Song for the solo traveler: “Oleada”

by Brenda Yun on

A good friend of mine sent along this great song by Julieta Venegas, a rising songstress from Mexico, called “Oleada” a few months back that I loved initially for superficial reasons: I love the melody, and he said the song/video reminded him of me. The melody is fantastic, but I was too lazy to translate the Spanish; and I assumed the video reminded him of me because it has a pug in it that looks just like mine.

Now, several months later, I’ve given this song and video some fresh and deserved attention. Now, I understand why my friend sent it along to me.It has a lot to do with the loneliness that I wrote about earlier, but much more than this, this song really encapsulates the combination of fear and excitement that every solo traveler feels when entering the “mundo abierto.”

For those of you who can’t understand Spanish, I’ve translated the “Oleada” lyrics into English below.

Big Wave
I don’t want to get off
This big wave I’m riding
To where, where I don’t know
Only that I’m moving with it

And no one will know me
And I’ll recognize no one
But I’m not afraid

I don’t want to get off
This big wave I’m riding

CHORUS:
And everything I’ve already lived
I’ll continue carrying
I carry it deep inside of me
I have never forgotten it
I feel it so close to me
I carry it deep inside of me

I’m going to look for a place
In this open world
Where I can stay
And begin anew

And no one will know me
And I’ll recognize no one
But I’m not afraid

I don’t want to get off
This big wave I’m riding

REPEAT CHORUS X 2

Survivorman Calls it Quits

by Josh Lew on

Filmmaker and Discovery and Science Channel star Les Stroud, known for his show, Survivorman, is calling it quits after three seasons. The 47 year-old Canadian earned street cred amongst survivalists by filming himself completing various week-long survival challenges. Unlike Man Versus Wild’s Bear Grylls, Stroud traveled without a camera crew and survival experts. I, for one, found his solo approach to film-making and survival refreshing compared to Grylls’ preening in front of the camera.

Stroud explained his decision to call it quits to Reuters: “You can only do seven days surviving without food a certain number of times a year. I’m pleased with what I have done, I’ve been copied around the world, but 25 times I’ve not eaten anything for a week while sleeping on rocks. I need to move on.”

Filming for the third, and now final, season is wrapping up in Papua this month. Though the tag Survivorman will probably always remain with him, Stroud plans to move on to other projects. He is writing a book about wilderness survival and is planning a new show where he will follow in the footsteps of famous explorers.

Solo travel. How to make it cheaper.

by Jamie Rhein on

For those who solo travel, bargains are harder to come by, particularly if you’re booking a cruise or taking a tour. Most tour prices are couple friendly. If you have a traveling buddy, lodging is cheaper.

Ed Perkins, a consumer travel writer for Tribune Media Services offers some suggestions for people who are going it alone to reduce the cost of an adventure.

One option is to have a cruise line or cruise operator find a roommate for you. Perhaps someone is in the same position you are. You would only be sharing a room, but the rest of the time you can strike out on your own.

Another is to look for a traveling companion by hitting up your friends, coworkers, family members, basically anyone you know, to find out if they know of someone who would like to go on a trip.

Check out an organization like Connecting Solo Travel Network, Travel Acquaintance and Travel Chums. These businesses specialize in hooking people up to single travel deals and with each other.

Perkins also suggests O Solo Mio Tours and scouting out last minute deals with tour operators. Sometimes you can get a good deal right before a trip starts.

Even for people traveling with a partner, hooking up with a single person can be a money saver and can offer a broader experience. When my husband and I were traveling in Vietnam we became friends with Amit, a woman from Israel. We shared a room and hired a driver together, and even arranged to meet up with her in Hanoi after we veered in different directions for a few days.

We also hung out with Stan, a Vietnam vet who was traveling alone. After sharing a meal, we shared the cost of a driver from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang. Since Stan was stationed in Nha Trang, this gave us an experience from his point of view.

Amit became our companion from Nha Trang to Hue and on to Hoi An.

In Hoi An, Amit and I had a wonderful time shopping while my husband was relieved to not tag along.

University student dies in the Amazon

by Abha Malpani on

23-year old Madrileño Pablo Barbadillo Maestre went to the Amazon in south eastern Peru to research for his thesis on the ethnoecology of big reptiles. He disappeared a few weeks ago and yesterday his body was found covered with bites from insects and animals. They identified him from the passport they found on him.

The cause of his death is still unknown but the guess is that he could have been attacked by tribes in the Amazon; however there is no evidence of violence.

This rings home because 1) he was a young student not afraid to travel alone in the wilderness of the Amazon 2) although he is said to be found in a remote area of the jungle, he had been there previously and was familiar with his surroundings. We can assume he was well prepared for the trip.

It could have been anyone. I wonder what he did wrong? I wonder if he could have avoided it? What protection items should he have taken with him that he didn’t have already? What lesson can we learn from this?

Shy? Here are some tips for solo traveling

by Catherine Bodry on

It can be difficult for anyone to travel alone. But the trials of solo travel can be magnified for a shy person who finds it difficult to make friends wherever he or she goes. I know, because I’ve always been shy. And I found that traveling solo was the best thing I could have done for myself. Being alone in foreign countries forced me out of my comfort zone — which is always a good thing, right? That doesn’t mean it was easy — I shed a lot of tears, called home every other day, and drank a lot of beer to overcome my small-talk impaired-ness.

Although travel tips for the shy traveler are similar for the outgoing traveler, I think it’s more important for bashful people to be conscientious about how they go about their trips, since meeting people can be much more difficult. Here’s what I learned:

  • Stay at a social place where travelers congregate. Hostels are great.
  • Try to arrange sleeping in a single-sex dorm, especially if you’re female — I found it much easier to make friends with other women in that atmosphere.
  • Take a tour, especially one your guesthouse offers. You’ll meet people doing the same things as you. Often I’d end up having dinner with the people I’d met on tour. And we had an instant conversation topic.
  • Carry a book or journal with you; that way, if you feel awkward eating alone you can always pull one of those out instead of staring at the table across from you while waiting for your food.
  • Call home when you get lonely, and look for homey comforts. I’m not advocating McDonald’s, but I may have enjoyed a Starbucks or two when I came across one.
  • Enjoy it! One of the best things I learned while traveling alone was that I don’t actually mind being by myself. I could pick and choose who I wanted to hang out with, and my schedule was always my own.

Do you have any tips to add?