This time around I can honestly say I am getting really conditioned to travelling on my own. The only friction I still encounter is one, Initiating conversation with other travellers in hostels and walking tours and two, the language barrier especially in a country where not everyone speaks english.

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First few days I am pretty anxious but then my confidence kicks in pretty quickly.

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Few things I've learnt that I wanted to share:

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1. Always, always make sure you get your ATM card out of the machine when withdrawing money. Especially in developing countries the ATM's are not programmed to give your card before cash. It was a mistake that put a lot of stress on my vacation. Lucky I had my aunty who saved the day. To battle this problem if it ever happened in the future I always keep one ATM card in my luggage bag and one with me at all times.
2. Invest in a travel sim. Yes they may be a bit expensive (20 - 40 euro) but the return in investment for having one it worth it.
3. Google translate will be your best friend. A lot of my friends I met could not speak proper english so I had to rely on translate to talk to them. Especially one time when I got lost in a Spanish Village (taxi took me to another address with the same name) I was able to get help from a local through this app.
4. Invest in a money belt. First time using one on my trips as I heard Spain is notorious for pickpocketing. Not only did it avoid pick pockets but the more organised I felt I could be. I used one pocket for money and the other pocket for my room key, instead of having it all shoved and potentially lost in my pocket. This can also avoid people stealing from you when you are sleeping.
5. Before booking a hostel look at the reviews of it and see if it has high reviews from solo travellers. General things you would want (depends on you as a person of course) from a hostel is one, a common area with friendly staff (I usually chat and become friends with them if everyone seems like their keeping to themselves), two, family dinners/breakfast (socialising is encouraged), and three, pub crawl events which is self explanatory.
6. If you plan on waking up early, make sure you lay out your clothes for the next day. I went for runs in the morning and annoyed alot of people who spent the night partying and wanting to sleep in. I avoided this by laying out my clothes and quietly changing before I leave.
7. In Europe, Blabla cars are a great way to travel in-between destinations.
8. Using foreign currency can be a bit frustrating. Easy way I do it is by using multiples of 10 and 100. eg. 10 euro = 16 AUD, 100 euro = 160 AUD. This way you can easily calculate the cost of everything compared to home (Europe is expensive compared to Australia!)
9. The ugly truth is, you're gonna get along with some people and you're not gonna get along with others. Rule of thumb is to find common ground as quickly as possible so the conversation can flow. Usually travelling and food is an easy subject but I feel like that's a common subject making the conversation blow quickly (you can tell I am very introverted)
10. Phones have advanced heaps in the last few years. I did take my camera but after a day I figured I could just use my phone for everything (iPhone XS). It records 4K video in 30fps and takes high quality pictures. It saves the trouble of carrying a camera everywhere (you'll also be red flagged as a tourist straight away).

So a bit about each country I've been through:

Netherlands (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Harlem, Delft, Leiden) - Such a beautiful place with a pretty rich history. I found Amsterdam too touristy (when I first got there I couldn't tell who was a tourist and who was a local), so I made an effort to see the outside regions as well. Their culture is what fascinated me as they seem to be 10 steps ahead in art, environmentalism and law.

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Thailand (Bangkok, Ko Samui, Chaing Mai, Phuket, Phi Phi Island) - It's still in development compared to home (AUS) and Europe. Especially in the tourist districts I felt like everyone was trying to sell me something (in a pushy way) and the price difference to back home was the same, so I have no idea why people say it was cheap. Where I felt most at home was in Chaing Mai (up north), away from the tourism, a pretty quiet area full of temples and friendly people. Thai food was my favourite part of the trip, it puts the thai food in Australia to shame.

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Spain (Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid, Toledo, Granada, Seville) - Another part of Europe I finally got to travel! A lot more faster then Amsterdam's culture but still not as fast as Australia or America. My friend was right in saying that every part of Spain is different, and that it's culture and traditions can seem weird to outsiders. Really enjoyed it, and I can say part of Spain's culture has rubbed off on me. My favourite city has to be Valencia. It's views had my eyes wide open as soon as I got out of the train station!

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For my next trip later this year I am planning on going to Czech Republic or a part of South America.

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Feel free to AMA.