I have been struggling with depression and anxiety for the past five years, and an ED for five years before that. I was finally feeling like I was coming out of the rut. I stumbled onto this subreddit by accident. At first, I was reading just for fun. All your adventures made great light reading and I felt like I was celebrating with each of your successes. Never in my wildest imagination had I ever thought I would actually get my ass off familiar soil and go through with it. But one day, I thought why the hell not? This may sound cliche but I wanted to know who was after 10 years of being buried under mental illnesses. I've always wondered if my fundamental personality has changed and the best way was to find out without the influences of friends and family. It took some effort to convince my moderately conservative typical Asian parents to approve of my plans but they did in the end and I embarked on my trip on the 1st of July after a few months of on-off planning.

Altogether, I covered

Japan

• Tokyo (1 day on a layover)

USA

• San Francisco (3 days)

• Los Angeles (3 days)

• Yosemite National Park (2 days)

• Las Vegas (3 days)

• Grand Canyon- South Rim (1 day)

• Chicago (7 days)

• New York (13 days)

• Washington DC (1 day)

Mexico

• Mexico City (5 days)

Canada

• Quebec City (3 days)

• Montreal (5 days)

• Toronto (3 days)

I had never been to any of these countries or even the continent prior to this and was not considered a ‘well-travelled’ person. What helped me a lot was that the places I had chosen were generally deemed safe.

Like I'd thought, I learned a lot about myself over the course of the trip. I reaffirmed my humongous love of fries (do try Poutineville in Montreal - I had it thrice in 5 days! On a side note, bagels in Montreal, specifically from Saint Viateur bagels, were the best I ever had.) I realised that I love being alone. I loved strolling along the streets by myself, dining by myself, being able to wake up and go to bed at whatever time I wanted, being able to do whatever I wanted (within a budget of course) at whenever and wherever I wanted. I felt free. I got tired of small talk 2 weeks into the trip but then got back into it after 2 weeks of avoiding it. I learned to love the random conversations with random people. I still got annoyed by by the occasional person trying to convince me that solo travelling was boring and having a partner was way better, but I guess to each his/her own. I stopped being intimidated by being the sole solo traveller in my 8-bed hostel rooms and learned to talk to people who were not solo travelling. I loved getting to know new streets, new transport systems, meeting people I would never ever see again every few days. Every place was beautiful to me.

I’ve never been an outdoorsy person, I never liked hiking, sweating, feeling dirty, and everything that came with spending a long time in nature but I left my comfort zone and spent 2 days in Yosemite National Park, one of the most beautiful places I’ve now been to in my life. I’m even open to going there again.

I’m a big city person. Big cities are the most beautiful to me. I became one of those annoying people who stayed at the Top of the Rock for 3/4 hours, just staring. I had the best time in NYC, despite a few bad days in the hostel. I was part of the audience for the Stephen Colbert show and the Seth Meyers show, saw Tyra Banks in person and watched One Republic perform live. I went to a Broadway show and a comedy show at the Comedy Cellar. I watched a Yankees game at the Yankees Stadium. I strolled through Central Park. I crossed the Brooklyn Bridge, which was on my bucket list. I had the time of my life.

I didn’t think that I would like Las Vegas as I’m not a fan of gambling but I was dazzled by it nonetheless. There, I became a gun person, recreational shooting at the gun range will become my hobby when I’m settled back home.

Toronto was not in my initial plan as I feared it to be too similar to where I grew up in and I was right. But I loved it. It felt like Singapore on steroids to me which was pretty damn awesome. It was so damn beautiful, now one of my favourite cities.

San Francisco was a last minute decision but I was just floored by it. I could walk 20 minutes and be placed into a totally different environment with a totally different vibe. I think it’s a city that doesn’t look so great in pictures (which was why I didn’t include it at first) but so unique and breathtaking in person.

I met so many wonderful people along the way, some whom I’ll remember forever even though we’ll never meet again. I’ve also met a few assholes, worth forgetting but still interesting.

Edit: After my trip, I've become a happier person. A close friend of mine told to me 'come back to reality' and reminded me of my past failures that I now have to face. If I weren't half asleep at the time (jet lag), I would've told her that what I learned from the trip was myself, not avoidance. The new state of reality is that I'm a happier (maybe even more spatially oriented person due to constant use of google maps), and more independent person; I am more comfortable with myself than I've ever been before, hating that I had to live with myself used to be my most painful struggle. I wish she could be happier for me but I don't need her approval. I think I can face my battles better now.

This post has gotten too long so I’ll end it here. I hope that I've motivated you to start your own solo trip if you were ever considering but never did it. If anyone wants a copy of my detailed itinerary, don’t be afraid to ask. If you have any questions, I know I’m not the most experienced but I’ll be happy to answer as well.

Photos from trip