Japanese has a word called hitorisama (おひとりさま), meaning party of one, usually describing a lady who goes to eat by herself, or likes to do things by herself. I like to travel by myself.
Traveling alone can get a little tricky and dangerous sometimes (lost in a foreign country with no internet reception, no map, and no help comes to mind), so it's not for everyone, but given the right circumstances it can be a ton of fun. It's not as fun when you forget where your hotel is in Istanbul and get lost on your way back after already a long day of walking around through the sights of the city and get frustrated and almost give up (actual story), but I almost exclusively go hitorisama nowadays.
1.) Living in a hostel- as detailed in the last entry, lot of benefits there. Possible backfire: the Boston hostel I ended up finding was out of the city, far away, crowded, 8 people in one room, did not sleep well, didn't have good food options around, not very comfortable. Thus the drawbacks of living a simple traveler.
2.) Do what you want when you want: So many family trips ended in me not being satisfied by the experience, waiting on other people, having my family's quirks get on my nerves after so many hours being stuck together. More importantly, though, the plan has to go through the approval of many other people, one person is not the decisionmaker (although that one person probably knows better than the others what is in the best interest for the group, ahem) and compromises must be made. A hitorisama trip requires no compromise, the only restraint is the hours in the day,
3.) No stopping for long hours of food. On hitorisama trips I buy a snack along the way and keep moving to my next destination. I personally don't think "enjoying the local cuisine" has anything to do with a trip and should be reserved when making meal choices while at home (you can easily get anything "ethnic" in Los Angeles, almost any culture anywhere) but you're not going to replicate the sites of that area, or the real people living in those areas. Example, Especially in a city like Boston that's not exactly known for its food (other than clam chowdaaaaah I guess) I just skipped all of these options.
4.) Experiencing the city through trains. Other than Los Angeles, most major cities throughout the world have a great subway system that connects its major areas including most tourist destinations. From the "T" in Boston to Toronto's TTC, I've had great experiences going through the metro. Not to say that you can't do this as a group, but often with groups it's a shared car experience or tour group bus, you don't get the feel of looking up different subway stations to find one's way or even getting pleasant suprises like the iconic South Station in Boston that was pretty cool.
5.) Going outside the itinerary is fine: I stopped at Boston Public Library on a whim this most recent Boston trip, and it might have been the best decision I've ever made. No homeless people in the library (unlike L.A.), a maps exhibit that had a map of the Redwall world (one of my favorite book series as a child) and 3 levels of cool reading rooms. Spent an hour there and rediscovered my love of libraries. In Kyoto, Japan I was dazzled at the Museum of Manga and spent a half day there despite not having budgeted for it. I am my own boss!
6.) I have a need. A need for speed. In the busy world that I live in, I don't have many days to go on vacation and visit a city, and I like to go to new places so revisiting a city like Boston isn't really in my plans, you have to go quickly to cover everything and get all the finer parts of the city, and that just doesn't work with a group dragging you behind. No restroom breaks, meeting points, long lines to get everyone in, etc. for a hitorisama, just pick up your stuff and go to the next stop. I was able to fit in great Boston landmarks like the Freedom Trail, Harvard University, MIT, Paul Revere's House, Bunker Hill National Monument, the USS Consitution, Public Square, Public Gardens, Fenway Park, and Boston Harbor all in a day and a half. No need to get the "full guided tour" and waste valuable time listening to someone, that's what Google/ travel podcast is for! Listen while you're hurrying along! YES!
7.) Baseball road trip! Accomplishing Personal achievements- only 6 more MLB ballparks to go!
If anyone of these advantages are appealing to you, try the Robert Yan-approved Hitorisama way!
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
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