Welcome to Solo Travel

My final post on my adventure in Iceland is going to focus traveling solo. I'll be honest, I was a little nervous about going to a new country by myself. Part of the reason I decided to go to Iceland was because it was highly recommended for first time solo travelers.

Solo travel might not be for everyone, but I definitely recommend trying it. I personally think that solo travel is best for people who like to spend a good amount of time by themselves. There were plenty of opportunities for me to talk to people, but the majority of my time was very quiet. I was able to just be imaginative for a while.

I had heard that doing a solo trip was something people should put on their bucket lists. I don't really remember where I heard this from (probably a travel blog on Facebook or from one of my really adventurous friends). Still I put it on my bucket list of things I should think about doing. Then I randomly brought round trip tickets to Iceland. Suddenly I went from thinking about doing it to actually doing it.

To prepare, I did a lot of research. I then chucked most of that research out the window when one of my friends got so excited for me that they basically became my travel agent. This friend had also never been to Iceland, but they had been on solo trips before. They helped talk me into staying at a hostel, which I'm really glad I did. They talked me into going to the Blue Lagoon and the Golden Circle Tour. This friend later decided to also go to Iceland, so I've given them all my tips for when they are there in a few weeks.

I am so glad my friend gave me some of the pushes that they did, otherwise I might not have made some great new friends or done some of the amazing things I did (Golden Circle Tour).

My mom was also a big help finding out information and bouncing ideas off of. She has done a good bit of traveling and she said agreed with my friend on a lot of the things they told me. My mom also gave me the best price of advice. She said that its okay to not have a set plan until you get there because you might find an opportunity you wouldn't have known about until you get there.

It was really good advice for me. I ended up not booking anything (except the Blue Lagoon) until after I arrived. If I had made plans for each day I probably wouldn't have gone to Videy Island or found out about the "free" city walking tour. I only found out about them after arriving*.

I might have been okay with that (non)plan if someone had come with me, but it might not have worked out. Some people just need a plan when they go on vacation. It's not a bad thing to want a solid plan, but it's not for everyone.

So here is my list of why I enjoyed traveling solo. It might not be everyone's reasons for going solo and you can probably do some of them while traveling with one or two friends, but that's why it's my list.

1) Quiet reflection while letting the imagination go wild - I spend a lot of time in my own head just thinking and being in a new place really let my thoughts go wild.

2) Change plans without compromising - this happened several times while I was in Iceland (for example I got lost going to one museum and went to a different one instead). I also sometimes would stumble across an interesting place (the cemetery) and spend time there.

3) Make new friends and talk to new people - yes this can be done with a group of people too, but there's something fun about being asked if I'd like to hang out with someone I had just met.

4) Take my time - since I was setting my own pace I could take as much or as little time as I wanted somewhere. I could also have as much down time as I wanted.

5) Say I traveled solo - a few of my friends said that they wouldn't have had the guts to traveling explore a new country by themselves. It felt like an accomplishment to do it.

Again these are my reasons for taking a solo vacation. I definitely recommend trying it once in your life. You never know who you might meet or what adventures you'll find.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really passed you of) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me. Hopefully I'll be off on my next adventure sooner rather than later.

*I had known about Videy Island before going, but I wasn't sure if I would visit it or not. It wasn't until another person in my hostel room said that they were going too that I officially decided to go. We hiked for four hours and got some of my favorite pictures of the whole trip.

Welcome To Unique Opportunities

This past week I was in Hawaii with my significant other. How you may wonder did I manage to go on a vacation to Hawaii? To put it simply, I saw an opportunity and took it. My Sig Fig had to go to Hawaii for work and I decided to tag along for my vacation. I have to say that it was awesome!

The first weekend, we stayed at a resort hotel right on the beach with tons of pools and activities. I honestly could have spent the entire week there, but alas I am still just starting out and don't have quite that much financial stability just yet. We then stayed at a hotel his work provided. This second lodgings was partially why I was able to go. The second reason was that my dad generously gave me a ton of points to fly out (when I looked at plane tickets I about died). Sure I had to sit in the dead center for 7 hours for one leg of my journey, but I did get first class for 3 glorious hours and yes I did order a mimosa.

Some of my sig fig's friends were entertained by the fact that I wasn't worried about entertaining myself while he worked. To be honest I was a little nervous as I was unfamiliar with the area, but after I panicked for a few hours, I put my big person pants on and figured out a plan of action.

Since I am fairly used to traveling on my own, here are some ways to find opportunities when you have no idea what you are doing.

1) Figure out the public transportation system. I grew up outside of a large city with a metro. Once I understood which stop took me where it was easy hop on and off all day. The same thing goes when traveling. Local buses and trains are a lot cheaper than taxis and often offer passes for daily or weekly use.

2) Call friends or family in the area. If I know or am related to someone in the area I will be in (or a friend of a family member) I will occasionally call them up and ask them for ideas of things to do or beg them to take me places. If they do take me some place, I try to take them out for food or fill up their gas tank.

3) Make friends. You can make friends anywhere and it is something I am pretty good at. However if you make friends with people on the trip, be sure to still play it safe. Always tell someone who you are with and for how long. If you get uncomfortable have a check in time to let people know you are okay. You should never be afraid to make new friends, but still make sure you remember that you have no idea who these new friends are until you started talking to them.

4) Walk around. It will give you a chance to get the lay of your surroundings in case you get lost. It's always good to know where some landmarks are to find your way back.

5) Don't hesitate to go out of your comfort zone. Unless it looks like a really bad idea (something that could cause you mortal or psychological harm), try it. You might be surprised at what happens. Get lost or go somewhere you wouldn't think you'd like.

I might not go on epic adventures in Narnia, but I can still daydream. For now I'll be content to explore the opportunities I have and that includes any trips that might pop up. They might be extravagant like a trip to Hawaii or dressed in overalls (as my grandma used to say) like pulling weeds for an older family member and ending up with awesome references.

If you enjoyed this post, or it really pissed you off, please comment or share with friends, family, or your worst enemy. I love hearing from my readers and I know you guys are there. Until next week.

Welcome To The Learning Curve

Careful It Can Change Without Warning...

I like to think that I know a lot of things. I understand that I am young and still have a lot to learn, but I tend to be under the illusion that I know how to do normal adult things. Key word in that sentence: illusion. Sure I know how to cook food and drive a car, but there are so many additional components that add on to the "cook" and "drive" action. For instance I do not always know how to fix broken components on my car, but I do know when I need to seek professional experience (or most of the time I do). I also am perfectly capable to cook an egg, but might lack the knowledge that if you put a lid over the cooking egg it might explode. Did you know it might explode? I didn't either until yesterday, but it wasn't that traumatizing.

Some things I have learned since starting out:

1. Things will break because they are old, not just because you did something stupid. In this case I call the apartment maintenance people. If you have any questions about why I suggest this, see any of my post about my toilet situation.
2. There is very little you can do about electrical and gas prices, but you can always find ways of cutting back on usage. When I was at school and in my parent's house, I didn't worry about silly things like heating bills and would hardly notice when people would change the thermostat. I happen to like my world a little on the cold side (though with this winter I'm looking forward to swim suite season more and more). I didn't always remember to turn it back up when I had people over and they would end up shivering.
3. A lot of things are expensive. It's not just the gas and electric bills that can be high. Everything is paid for by yours truly now. I have to budget and keep track of my spending. It's tough, but so far I've been successful with it. If I really want something I have to make sure it either fits into the budget or I have to save for it. Maybe I'll do a "How to save in the first year of starting out" for those who are curious as to my method.
4. Making friends is hard especially people your own age. I'm not kidding, unless you are moving to a place where you already know people or there is a great social life just waiting for you (read any major city in America), you might have a hard time figuring out how to make friends in your area and aren't at work. I finally found an Anime club to join and have been going to church. My area isn't exactly hopping with activities for people just out of school and I'm a bit shy about meeting lots of new people right away.
5. You will continue to find out about things you never knew you didn't know about. Hand washing, how to fix the circuit breaker in you apartment, anything bad that can happen to your car, all of these things I never would have thought about before leaving home. I had other people to do these things for me (wow does that make me sound like a spoiled brat). Anyway, now I'm learning all of these things for myself. Some of them are hard to manage (finding a dentist I trust for one). Others make me feel real accomplished for learning how to master (hand washing).

Some of these things are hard to learn (and I'm notorious for learning things the hard way ). But with some patients, a little trial and error and a whole lot of luck, they can be learned and put into practice. I enjoy learning new things and this list doesn't even count the things I'm learning from the work environment. So the next time someone asks a question you feel they should already know, please stop and take a second to consider where they are in life and then help them to understand why its important they learn these things because I'm pretty sure I blew off a few of these lessons in my school days. Thank you for reading.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off), please leave a comment or share it with your friends, family or worst enemy. I enjoy hearing back from my readers and I hope you enjoy my posts. Until next week.