The Grand Tour: Convincing People I'm Not Crazy

I'm going travelling for a year. Did you know?

I'm assuming if you've been paying vague attention to the blog that, yes, you probably did have an idea. Friends, colleagues and relatives though... that's another matter.

I went out for a meal with some folks from work a while back and the reactions to me going away though positive were usually followed by the inevitable.

"Are you going on your own?"

Why yes, yes I am going on my own? Why so surprised? Plenty of people go travelling on their own and the angry feminist bit of my brain (most of it) wonders whether my colleagues would have bothered to ask if I was male.

Anyway, here's why I'm not crazy to go off travelling on my own for a year.

1. I'm not an idiot.

I may have an immature streak but I have enough common sense not to go wandering off in the dark through places I don't know.

2. I do my research.

Following on from the above, I do my research before I travel. That doesn't mean my plans won't change when I reach a destination, but I'd hope I know enough about the area to not get into trouble.

3. I speak English...

OK, so I'm relying on the fact that many people all over the world speak English, but I'm hoping this means I'll not have too much difficulty making myself understood.

4. And I'm learning some other languages.

The major non-English-speaking areas I'm visiting are Peru and Chile, so I'm making the effort to learn at least basic conversational Spanish. I'm also brushing up on my existing French and German for when I get to Europe and am considering learning a few words of Khmer for Cambodia.

5. I track everything.

Basically, I am my father's daughter. Dad's an accountant and I've got into the habit of keeping track of everything I spend while away so that I know if I'm going to have cash problems. Hasn't happened yet. Likelihood is that I'm not going to end up stranded in the middle of Australia having blown my budget.

6. I'm a fairly friendly person.

I'd like to think I'm the type of person who people wouldn't mind pointing towards the bus station. Because I'm bound to get lost at some point.

7. I've done this before.

On a much smaller scale and in a slightly different context, but I went out to Australia to study for a year, on my own, not knowing anyone when I got there. It was amazing.

See, I'll be fine. But I'm going to leave this here for concerned friends/relatives/colleagues just in case. The thing is, I keep being told by others that they could never do something like this. And I wonder whether it's a lack of motivation (job, family, house tying them down) or if they're genuinely scared of going away on their own.

I'm not brave. There's plenty of things scare the bejesus out of me, but travel isn't one of them. Travel is an adventure. Not something to be scared of.

Have you gone travelling alone? What would you say to convince people you weren't crazy?