Last Christmas, one of my good friends decided to take a solo trip to Thailand, just because she could. That is, she’s single, had some vacation time saved up at work, and it was a slow period anyway – why not?
I love that some of us can be that spontaneous and courageous. After all, it takes guts to fly halfway around the world, not knowing what to expect, and hope that you’ll get around okay despite the language barrier. She didn’t have a lot planned, just the basics of where to stay and a few things she wanted to do. She had always wanted to visit Thailand, and took the opportunity to finally just do it.
I’m telling you all this because sometimes we need a little inspiration to get us to travel, especially solo. It seems that more of us prefer to fantasize about that time in the future with our shiny new boyfriends, holing up in some remote desert island. But that’s not what real travel is about – it shouldn’t be focused around romantic getaways. Solo travel brings us closer to ourselves – knowing what we can do, who we are, what we want. It takes us out of our comfort zones. It’s liberating in so many ways. But sometimes, we need a push to do it. In my case, wanderlust started after a particularly bad break-up, and then it just took hold.
For those of you contemplating a solo travel experience, it’s important to pick a good place to stay. You want to feel comfortable and secure – without going broke – but you also want it to be more of an experience than just staying at a generic hotel. There are so many options, it’s hard to know where to begin. But there are some incredible resources out there that can take you beyond the typical hotels and into a more local, authentic experience. BorntoBunk.com is a fantastic place to start if you’re visiting Asia and you don’t want to spend a ton of cash. They offer a range of budget to mid-level accommodations in different countries (with a discount if you pay for your entire stay in advance). It’s a great resource if you are looking to hop from city to city, because you can book multiple stays with one transaction. For a limited time only, users can “share” the site on Facebook and shave a further 40% off their booking fees. (You’ll see this option during the checkout process.) Check out some pictures of their accommodations on Pinterest.
The best part about BorntoBunk? If you want to blog about your travel experiences on their site, they give you credit towards your next stay! They are just looking for great content – pictures, tips, anecdotes, crazy experiences – whatever you want to share. There are some excellent travel tips depending on where you want to go, too. For instance, on a trip to Vietnam one traveler mentioned getting a “foreigner tax” added to every bus trip, until he discovered that booking in advance avoids this hassle.
Anyway, the point is to get out there and experience a different culture for yourself. There’s no point in waiting for the “right time,” because you can keep putting it off until life takes over and you don’t have as many options as you do right now. Maybe it’s time to put you first.
This is a sponsored post.
About Kelly Seal
Kelly is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles, CA. She blogs about dating, relationships, personal growth and what "healthy living" means to her. You can follow her on Google+, Twitter @kellyseal or through her website www.kellyseal.com.
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