be mostly in Europe (perhaps Aus?) elsewhere there are many more intimate places.

Have a great trip

8

Thank you for all your responses already - I only posted this last night!

Seems going solo isn't as crazy an idea as I thought it would be, specially for a girl. I guess I'll just have to get used to people looking and asking questions! I'm not too shy so should be OK to say hi to random people :)

I'm really excited by the idea and also a bit scared - but good scared. I've never being away for so long on my own, hence all the questions but from what i can read, I should survive another day to tell the tale.

Happy days!

9

35 years old and you think you need to be in the Older Travellers group?
Suddenly I feel old. Damn you, sharkdiversl6!
Just kidding. The whole thing will be a piece of cake, but just go with the flow and don't plan so much.

10

Hi!

As an African female (Zimbabwe) I thought I'd respond to point 3.

I have often been the only African person around, especially when I traveled through some parts of Europe, especially Croatia.

In 2010 I went to Bali with my fiancé (Australian, as are many of Bali's tourists). We had never seen anything like it - whenever we'd leave our accommodation, just about every single Indonesian man would pretty much stop and stare at me. I'm used to ignoring people's curious looks, but this was extreme. There was no animosity or aggression, more curiosity and interest. In Indonesia, as with many other parts of the developing world, the women believe it is more desirable to be lighter skinned, so all toiletries have skin lightening ingredients in them, someone said hydrogen peroxide, if you can believe it! In my opinion, this, coupled with the fact that the majority of visitors to Bali are Aussie and European, meant that they hadn't seen many black women. I'd have men asking if I was a surfer etc. it was unnerving at first, but you get used to ignoring all these men who are flat out staring at you!

I'm in Thailand right now - I came across your post when I was planning my trip here. Remembering my Bali experience, I wanted to see if anyone had any insights for me, as I'm here alone for half of my trip - 2 weeks. I was slightly concerned that on my own, especially without my big blond Australian man, I'd be a target of sorts. The places I've been have been fairly busy, and I've just gone about my business. When I was on my own, I couldn't really say if I was being stared at any more than any other 'farang'; however, when I caught up with some Caucasian mates a couple of days ago, they said I am definitely attracting much much more male attention. Again, I haven't felt threatened at all. After my friend's comments, I've been a bit more aware of it, but not uncomfortably so.

However, I do think one guy made baboon noises at me last night! And I went to buy some deodorant but ended up buying a men's brand because all the lady's deodorants say WHITENING across them, same with moisturiser etc, so be aware of that if you need toiletries.

There were a number of black tourists in Bangkok, mainly male though. I'm hoping to get to some quieter regions in Thailand, I'm not concerned.

Don't worry about traveling alone, you'll have a ball.

Enjoy your travels.

11

Thanks for the info RT :)

I have decided to reduce my stay in India to 2wks and spend more time in SE Asia. It seems being a solo female traveler over there is less of an issue than in India. Also being black, so all in all, I'd prefer to be in a place where I will enjoy my stay.

I'm def a lot more relaxed about the whole trip now. I guess there's no time to think about what ifs when i still have to move house in less than a week, buy a backpack, buy my ticket, get visas done, make a rough route from HK to Bali overland,....

Still loads to do!

I can't wait to be in that plane on 1st March :)