Going Alone: Tips for a Safe and Pleasant Solo Journey

by Catherine Bodry on
My first trip anywhere alone began in Athens 9 years ago. I grew up in the suburbs of Seattle, and had never even taken the bus, let alone experienced a foreign city. As my plane descended I watched the sprawling white city become clearer and clearer through the smoggy sky, and as we got closer I became more terrified. The plane touched down — and I started bawling. It took several Heinekens and a kind stranger to get me in a taxi to my hostel, and several more days before I recovered from jet lag and culture shock.

The subsequent month I spent touring around Europe were filled with incredible highs — I discovered I was capable and competent, and my self-esteem was boosted permanently — and all-encompassing lows — I got lonely and lost, and in situations that would’ve been funny if I’d been with a friend but drove me to tears instead — and I returned to the States a changed person. I’ve taken several solo trips since then, and I love that traveling alone forces me to be outgoing, or allows me be anonymous.

Of course, there’s smart solo travel, where someone always knows where you are and when they should hear from you. And then there’s … not-so-smart solo travel, like the time I arrived in rural China (Guizhou Province) without a guidebook, language guide, or friend. I cried until the only thing left to do was pick myself up and figure things out. I ended that trip humbled — and as always, amazed by the kindness of strangers and the power of body language.

If you’re traveling alone, you should always have someone who is waiting for you to check in, and who has a copy of your itinerary and passport at the least. To combat loneliness, try staying in hostels rather than hotels, and seek out touristy bars and restaurants if possible. If you’re dining alone, it always helps to have a good book or your journal handy to keep you occupied.

For more tips on having a safe and pleasant solo journey, check out msnbc.com.

Across Northern Europe: Shining a Light On Iceland

by Brook Silva-Braga on

There’s something nice about traveling in Iceland. There are a number of nice things, I’m sure, but one came to mind specifically as soon as I landed. This nice thing is nice if you’re a certain kind of traveler. Namely, the kind who maybe sometimes pretends to be a little poorer than you really are. We’re all that kind of traveler by month two in South Asia. That’s the traveler I was when I chose the 250 baht guesthouse in Bangkok and scoffed at the 500 baht room with aircon. I was pretending to be poor.

But there’s no need to strike a pose in Iceland because, friends, I am poor. On my yearlong trip I didn’t carry a tent and rarely camped but I’m glad I have one now. Even my slab of campsite grass is 520 baht (that’s US$13 if you’re not Thai) and a real roof would have run me about $100. Iceland is expensive, that’s what I’m trying to say. Iceland is small and homogeneous and cold. Those are cliches too. That last list hasn’t proven that true to me so far but the expensive thing is as true as an $80 entree.

Today I went to Gunar Haraldsson, the director of the Institute of Economic Studies at the University of Iceland, and asked him why everything was so expensive. “Because we’re rich,” he informed me.

So that settles that.

You don´t need me to come to Iceland to tell you it’s expensive and you don’t need me here to tell you it’s light all the time, but I guess I just did that too. There are about 20 hours of light each day and it has the effect of making the day very slooooow. It feels like you have time to do so many things, even though everything closes by 6pm and the main things you have to do then are walk around or type in the basement of a coffee shop.

Lonely Planet told me Icelanders are all in bands and believe in fairies.

“That’s Bjork’s fault,” Sevinn Bjornsson told me, blasphemously, today. He’s the editor of Iceland’s English language newspaper, The Grapevine, and he had a bone to pick with the woman who would have put Iceland on the map if it hadn’t already been there all distorted and lonely in the middle of the north Atlantic. He’s sick of tourists asking if Icelanders believe in fairies and assuming they are all in bands. She started that, he said. For the record he has fifteen friends in bands, and one who believes in fairies.

I will now segue from fairies to ferries. They run from the main island to the Westmann Islands and I want to be on one this weekend. On the first weekend in August “all the rules in Iceland change” and “Iceland is not Iceland” according to the girl at the tourist information office. That’s because the whole country goes camping for a long holiday weekend and the most out of control incarnation of the party is out on the Westmann Islands. Ten thousand revelers are expected and most thought to buy a ferry ticket more than two days in advance and won’t — like me — be compelled to make the three hour crossing at 2am.

Except no one goes camping the first weekend in August as it turns out. Not the economics professor, or the editor of the paper, or the girl at the tourist office, or even the girl at reception at my campsite. They all told me the whole thing was just too drunk and out of control these days. “And it usually rains,” Sveinn added.

So to recap: Icelanders don’t believe in fairies or go camping when they’re supposed to. They don’t all belong to bands or look the same. But they charge $8 for a local bus when you don’t have exact change. They charge $11 for a beer. They charge $40 for a ferry in the middle of the night to a campsite where the entire country (or no one at all) may be camping in the rain.

Brook Silva-Braga is traveling northern Europe for the month of August and reuniting with some of the people he met on the yearlong trip which was the basis of his travel documentary, A Map for Saturday. You can follow his adventure in the series, Across Northern Europe.

Midwestern Bluegrass in China with Ironweed

by Justin Glow on

My aunt, Jane Accurso, is in a traditional bluegrass band; she plays lead guitar and sings. They’re called Ironweed, and they’re one of Columbia, Missouri’s most well known groups in a burgeoning local music scene. Columbia has a sister city in China: Laoshan, which is roughly 30km east of Qingdao (Tsingtao). A few months back, the Columbia Friends of China — an organization dedicated to promoting sister-city relationships — accepted applications from local Columbia bands to be considered for an all-expenses-paid spot playing on stage at the Quingdao International Beer Festival. Ironweed won the spot.

Until yesterday afternoon, Jane had never left the United States. “We leave for the airport in just a couple of hours,” she wrote on the band’s blog. “I don’t even know how to use chopsticks!”

The band will be updating their blog from the road, sharing the experiences of being one of the few traditional bluegrass bands to play in China. They’ve also got a Flickr page for photos. I can’t wait to follow along.

Historic Opera House: Philipsburg, Montana

by Jamie Rhein on

Four years ago, when I went to an Opera House Theatre production for the first time, I was hooked. This past Sunday I did a double, taking in the afternoon performance with my daughter and son and then heading back solo in the evening. I may be able to get the third show in before we leave town.

Each season, this theater company in Philipsburg, Montana puts on three different melodrama plays, one full-length and two paired with old-time vaudeville variety shows, but updated with original skits. Throughout the summer the plays rotate so, in two days, you can see all three. I always look forward to the laugh fest. It’s not often you can find theatre that satisfies children’s to adults’ tastes. Sunday my son and daughter were guffawing at the same time and the grandparents in the audience were just as loud.

Over the years I’ve seen the company change art and music directors without losing what I found so charming the first time I sat in the audience. During the plays, like with theatre back during vaudeville days, actors are accompanied with piano music that captures the flavor of the action and dialogue. This isn’t over the top entertainment, but sophisticated, tongue-in-cheek fun that satisfies a 21st century crowd. This year’s cast has some of last year’s members and a couple new ones. Part of the fun is watching the same people perform various parts between the shows. That’s a lot of lines to remember.

The Opera House building is part of the show. Claudette and Tim Dringle who own the building and the company took on this labor of love about five years ago by repairing and refurbishing it. Even though it has been in operation since the 1800s when Philipsburg was a thriving mining town, it needed an overhaul. Still, the doors have never closed making this the oldest continuously operating theater in Montana. The backdrops used in the productions are the original, hand painted sets and several of the vaudeville acts are culled from the theater’s original collection. Selection depends on current tastes and what is considered politically correct–nothing offensive here.

I wish I could transport everyone I know here for a show since its survival depends on an audience and I certainly want to be able to continue getting my belly laugh fix every time I come to town.

The photo from the front is from the Opera House’s Web site. This is a past production, but you can see the back drops.

Missoula, Montana: A Great Family Destination

by Jamie Rhein on

In the midst of time we spend in Philipsburg, Montana every year, we make sure we have a day or two designated for Missoula. This year we spent more time then planned because of fires elsewhere. No matter. It’s a perfect place for families with multiple ages and interests. We’ve done most of what there is to do over our years of visiting.

This is a town where you can hook up with an outdoor company for float or a rafting trips of the Clark Fork or Big Blackfoot Rivers, visit Fort Missoula established in 1877 and now a museum, and ride on the Carousel for MIssoula with a wooden dragon that has a plastic sleeve with rings in it coming out of its mouth. Riders who score an outside horse attempt to grab the rings each time they go by until the last one is gone. The last ring is a golden. Whoever gets it gets a free ride. I tried this yesterday, and grabbing those rings is easier than it looks.

The carousel itself is stunning in the artistry of its horses and it goes a bit faster than most-often there are as many adults on it as kids. I wasn’t the only one. Adjacent is Dragon Hollow, a wonderous playground with outdoor musical instruments and art tiles as part of the play structure.

Another thing we’ve done a couple of times is hike up to the large white M above the University of Montana’s campus. The switchbacks make the climb not so dreadful and the view is wonderful. The town is filled with events year-round and downtown Missoula has some terrific stores for browsing. Made in Montana goods are easy to find and no matter where you shop, there’s no sales tax.

The best store, though is Rockin’ Rudy’s. There is a medley of stuff from Made in Montana goods like huckleberry jelly and candy to politically incorrect gee gaws that make fun of politicians (before the last election both George Bush Jr. and John Kerry were equally parodied in card games, chewing gum and bobble-head type stuff), great jewelry, music and videos, joke shop items, luscious smelling soaps, clothing and racks and racks of greeting cards. You really have to go there to understand the beauty in its bounty.

Here’s the “2007 Best of Missoula” article that lists what folks in Missoula like about their town. It gives me some ideas of where else to head the next time.