I have to admit, most of the time I agree. Depression overload when you say, "table for one." But lately, I've seen 1 rise from the darkness, from the pit of despair into a glorious rebirth. It blew into my life like a cool breeze on a hotter than hell day.
Surprisingly enough, I haven't done much solo traveling since I moved to Korea. I've got good friends who, for the most part, are excellent travel partners. But, upon returning this year I found I had this desire to strike it out solo. Test the limits of Jennifer. What would she do when things went wrong? When she got lost in a very foreign country? I had a taste of it when I traveled to the Philippines alone, stood in a crowd of approximately 505,209 people in the Manila airport, trying to figure out how to get to my hotel. I wished to God my friends would have been the first to arrive and could have met me there instead of the other way around.
But this is a story of redemption.
This weekend I headed to Beopseongpo. A small fishing town on the edge of my province. There's a temple there with an impressive statue of Buddha that I had a hankering to see. So, I did.
Jennifer's "How to Travel Alone" List:
1. Charge Your iPod.
The sweet harmonies of Florence and Head and the Heart saved my sanity that day. From riding an OBSCENELY packed #9 bus to waiting in the hot sun for a bus that won't come, my ipod made me feel like I was traveling with a friend. A close close friend.
2. Make Nice With the Locals.
All the way from offering your seat to a sassy old lady (ahjumma) who will later direct you to the right stop when otherwise you'd have no clue, to the taxi driver* who was sent from sweet baby Jesus himself, a smile and kind word in their language goes a long way people.
*No really guys, this taxi driver. To see the temple you could walk about 5k or take a taxi and the driver I procured took me up there, and gave me his card so I could call when I was done. We shared a bag of chips up the mountain, and when he dropped me off I said, "Jennifer 임니다 " I'm Jennifer. When I called an hour later he said, "Oh Jennipa! Ok. I coming." Ten minutes later he was there and he charged me the same amount as it had taken me to get up there, even though he had a 2 way trip this time. He helped me buy a bus ticket back, and when that bus pulled up he shouted across this wee little village terminal, "Ok Jennipa! Let's go!"
3. Don't Panic
Most of time I had no idea where I was going. I refused to use google maps on my phone. So when they bus stopped I just had to be brave and hope I was right.
Yes. I got lost.
I ended up at the wrong temple. Don't panic. Just wait for a bus, call a friend, move on.
I went for a hike around the statue once I arrived at the right temple. It was clear at the end of the trail that it was not for visitors. I emerged from the shurbbery covered in scratches and spooked a couple of Koreans. Don't panic.
4. Learn the Language (or at the very least the alphabet)
I might still be in Beopseongpo or Yeonggwang or who the hell knows if I couldn't read Hangul.
So, the lesson here is that the number one isn't so bad sometimes. True it's good to have that companion and someone to laugh at you or figure things out with, but I rather enjoyed my solo journey. When I go to Indonesia this summer, I'll be on my own for a few days. I've scheduled surfing lessons, and booked a room in a hostel instead of a hotel in the hopes that I'll meet interesting travelers. It would be wonderful if I had someone to share those memories with. I can imagine my sister on the beaches of Indonesia bent over laughing at me as I fly off a surfboard or it bonks me in the head. But being alone has quiet moments of beauty. Words inside of my head are shifted around to form sentences as I come up with a million stories. I can pray, read, listen to music, and not worry about that other person. Traveling in groups is hard for us hybrid introverted/extroverted people. One day we want hugs and cuddles, the next we want to be left alone. One minute we want conversation, the next we just want to listen to music. Exhausting I tell you.
Not with one.
If only I could be uber cool and be like this girl. One day.
Photo Overload. I'm not into selfies. I might be a solo traveler, but I hate posting pictures of just me. I'm awkward.
I could not help myself, at the beginning of your post I started singing "One is the loneliest number ..." But depending on what one does, one can also be the bravest number! And I would laugh at you taking surfing lessons too(which made me think of the movie Gidget), but if you got hit in the head I would probably make sure you were okay first. And also I so want to call you Jennipa now! LOVE you!
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