This Is Why Every Girl Needs A Solo Trip In Her Life
Have you ever spotted a lone woman by the bar, sipping on a whiskey and wondered: “is she really here on her own?”. If you just nodded at that, well, time for a 2021 update. Yes, some people find it hard to believe that plenty of women enjoy their own company. No, it is not impossible. While it might come as a shock to someone who needs someone to eat all their meals with, the person enjoying their own company doesn’t necessarily need your pity!
Indian women, doesn’t matter if they are working or not, find themselves in a cacophony of work, family, society and all the oppressing notions they come with. Workplaces support time off only when there is a pressing need, and there is no real time off from household responsibilities. If women get lucky, stepping away from family time for yourself is considered a luxury, but mostly looked down upon. Questions like “who will take care of the next week’s meeting”, “who will feed the kids”, “who will take care of husband’s meals while you’re gone”, “what will neighbours think when we say the family is still in town while you flew out” and many more come bombarding their way.
There’s also the debatable question of safety that looms above all our heads. A valid concern but totally fixable too. Regulars suggest take stock of where you’d be going and things you need to keep in mind - measures such as ensuring someone back home knows where you’d be staying, your SOS numbers punched into your diary, carrying things such as a torch, a pepper spray, reading area guides for where you’d be heading. All this taken into account, the whole experience can go from sketchy to empowering. Here’s how:
You make no compromises
Travelling by yourself gives you the freedom to do anything AND everything on your list. Want to stay in? No one will be wiser. Want to step out for an art walk? No cribbing from anyone. Travelling becomes liberated from any compromise that you may have to make to accommodate others’ ideas, interests or lack thereof. No pun intended. Pick a resort or share a dorm with a bunch of strangers, no questions asked. Just grab your bags and set out to do what pleases you!
Your chance to indulge in selfcare
Another win when travelling solo is indulging in physical and mental selfcare. You finally find the time to step away from the gadgets and outside your life to focus on your mind, body and emotions. In our personal and professional lives, we often succumb to taking charge for everyone - familia, friends and foes (stress, tasks). This is the right opportunity to step into a care bubble for all your needs that have been on the back burner. Book that all day spa, drink mimosas by the pool, read a book, jump into the sea, hike your way to a hill top or all of above.
You learn to embrace the new
When was the last time you could step out of your usual circle of work, family, social life and do something unusual? Something you thought was fun? Can’t remember? Well, that’s what a busy schedule does to you. With no one else to seek a go-ahead from, you can pick something new and start a new hobby or simply learn a new craft.
You finally tune out the noise
Family, kids, work deadlines, work calls, more calls, emails, meal preps - modern lives are a constant buzz of activity and chores. Give yourself the luxury of time and days that do not have you chase your kid around the house, team mates for their work or spouse over a shared workload. Pick an annual down time for yourself and tune out for a complete digital detox. No matter how much you love your life, it’s important to step away from it.
You’re finally going with the flow
Don’t know what you want or where to begin? Fret not. Hire an expert or crawl the million guides and choose a curated experience. This will take the load off you to plan something and give you an avenue to just unlearn task management, planners and anything that keeps you in control all the time. Go with the flow of a team of experts who understand your vacation goals and needs and help you enjoy your break better.
You get to realign with yourself
Women find it particularly easy to forget about themselves as they navigate their hectic lives. A solo-trip gives you time to sit yourself down and have a chat minus any external factor or person to deviate you from your path and/or plan. For all the crossroad moments and tough life decisions, a solo trip is sometimes the best remedy. Leave behind toxic emotions or excessive stress and focus on your next move and a fresh beginning. Best done by choosing some valuable chill time by yourself.
The sweet taste of empowerment
Once you do it, all by yourself. You are going to be exhilarated to no ends. For all the nosey aunties and grouchy naysayers who bring forth all the reasons not to be by yourself on a vacation – this amazing combination of experience, confidence and achievement is the answer. There will be a profound sense of independence and wanderlust that push you to do this more often and come back with stories that will live a lifetime!
While you choose how and when you’ll take this trip, we all must encourage women around us to do the same. Tell your friends, cousins, mothers, everyone to try and take some time out. Help them plan, execute and experience this for themselves. It enables and empowers more women to take the step as well as demystifies the brouhaha around solo travelling.
(Edited by Neha Baid)
