Is being a female solo traveler easy? …Not!

Filed under Inspiration, SOLO TRAVEL by on May 14, 2012 at 8:00 am {24 comments}
solo travel
Is going Solo easy for women? (Ladakh, India)

You are very brave. I could never do what you do– traveling on your own…

[  HAhhh, here we go again…  ]

How do you do it?

[  Well, you think this is a vacation?  ]

No, I need to go with my husband. He always arranges and schedules things. I wouldn’t know what to do if I had to travel on my own…

[  Honey, you'd be surprised what you can do on your own if you had to or really wanted to.   ]

If I didn’t have my husband, I wouldn’t go anywhere.

[   ...or, you could choose that option too.  ]

 

Shweta was an intelligent and forward Indian wife and university professor in her 30′s, vacationing with her husband in Ladakh, India. We were sharing a truck through the icy slopes of Nubra Valley and I was being bombarded with the questions that many females ask about solo travel, when they’re standing on the opposite side of it. As Shweta listened to my answers, her eyes drew a hallowed (more…)

How to travel solo in India: Interview with Chiaki Nakashima

Filed under Features Slide, Inspiration by on June 26, 2011 at 3:18 am {9 comments}

What does the idea of “a solo woman traveling in India” surface for you?

When I met Chiaki, we were both, waiting for the local bus to our yoga ashram. A Japanese waif of gentle yogic smiles, she challenged my notions about what it is to be a solo female traveler in India. Chiaki didn’t boast the extensive list of a world traveler, nor was she avoiding the challenges of navigating the Indian terrain in the way a native would; she was tackling India solo in calm stride.

How the hell was she doing it? (more…)

GRRRL Goes Whimpery in Her New Korean Location

Filed under Just Show Me Pictures!, Korea by on March 2, 2010 at 3:33 pm {35 comments}
My Korean bathroom (sink/toilet/shower compressed in the same room) is smaller than my NYC apt bathroom

How do you take a bath in Korea? 

Let me tell you how I just did it.  I washed over my sink and shaved my legs by propping them up on my toilet lid.  Yes, a toilet lid can have more uses than just one when you’re in an efficient country like Korea…

But all smart-assing aside.  You haven’t heard peep from me since I’ve arrived in Korea, as I’ve been in an intense transition and it just hit rocky. The “rocky” is something I’m still working through. I’ll fast-forward over my escape from the draft of flu, my partial hearing loss due to airplane travel with a cold and my suspended bowel movement, which had me alarmed for several days. I will blow past my initial romance phase with Korea- my wonderful EPIK orientation, experiencing Korea for the first time and the “Oh snaps,  I love being here!“ 

I’m gonna start my Korean blogging with my first “real” GRRRL whimper… the moment when “yours truly” turned girlie whiny and wanted to book the (more…)

Serendipity and a Single GRRRL Traveler

Filed under Inspiration, SOLO TRAVEL by on February 12, 2010 at 10:56 am {6 comments}
she'll grow into it

Update on my big move:
Next week I’ll be leaving Hawaii for Korea! It’s a bit stressful for me now and unfortunately, my family is buffering the bitch in me (it’s always the loved ones, who get the short end…). How stressed am I? My body is communicating to me via adverse reactions. My last big move was to New York – I broke out in two months worth of hives on my back legs! Current symptom? Anal retention. My body is tense and only tons of laxatives and cleansers can unlock it; ultimately, leaving my GRRR in an uncomfortable whimper and me, with a sore ass! How’s that for irony- literal and metaphoric?

So last week I had lunch with my warm friend, inspirational coach and  leading Hawaii celebrity and jazz musician, Jimmy Borges.
We talked about my move into expat life, the unknown of what might result of my year abroad and how the ticking clock of (more…)

Planning an Itinerary for the first-time Solo Traveler

Filed under Interviews, SOLO TRAVEL by on November 2, 2009 at 9:56 am {one comment}

*REvised version*
by Christine Ka’aloa

Boo! It’s Halloween and the perfect time to talk about the SCARY of planning my itinerary for my entirely solo trip to Thailand.

My Pre-flight Jitters
I leave for Thailand in a day and my solo fears are now starting to sink in!  I’m filled with all sorts mixed emotions and self-doubts that aim to sabotage my confidence. When friends ask me whether I’m excited about my trip, I feel numb. Frankly, I wish I did not have so much time to think about it, but I do.

Planning  Woes for the Soloist

When I said earlier that my friend, Regina, does not use guidebooks when she travels, I’ll let you in on a little secret… I haven’t really either. I buy them for the “in case” I want to open them. But only until last year when I was (more…)

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