Solo travel, introversion, and keeping to myself: waste of time?
As an intelligent and well-written post on this sub pointed out a couple of months ago, solo travel does not change who you are. If you are an introvert or socially anxious, you don't magically become this outgoing extroverted person by virtue of getting on a plane to another part of the world on your own.
Which brings me to my question. I've traveled solo quite a lot. While I'm not a recluse, I'm one of the most introverted people you could ever meet. And I'm also very shy. I've been to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Berlin. I've lived in Thailand for 18 months out of the last 24.
However, I have not changed one bit. I'm still the same shy, introverted person I've been since I was 12 (I'm now 27), and thus any solo travel I've done has mostly involved 90 percent alone time.
I make some connections along the way, but they are few and far between. And they seem to be dwindling the older I get. On my first backpacking trip, I travelled a for two weeks with some French guy I'd met in Luang Prabang. I've been in Thailand for 5 months now and I have only gone out to drink with new people three times, although I do have a girlfriend here.
So, to finally get to what I wanna ask: is solo travel pointless for someone heavily introverted like me?
I mean, a large part of the enjoyment of solo travel appears to be experiences with other people. I tend to just wander around places alone, taking it all in. Sometimes I join excursions where I might make small talk with people. But seriously, I am alone most of the time, which is contrary to that popular solo travel maxim that says "with solo travel, you are never really alone."
I went to Australia in 2015, for example, on my own on a working holiday visa, which 99 percent of people appear to have the time of their lives on. But I didn't really ever felt like I belonged there. The intensely social backpacker environment in the backpacker hostel I stayed in was just too much for me, but it was the only kinda accommodation I could afford.
I left after only three months in the country, which out of a 12-month visa opportunity is pretty terrible. A lot of it was guilt: I didn't feel happy because I wasn't doing what everyone else did: sitting around in huge groups at dinner together, drinking together in big groups.
I made some acquaintances there, including an Australian dude who worked in the mines half his time and spent half his time staying at the same hostel as me. We shared a few drinks together often, had some interesting conversations.
Biut I never seem to get what other people get from solo travel, which is friends for life, lots of partying, hookups, etc. I simply just wander and explore on my own, take a ahitton of pics, visit interesting sights, and eat local food.
So am I doing solo travel wrong? Has it all been a waste? Thanks for any advice.
Tl;dr : 27-year-old who travels alone a lot but stays alone most of the time. Is there even a point in solo travel if I'm not making connections with people in the places I travel to?
Submitted November 07, 2017 at 05:21AM by ronan_the_writer http://ift.tt/2zlOnuH
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