Solo Travel: Anxious Relatives

My nanna tried to guilt trip me...

I've been fortunate over the last 18 months that, while a few folks have been worried about me going travelling alone, no one has yet tried to stop me from going. Well, apart from my dad telling me I'm not allowed to go to Fairbanks, Alaska because of the crime rate and to be fair, I agreed.

Someone, though, has let slip to my nanna that I'm going travelling. Alone. For a year. My nanna worries about everything. So I hadn't planned on telling her until just before I left (if at all) to save on the inevitable worry. But hey, someone spilled the beans and so when I saw her a couple of weeks ago she started with: "Are you still going travelling?"

To which, of course, my answer was yes. This was followed by the classic: "I thought you might have changed your mind."

Yes, Nanna, I've booked flights and hostels and been stuck full of vaccinations, but of course, I'll just change my mind.

This is both adorable and frustrating, because I know that every time I go to see her up until I leave I'm going to get another attempt from her at talking me out of it. So far I've been proved right - every week since then I've been asked if I'm still going. This week it was "you won't change your mind? Not even for me?" No. But the best one was this little gem from the first week she asked me.

"I might not be here when you get back."

My nanna is in her 80s. And now she's trying to guilt trip me with it. This is precisely why I hadn't told her I was going. So I'm going to come up with a few reasons why she shouldn't be worrying. Not that I think it will work, but there's no harm in trying.

1. I am not going anywhere especially dangerous

My grandad wanted to know if I'm going to the Middle East (although the way he phrased it was rather more older-generation-racist). Don't worry, Grandad. I'm not going anywhere with terrorists as far as I can help it. I do have a bit of an urge to make a detour to Jordan though to see Petra. And maybe Istanbul...

Let's be honest, though. I'm much more concerned about crime in the States than anywhere else. And what with the elections coming up I have this awful feeling I'm going to get into an argument with someone over politics/gun control/how I think the USA is weird and end up getting shot...

2. I will keep in touch

That is, indeed, the main point of this blog. And I intend on sending postcards as often as I can. And emailing. And Skype, if I can get a stable enough WiFi connection.

3. I have done this before

Not entirely the same, but I went out to Australia on my own when I was 19. Lived out there a year. I'm not totally new to the whole "going off on your own thing".

4. I am planning on coming back

OK, so this might just change depending on how it goes, but at the present moment I do intend to come back. It's not like I'm leaving for ever. That said, I might be tempted to stay a bit longer than my current plan suggests. Another year in Australia and New Zealand sounds rather lovely...

5. If 18 year olds on their gap yahs can do this, then so can I

At any  given time there must be hundreds if not thousands of teenagers adventuring (and drinking) their way around the world. I'd like to think I've got a bit more common sense than some of them. If they can do it, I bloody well can too.

I'm not sure what else I can tell her to reassure her that I'll be fine. Any ideas, folks? Please do share in the comments if you do.

Nothing Says "Tourist" Like...

Anyone who's visited London knows the feeling. You've managed to get into the Tube station but now you have no idea which platform you need to be on. There's escalators going in every direction, tunnels leading off to unknown domains and right in front of you there's a gaggle of people all craning to read the map.

Welcome to London, folks. This is the big tourist giveaway, or so I believe. Those maps aren't always the most intuitive of things to read, are they? Which way are you actually going? Do you know where you're supposed to be heading? You've got about 5 seconds before someone else tries to get at the map or a fed-up commuter jostles past you.

So, here's the thing - work out where you're going before you get into the station. Pick up one of the little paper maps of the network or get on Transport for London's journey planner site. Don't just know which station you're heading for. Know which station the train will be heading for. That way, you don't need to pore over the map to find out which platform you need - just scan the top of the map for the station the train terminates at.

It's a tourist rite of passage, getting lost on the Tube. For those of us who've visited the city often, finding your way round becomes easy to the point that you're amused by your fellow tourists' confusion.

Other tourist quirks aren't nearly as amusing.

Selfie sticks. What is with these things? Yes, you're in London. Well done. Now, can you get that stick out of the way so I can actually enjoy the view? I understand that people like to have photos of themselves at the places they've been, but what happened to asking a friendly passerby to take the shot for you?

In a similar vein, taking photos with tablets has to be one of the most ridiculous things I've seen. I'm short. Getting stuck behind someone taking a photograph with a tablet is not fun. Hey, dude, you fancy getting that thing out of the way?

Back to the amusing quirks: wearing clothing with the name of your current city on it. Maybe it's just me, but I don't understand this. You're in London. We know you're in London. You know you're in London. Do you really need a jumper to remind you that you're in London? Also, maybe I'm being cynical, but wouldn't you think it'd make you a target for thieves/pickpockets/other assorted criminals? You might as well be wearing a big badge that says "not local, lots of valuables".

Oh, so many tourist giveaways. What would you add to the list? Any advice you'd share on not marking yourself out as a tourist?

Why I Won't Be Scared

I'm going to London tomorrow. Enjoying a super long weekend with my sister. We're going to search out some little museums and poke around in little nooks of the city.

In the wake of the awful attacks on Paris recently, several colleagues have questioned why I'm still going. Won't I feel unsafe? Aren't I scared that something bad will happen?

To which my answer is no. I won't. For the following reasons.

1. What are the chances?

By all means, the threat of a terrorist attack on London is high. But it is a threat only. And if something does happen, how likely is it that I personally will be involved? There's several million people in London at any one time. The chances of any single person being caught up in a terrorist attack is very low. The figures I can find are for folks from the US, but basically I'm many hundreds of times more likely to be killed in a car crash than I am in an act of terrorism. Yeah.

2. I am careful

I'm not a suspicious person, but I'm not stupid enough that I wouldn't know a dangerous situation if I saw it. I'm much more concerned about general crime (pickpocketing and the like) than I am about terrorists in London.

3. I will not be scared

The whole point of terrorism is to instill terror in people. To make them feel unsafe in their own territory. To turn them against their fellow citizens (and refugees, but that's for another day). I refuse to be scared by these people. It would feel like giving in. That's what they want and I refuse.

So yes, I am going to London tomorrow. I will be my usual careful self and have to suppress anxiety on the Tube, but I will enjoy myself and I will make the most of my time off.

The terrorists can go fuck themselves.

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?