Solo doesn't mean SOS

Travelling solo, until now, when you hear it from someone still sound surprising to people. For them, holiday is best enjoyed with others. To me, however, travelling solo has been a steady option every time for travel plans. My first solo overseas holiday was not an easy one, a trip to France and Italy. The planning was tedious as it obviously involved applying for Schengen tourist visa, for the first time. Despite that, I went for it and marked the start of my countless travel stories. I saw myself, after, researching for an itinerary for a trip to United Kingdom then another planned holidaying in various countries in Europe and Australia.

Having permanently living now in Sydney for more than 2 years, coming back to Europe or going somewhere outside the Pacific was proven to be costly and believably tiring, even thinking about it, because of long-haul flights. Thus, the much recent holidaying in the Philippines was an obvious choice for me. After spending time with friends in Singapore and with my family in Manila, I grabbed my backpack and flew for a solo trip to Siargao. It was 4 days of bliss, beach and self-reflections. And here's why.

1. Solo trip cultivates self-love. Your focus is you. You own your happiness. You go easy on yourself. You let yourself be you. You recognize you can fail and it is okay. Your own timing and safety matters more than the schedules and itineraries set for the day.

2. Solo trip takes back your independence. You can only rely on yourself on planning everything-- from itinerary, accommodations, transportation, restaurant options etc.

3. Solo trip is braving up from feeling of loneliness. Oftentimes, this is the negative impression for solo travellers, you are lonely and have no one no travel with. Yes, you will feel alone at some point but in those moments that you get to feel that being alone is braving loneliness. That despite having no one with you, you still find joys from what the travel brings and from the good emotions you feel inside you.

4. Solo trip is not selfishness. Solo travellers enjoy company of others as well. However, when your schedules are not working out with your friends despite wanting to travel with them, you choose to go and share them your good experience nonetheless.

5. Solo trip recharges your "soul". You get lots of moments for self-reflections. From mundane things to complex realities. From realisations on how simple life can be to thoughts of how your decades of existence bring value to society. From experiencing how naps, good food, smiles that you give can change your day.

Yes, solo trip is not for everyone. It is true. But it is worth trying. If you end up failing, you always have a back-up option-- your friends, significant other or your family.*wink*