The good, the bad and the ugly.

But travelling doesn't have to be expensive, and it certainly doesn't have to be with company. I've travelled to over 65 countries, and mostly solo, for almost 20 years now; I'm 'proof' that travelling (solo) can actually be cheaper than living back home, in the western world. 

Of course, I understand that some people reading this have commitments which don't allow them the freedom to travel, let alone travel alone, but this is aimed more at those who don't have commitments and are simply making excuses, gripping on to fear like it's a life-boat.

Learn the good, the bad, and the ugly of travelling solo with this list, and decide for yourself if you want to continue waiting around for that 1-week holiday in a year's time, which your friend still hasn't committed to. 

1. It's so liberating to do as you please, when you please and how you please. No need to confer with anyone, make endless plans then feel guilty about canceling last-minute, or being dragged from one place to another, in the name of compromise;
2. It encourages you to learn and fine-tune lots of necessary life-skills: from the logistics of researching and making decisions, to planning, surviving and learning to trust your instincts and judgments; 
3. It can be very social when you want it to be, meeting people as and when (in your hostel, in a café, on the beach...), and equally tranquil and quiet when you want the solitude;
4. It gives you the time and freedom to connect with yourself, pursue creative skills during the various 'idle' moments, and shows you who you really are and what you're capable of;
5. It lets you see how magical and vast the world is, and how insignificant your problems are; 
6. You see, experience and witness amazing things from exhilarating adventures, to curious cultures to tantalizing food, reminding you what it's like to be alive and realize how fortunate you truly are all whilst creating everlasting memories;
7. You make surprisingly instant, deep connections, finding yourself opening up in ways that you've struggled to get back home, and in a short time make life-long connections with people who make you feel seen, heard and understood;
8. Sometimes, it can get boring, lonely and suddenly overwhelm you with homesickness as you realise that connections may seem fleeting, repetitive and superficial;
9. It can be more expensive at times as you have the bear the full amount of a bill instead of splitting, like for a taxi, scooter or hotel room (assuming you don't use public transport or book dorms in hostels);
10. You will get noticed, stared at and questioned for travelling solo (as a female, anyway), with some people seeing it as bravery and awe-inspiring, whilst others see you as easy prey.

This is quite a brief list, but as you can see, the good outweighs the bad and the ugly. You just have to be patient and kind with yourself as you ride the waves, but it's totally worth it. So go on, what are you waiting for?

This blog will reveal that just because photos look like you're physcially in paradise, it doesn't mean that you're emotionally there too, nor that your experience matched it. Photos (especially on social media) only show 1 dimension- carefully curated, angled and shared to show only the 'perfection' and ignite envy, or inspiration, from your followers. 

On my fourth day in Langkawi, Malaysia, I decided to actually do something instead of lounge around on the hammock all day, so I opted for the cheapest tour available. At only MYR40 (around £8, instead of all the others starting at MYR 170, around £35), Island hopping sounded ideal- a morning tour visiting 3 islands on a serene boat trip. Ha, joke's on me!

The journey

It all started from waking up with a headache, probably from the soju the evening before as I had about 2/3 of the bottle, enjoying the feeling at the time! After a rushed breakfast, and a delayed pick-up, an unbearable smelly man with the worst B.O. sat next to me on the van, so I had to hold my breath whilst we drove around picking up others. Luckily, he moved to the back once new people were collected. 

The worst part of the journey was the boat ride itself. I'd been looking forward to having a tranquil and calming experience, but got the exact opposite. I'd stupidly sat towards the back edge, and as the captain was going ridiculously fast, I got completely drenched, head-to-toe. It wasn't pleasant at all! A reminder: never sit in the penultimate seat closest to the edge in a speedboat!

When I got off the boat, I told the captain that I got completely wet because he was going so fast, he just shrugged his shoulders like, "Oh well, it happens to everyone."

First stop: Dayang Bunting Marble Geoforest Park

Arriving to our first stop, I was already annoyed. They say bad things came in threes, so I wasn't sure if the headache, the smelly man and the boat ride counted as my three, or there was more! 

Once we got there, we were told that we needed to pay another MYR20 (£4) to enter the freshwater lake. We'd been given just over an hour, and I was debating whether I should. I really didn't want to pay, as I thought that I'd probably not swim there anyway. FOMO trumped my instinct, and I went in, marching up the stairs, trying to pass the slow families with kids taking their sweet time.

Once I'd descended the stairs, previous irritation having snowballed, I slipped on the steep ramp. My left leg went ahead whilst my right bent, and I continued sliding down, grazing my knee and my foot where the flip-flop strap had dug into me. Embarrassed and hurt, I got up to inspect the damage. It wasn't too bad, but it stung as the skin was exposed. So on top of my already foul mood, now I couldn't walk properly nor go in the water (as Google advised against it due to exposing an open wound to bacteria found in water).

I hobbled on in the shaded path trying to calm myself down, take deep breaths, tell myself that I'm in nature and need to embrace the moment, trying to shake off my feelings so I could be present and appreciative. 

I guess, although it didn't completely work because sadly our emotions don't have a switch button so you can't just turn them off, I think it at least diluted my frustration a bit. However, I remember thinking, "This was a waste of money!"

Second stop: Eagle watching

Back on the boat, I refused to sit at the back again, so the captain had no choice but to get another passenger to move there in order to 'balance out' the boat.

Gripping for my dear life once again, the captain continued to drive the boat like he was an F1 driver, thinking it funny (or fun) to take sharp corners speedily and tilt the boat heavily, sending us to scream in fear as he stopped. Not fun at all!

He stopped in the middle of the sea, surrounded by cliffs, and in complete silence, threw something into the water. Before we knew what was happening,  flock of birds raced down to collect whatever food he'd thrown. He didn't even tell us that they were eagles! I almost didn't bother filming it! 

Zooming back, I was praying that we're going home because by now my annoyance at the captain had become pure loathing. But I was calculating that we've only had 2 'stops' out of 3, so there must be one more. 

Final stop: Beras Basah Beach

Our final stop turned out to be a stunning white-powder-sand and turquoise-clear-waters kind of beach. In other words, paradise! 

But I was annoyed to the max that the toilet was charged even though it's a hole in the ground, and not cleaned/ maintained, so what's the money for?! I was annoyed that I couldn't even go into the water because of my new wound. I was annoyed at all the people around me. I was annoyed that the beach wasn't wide enough or shaded enough to sit and chill. 

So there I was, in paradise, but I couldn't even get my feet wet. Nor pee in the sea for free!

Failing to find a private bush, I bit my morals and paid to pee. Then sat on a root of a tree with limited shade, trying to not get sand on the open wound on my feet, and I took some Instagrammable photos. 

At least my pictures will show what a great day I've had. No one wants to know that even in paradise you can have a bad experience. That would simply kill the dream.