The Pros & Cons of Solo Travelling in Asia
There are different ways to travel. Some like to travel on their own while others like to travel with company – either with their partner, or with friends, or in groups. In Asia, there are advantages and disadvantages to solo travel.
Most solo travellers (but not all) are independent travellers, meaning they organise their own itinerary and bookings, whereas those who travel with their partner or friends can be either independent travellers or have their travel organised by a travel agency or tour operator.
Solo travellers tend to be more experienced travellers, although for older travellers that may not always be the case if they’ve recently lost a partner or loved one. Often travellers in that situation need time to be on their own before they are ready to travel again with others.
Many older travellers prefer to travel with friends or in groups for safety reasons — and that’s definitely an issue in some Asian countries — while others say loneliness is the main factor in their decision to travel with others. But there are still many older travellers who prefer to travel on their own.
Solo travel provides time for reflection but can be lonely. Image: © Yanwar Choirurochim
For me, the greatest advantage of solo travel is being able to do what I want when I like without having to worry about whether my preferred plans for the day suit my wife as well. That means I can sleep in if I feel like it or head out on an early morning sunrise hike if I happen to wake up early.
I like to do both from time to time. On days that follow days when I’ve done something strenuous like a 10 km hike, I often like to give my aging body time to rest by sleeping in and getting up late. But my wife doesn’t like doing that and hates missing breakfasts – especially ones that we’ve already paid for!
So on mornings that I’m sleeping in and she is around, I feel guilty about staying in bed (even though she says she is fine with it) and I can’t relax enough to enjoy the sleep-in. But when I’m travelling on my own I can doze through the morning — sometimes to as even late as 12 noon — and then feel delightfully refreshed for the rest of the day.
On the other hand, on mornings that I wake up early, if it looks like it might be a nice sunrise, I will grab my camera and head out for some shots in the hours that most photographers agree is the best time of the day for taking photographs. But do I wake my wife to ask her if she wants to come with me?
If I wake her and she doesn’t want to come, she may get cranky with me for disturbing her sleep. But if it’s a great sunrise and I come back enthusing how beautiful it was, she will chastise me for not waking her up. It’s the opposite to a win-win situation. I lose either way.
And whilst on the subject of sleep, one thing we agree on is that we sleep better when travelling solo. We both snore from time to time (we have frequent arguments about who snores the loudest) so when travelling as a couple we don’t get as much undisturbed sleep as when we are travelling solo.
Safety is a big concern for many female solo travellers. Image: Fallon Michael
Of course, for most people the biggest advantage of travelling solo is that they can do exactly what they like without having to worry about whether their partner is really interested in doing the same. For older couples that’s not usually a problem because if they’ve been together for many years they are likely to have similar interests. But even then, there are couples who like to have a break away for a week or two to pursue interests that their partner may be ambivalent about.
As I see it, these are the main advantages and disadvantages of solo travel in Asia:
Advantages of solo travel
Flexibility to change itinerary. When you travel solo, you set your own schedule, you can change your itinerary at whim without having to consult with your partner and take account of their preferences, you can eat what you want, when you want, and you can sleep whenever you want. For many, that single advantage is enough to justify solo travel.
Freedom and peace of mind. This is more than just the flexibility to change plans. It’s about the feeling of being in control and doing whatever you want when travelling (provided it’s legal of course). It’s a feeling of stresslessness that can’t be experienced when you have to consider the needs and preferences of a fellow traveller. This is not a state that everyone experiences. Sometimes the stress of language difficulties or things like trying to negotiate public transport in a strange city neutralizes the feeling, but if it can be achieved it’s wonderful to enjoy.
When travelling on your own you get to do things only that you want to do. If you feel like sitting in a coffee shop and reading a book, you can do so without worrying about whether your partner is bored. If you are male you won’t have to set foot in another dress or shoe shop, and if you are female you won’t have to visit another bar to watch a football match. How good is that!
Time for introspection. When travelling on your own you will have plenty of time to contemplate where you are in life and where you are going as you gaze out of an aircraft flying over the Himalayas or a bullet train speeding past snow-capped mountains in Japan. It is thinking time that we often don’t realise that we are missing when in the company of others.
Easier to meet people. In most places it’s easier to meet people if you are on your own. That may not be a big factor for some, especially if the purpose of solo travel is to spend some time on your own, but for others it may be. Usually people are more inclined to strike up a conversation on a plane or in a coffee shop with a solo traveller than with a couple.
You can’t share experiences like this when travelling solo. Image: © Tom Wang
Disadvantages of solo travel
Safety considerations. This is undoubtedly the biggest disadvantage of solo travel – but no more so in Asia than in other parts of the world. In fact, Singapore and Japan are among the safest countries in the world for solo travellers. And of course, solo travel is much safer for men than it is for women.
In many countries in South Asia and the Middle East, harassment of women on the street is quite common, and more so if they are foreigners travelling on their own. India, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are among the worst countries in the world for sexual violence against women.
Most East Asian and Southeast Asian countries (with the exception of Thailand) are considered safer for solo female travellers but there are still some countries where it is considered inappropriate for women to travel on their own due to entrenched cultural and gender biases. Fortunately, though, those biases are becoming less pronounced as those conservative societies experience more solo female travellers.
Feelings of loneliness. Not everyone experiences loneliness when travelling solo. In fact, many relish being on their own. But there are times when not being able to share experiences or coming back to an empty hotel room at night will make you feel lonely.
Organised day tours are a good way to meet other people (you may even meet someone with whom you’d like to hook up with for a few days to visit other places) and sitting at a bar in a restaurant, rather than a table, may give you the opportunity to chat with other solo diners for an hour or two.
Higher cost of travelling alone. This is the bane of solo travel. Single supplements on package tours and not being able to share the cost of taxis or private tours does make travelling solo more expensive. And of course, accommodation is more expensive, because you don’t get to share the cost of a hotel room. Younger travellers can get around that by staying in dormitory style hostel accommodation, but that’s not a preferred style of accommodation for most older travellers.
Limited dining options. If you are into fast food or prefer to cook for yourself whilst travelling, then this may not apply, but for me travelling involves looking for good restaurants to enjoy the best local food, but sometimes being on my own does limit my dining options. I do enjoy eating in fine dining restaurants, but I don’t feel comfortable eating in them on my own.
Firstly, some such places make you feel uncomfortable when you apologetically ask for “a table for one please”. It may only be a frown or glance from the maître d’, but you know they’d prefer to have two dining because a couple are going to spend more.
Even if they do welcome you, taking up a table for two on your own in a busy restaurant means that their revenue for the night is automatically down by one person. And that makes me feel guilty. Also, I can’t order a bottle of wine because I can’t drink a whole bottle on my own at my age. I need someone to share it with. So I have to order by the glass which invariably means extra cost and limited choices.
Difficulty taking selfies. I’m not a big fan of selfies but I do occasionally like to have a photo or two of myself in places to which I travel. I hate selfie sticks and don’t own one, so I have to rely on others to take a photograph of me when I travel on my own. Giving your camera to a stranger is always risky, so best to wait until you see some fellow travellers who are less likely to run off with your camera.
Taking selfies can be a problem for some when solo travelling. Image: Chi Lok Tsang
As you can see from these lists, the number of advantages and disadvantages is about the same. For some, one or two of these pros or cons may be stronger or more relevant, making the decision whether to travel solo or not an easy one. The country in which you plan to travel may also influence your decision.
For others it may be harder to decide whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages or vice-versa. In those circumstances you can only rely on your gut feel and do what you feel most comfortable with.
Header image: © Lifeontheside
