For years, I thought of travelling solo. I’d travelled solo for work before, but never for vacation because I enjoy the company of holidaying with loved ones. Many articles have been shared about how great it is to travel on your own – you find out more about yourself, not having to wait at the lobby for everyone else to get ready…
Having decided (in the spur of a moment no doubt) that my July’16 O.N.A was to take my maiden solo trip, I was stuck – ok where do I go?! It seemed silly because there are so many places to choose from. But I was conscious of safety and budget. Some would say its safer to pick a developed country to kick off a female solo trip but there wasn’t any nearby cities I wanted to visit. I’d already been to Bangkok, Hong Kong and Sydney. And the other cities of Paris, Seattle and Rome were too far and expensive. Then it dawned on me – I’d watched enough National Geographic to be in awe of Angkor Wat and always wanted to see it in person. So Siem Reap, Cambodia it shall be!
And for the first time, I had to plan my own travel. Friends who’d travelled with me will testify that I dread checking for air-tickets and accommodation because there are simply too many variations to choose from. It’s especially stressful when you need to be mindful of everyone else’s budget and availability. But with solo travel, I only need to take care of my own needs. So for those wondering if you should, do. Do not hesitant. It might take a bit of time since you need to do all the heavy lifting but ultimately you get to decide what you are comfortable with. Of course, if things don’t work out, you only have yourself to blame, but see it as part of the fun.
I have to confess that after I booked my ticket and accommodation, I was nervous and worried if I would ‘survive’ the trip. What if I get lonely? What if I get sick and need help? Even though I was worried, I was actually more excited that I was gonna do it. Looking back, I am really glad I pushed on.
Some of the more memorable parts of my trip:-
- Even though it’s supposed to be the rainy season, I had nearly perfect weather in the days I was actively touring and exploring the different temples. I’m not a big avid photographer but I’ve got some amazing pictures to reflect back.
- sunrise @ Angkor Wat: I thought getting picked up at 5am was super early for sunrise, but when we arrived, there were already hordes of people waiting around the catch the beautiful sight. It is really nice to just sit and watch the sun rise, to listen to the sound of nature and just appreciate mother nature at its best
- sunset @Phnom Bakheang Pyramid Hill temple: At peak hour, there’s crowd control of only 300 people allowed up the temple. Everyone else has to queue and only allowed up if anyone comes down. I felt bad that I stayed on to catch the sunset, but since I’d already waited an hour in line, and drawing close to sunset, I decided I will be the lucky 300 to witness the sunset.
- Ta Prohm, aka “Lara Croft” temple, feels more like a Palace than a temple and I remember telling my guide, Mr Ray, that I can imagine small cosy wedding receptions being held in some outdoor parts of the temple
- Bayon Temple captivates you in the marvel of the engineering and architecture of that era with all the big rocks, carvings and design, you cannot help but feel these people are highly creative and intelligent. And given all we are blessed with in modern days, we should aim to do more for the good of mankind, instead of only thinking about making money
- Any travel is not complete without tasting local food. There’d be plenty of dishes to try but when you travel alone, you don’t want to over-order to avoid waste. Cambodian food has similarities to many Asian dishes so I didn’t think I had to go all out to eat everything. For those dishes I did try, it was either a sweeter version or had a different ingredient. Unfortunately, I could not try one local dish – Amok fish, which consists of coconut, as I have an adverse reaction to, so I’ll just have to take everyone’s word that it is delicious. One homegrown place I managed to check out – Blue Pumpkin. Started out mainly as an ice-cream parlour, it has since expanded into a full fledge restaurant, in addition to their ice cream and bakery menu. I tried their Bailey’s ice-cream (US$1.60 per scoop) and it did not disappoint.
Since this isn’t a travel blog, I won’t dwell on the other details of the trip. But I will share my learnings from this experience:-
- Plenty of information to gather and there was no lack of resources to collect from – friends, Tripadvisor, travel-bloggers will advise you on hotels, places to see and eat, what to avoid and must-dos, etc. Some people may want to explore as many places as they can so as to get their money’s worth but I knew I wanted a balance trip of exploring sufficient temples and having enough rest. Friends tell me I should have travelled and visited more temples, but for now, I am happy with the places I toured.
- I didn’t bring a selfie-stick with me (note to self: bring one next time) but it really wasn’t that hard to get someone else (or my tour guide) to help. It’s also a good conversation starter, if I am in the chatty mood. I met a couple of solo Americans and saw 2 other Asian guys, but otherwise couples, families or bus-loads of tourists were the norm. Sometimes I feel like I get weird stares from others, especially at meal-times. At one of the restaurant I went to, I was the only customer (had an early dinner as I was feeling tired) and the waiter actually changed the music from fast-track native songs to sappy English love songs, so he must have thought I was on a solo trip to mend my broken heart! As misunderstood as I felt, I was appreciative of his gesture (good customer service!) and continued with my meal whilst listing to 80’s retro music
- And maybe its rare to see a solo Asian female traveller, my observation is I usually have to be the one to initiate a conversation, be it locals or tourists. Maybe the tourists think I am a local so they are apprehensive of language barrier, or that locals think I am one of them so there was no need for idle chit-chat. But whenever they realise my identity, they are always eager to ask me about my solo travel experience or to find out more about my hometown, which gives me a great sense of pride to talk about.
Overall, I still feel it is harder for Asian women to travel on our own, but more of us should try to step out of comfort zone. I don’t know when and where my next solo travel will be, but I know I will do it again. I don’t regret waiting this long to give it a try, but I certainly hope I don’t wait too long for my next trip.
P/s: at the time of this travel, Donald Trump was the official Republican Presidential Nominee, Hillary Clinton for the Democrats; there were reported shootings in Munich, Germany and Nice, France; car bomb in Iraq; no blanket ban for Russian athletes reportedly taking banned drugs for the 2016 Rio Olympics although the brave Russian whistleblower was banned (what irony!); and Pokemon Go was launched in Japan (after US), Singapore and Malaysia.
One New Anything 