Once they heard that I went to Wat Pah Sukato last December, many of my friends said that they'd also like to go with me. Since I'm going there again next week, I did tell two of them that, though I doubted if they'd make it. My hunch is right. One of them opted out from the beginning because she's going to the beach with her kid right before my departure date. Another just called me to say that she can't make it due to work rescheduling.
This proves to me, once again, how much freedom I have when I can drive, can navigate, have my own car, and feel OK by myself. Had I locked myself with another person, I would have to cancel this trip. Well, I suppose, being so darn independent doesn't help socially in that I turn out to be not very accommodating sometimes, in addition to appearing intimidating to weak-heart individuals.
Besides driving long-distance alone both in Thailand and in the US, I take solo trips abroad too. It's not really intentional. I get to go to Finland once every few years to teach. And I figured, since I flew there anyway, I could visit many European cities I'd never been to, and I didn't have to pay extra for airfares. With this approach, I visited Helsinki, Stockholm, London, Cologne and Frankfurt. This year I'm going to Antwerp and Brussels.
Sightseeing European cities is very convenient and quite safe. People speak English; street/public transportation have signs in English; and locals are used to seeing women alone. Since I also speak English and can read maps, I just don't see any difficulties in traveling alone. Thai people are usually surprised when I say I go by myself. They say, oh.., I envy you that you get to travel. I was like, well, you can do it too. Just buy a plane ticket, reserve hotel rooms and go! I mean, if you don't have money or are physically disabled, then that's real tough. But I don't see why able-body, relatively well-off female adults can't travel alone to these places.
Another thing I really like about traveling alone is that I don't have to coordinate my schedule with another human beings. Just to find the dates that everyone can make it takes some efforts, not to mention agreeing on what to do, where to go, what to eat, where to sleep... Listing it out tires me already.
What I generally do in major European cities is visiting museums, especially art ones. Typically, a Thai doesn't enjoy visiting them so much. If I go by myself, I can spend as much or as little time as I like. And I also like to wander around neighborhoods.
Well, I'm slightly worried about the political rallies that will be held this weekend. Hopefully, it is resolved before my departure date.
This proves to me, once again, how much freedom I have when I can drive, can navigate, have my own car, and feel OK by myself. Had I locked myself with another person, I would have to cancel this trip. Well, I suppose, being so darn independent doesn't help socially in that I turn out to be not very accommodating sometimes, in addition to appearing intimidating to weak-heart individuals.
Besides driving long-distance alone both in Thailand and in the US, I take solo trips abroad too. It's not really intentional. I get to go to Finland once every few years to teach. And I figured, since I flew there anyway, I could visit many European cities I'd never been to, and I didn't have to pay extra for airfares. With this approach, I visited Helsinki, Stockholm, London, Cologne and Frankfurt. This year I'm going to Antwerp and Brussels.
Sightseeing European cities is very convenient and quite safe. People speak English; street/public transportation have signs in English; and locals are used to seeing women alone. Since I also speak English and can read maps, I just don't see any difficulties in traveling alone. Thai people are usually surprised when I say I go by myself. They say, oh.., I envy you that you get to travel. I was like, well, you can do it too. Just buy a plane ticket, reserve hotel rooms and go! I mean, if you don't have money or are physically disabled, then that's real tough. But I don't see why able-body, relatively well-off female adults can't travel alone to these places.
Another thing I really like about traveling alone is that I don't have to coordinate my schedule with another human beings. Just to find the dates that everyone can make it takes some efforts, not to mention agreeing on what to do, where to go, what to eat, where to sleep... Listing it out tires me already.
What I generally do in major European cities is visiting museums, especially art ones. Typically, a Thai doesn't enjoy visiting them so much. If I go by myself, I can spend as much or as little time as I like. And I also like to wander around neighborhoods.
Well, I'm slightly worried about the political rallies that will be held this weekend. Hopefully, it is resolved before my departure date.
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