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| Hostel beds in Amsterdam (above) and Barcelona (below) |
“I realize that all this pretty much defies all the tenets of solo travel or backpacker culture. Most of those who stay in hostels don’t go out exploring alone; they spend the day hanging out together and drinking in the common rooms. But I would argue that being introverted can be an advantage rather than a hindrance while traveling solo,” Kristine wrote.Kristine’s point made me think of my experiences staying in hostels. I stayed in plenty a hostel on my adventures throughout Europe — not for the hostel culture, mostly for the price. I traveled with friends and none of us could understand how it was that our other “roommates” were in the room when we left in the morning and were there again when we got back after a full day of exploring. I don’t get what the appeal is of sitting in a hostel’s bar or game room for an entire day. For me, a hostel is there so I'm not sleeping on the street. I need clean sheets and a hot shower ... otherwise, you’re in a city that you obviously paid money and took time to get to. SEE IT!
As a natural extrovert myself, I understand the desire and sometimes need to connect to other people. Unlike Kristine, I do enjoy small talk. I don’t necessarily delude myself into believing that the superficial connections I make with people over a beer at a bar will lead to lifelong friendships — even though, honestly, it’s happened to me a few times before. However, needing interaction to the point of foregoing the beauty of discovering the place you’ve spent your resources on to come and see seems like an absolute waste for me. My time in a different country was planned out as to maximize what I could see without being too overwhelmed.
I also think that while it’s great making connections with other travelers, there aren’t locals at the hostels — except maybe the people who work there. The whole point of traveling for me is to actually experience the people, sites and cultures of the place you’re in. Spending your time all day in a hostel is not the way to do that.
While I am extroverted, I also am a very particular traveler. My time is planned out as to see everything I want to see. A vacation spent lying lazily on the beach every day for a week sounds absolutely horrible to me — I’d much rather be so tired from walking around all day that I pass out as soon as my head hits the pillow at night.
So while I do enjoy traveling with others — I actually don’t think I’ve ever traveled completely alone — I don’t enjoy traveling with just anyone. My travel companion and I have to be of the same mindset. I have no problem splitting up and meeting back again later if my travel buddy wants to see something I don’t particularly care to or vice versa, but, ultimately, he or she has to want to see SOMETHING. (Luckily, I’ve discovered that my boyfriend and I are very compatible travel companions ::sigh of relief::.)
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| My friends and me in Park Guell in Barcelona |
Even the biggest extroverts need their alone time sometimes.
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| Exploring Chicago on my own: Me reflected in the city on the Bean, a.k.a. Cloud Gate, in Millennium Park |
For me, a great trip has the combination of extroversion and introversion. I do really enjoy other people’s company and greatly enjoy meeting new people, especially when those meetings do sometimes turn into actual friendships. But every once in a while, I need my time to be just for me — whether that is a couple of hours in the park or a full day exploring a new city on my own.
Thanks for the shout out. :)
ReplyDeleteI think the fact that a lot of hostel dwellers spend the whole day hanging out amongst themselves is attributable to two things. One, they tend to have a lot more time in any particular place. After my study abroad program in Salvador, Brazil was done, I headed to Rio for a few days. Most of the other guests at the hostel had been there for a month already and are staying for another few weeks. They're in no rush to see or do anything. Second, there is this elitism that permeates backpacker culture, like backpackers are "better" than regular tourists, because they don't arrive at a place with an agenda. There are a lot of travel snobs out there who purposely skip out on the "highlights" of the place, because they're too touristy. I'm with you - why travel all the way to another country only to socialize with other North American/European/Australian travelers? What's wrong with seeing the Colosseum, the Taj Majal, the pyramids, etc.? Why slight other travelers just because they have a limited amount of time in any given place? Plus, unless you actually live and work there, locals will always see you as a tourist, regardless of your travel style or what you like to call yourself.
Another thing I don't get about backpacker/hostel culture - why does being dirty/unwashed/not having done your laundry in weeks make you more legit? It's sometimes hard to find a good shower and cheap laundry while on the road, but long term travel doesn't have to mean stinky!
I would definitely recommend a completely solo trip, if only for a weekend. It's a great experience; you learn to love your own company and become more daring out of necessity.
Absolutely! I'm all for seeing things that are "off the beaten path" to use a very overused cliche, but frankly, I feel like a trip to Paris wouldn't really be complete without seeing the Eiffel Tower ... and if that makes me a less legit traveler than those who sit in a hostel all day because they're too cool to go marvel at what other cities have to offer, then that's fine. Personally, I think I'm better off.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I totally agree about the stinky thing ... it's just gross. And in a lot of my conversations with backpackers I met at the hostels we stayed at, they actually were privileged kids who I felt were really just traveling the way they were to perpetuate an image ... I really don't get why it had to be a dirty one, but hey, whatever floats your boat. I think it only makes you stand out more as a tourist ... you don't see the locals walking around dirty and stinky ;-)
I'll certainly consider a solo trip! I feel like it would be very much out of my comfort zone, but I'm excited to try it :-). The only time I actually traveled by myself it was to see friends, so that doesn't really count.
And no problem about the shout out ... you wrote a great article that made me think about my own experiences. Also, thanks for introducing me to WorldHum! It's a great site and I've been perusing it for the past few days.