Im the idiot that got lost on a group tour. Yup. That scary fleeting thought that crosses your mind when you step onto a tour bus is now ingrained into my memory forever. It wasn’t in Paris (thank god) but I still went on tours there. (I am still very scarred.)
Traveling solo is an extremely scary thing to do if you have never left your own country or like to move in groups with friends. The first time I left, I went to Scotland because they also spoke English and it was close by. Low risk, small city, walk-able as well. I had everything researched and got my trusty portable charger.
Boy, was I in for a party.
I got lost so many times, texted my friend “it’s so damn windy” everyday, and had to walk in snowy streets. Europe apparently doesn’t have shovels.
This trip did teach me a lot of life lessons and let me think through what my life was/is like. For example, many people find it uncomfortable talking to strangers and will absolutely never ask for directions. There are others who hate eating out alone because it seems like others are staring or you’re taking up space at a busy restaurant. Others straight up don’t like walking out alone because they can’t be alone; they need a companion to feel stable. These are all reasonable and I understand why people feel uncomfortable. I have also done all of these things and way more embarrassing things while traveling.
I’ve realised with traveling that there is no way to combat fear except for facing it on. Fear of traveling solo? Buy that ticket and drop yourself onto another continent. You can only think, “well, I’m here now, might as well make the most of it.” As long as you take one step at a time, think with an open mind, and slow down your pace, it will all work out.
Ah, Oxford. High ranking university and my most cringe-y memory.
So to finish this up, I’ll tell you about that time I got lost. I was in Cotswold that day and it was really nice (which mean the weather was cooperating). I was on the way to Oxford and was handed a self-walking tour which was around 1.5-2 hours long. So here I go, sun shining, adrenaline high, and hopping off the bus. Speed up to an hour and fifteen minutes, I am in the open market and I’m buying a few things before I run back to the meet-up point. I somehow turn one wrong corner and I am so screwed. Everything suddenly looked the same and there was no campus map. So I run into numerous cafes, get right up into strangers’ faces (and one very nice professor), and somehow find the museum where I saw no bus. No bus. It’s 4:45 and I totally missed it. Well. I waited around a while and then decided, hell I’m going to the train station. And all this stress in a place that I had BEEN TO BEFORE. -facepalm-
And mind you, I had no wifi and had only 2G on my phone. So I buy that £27 ticket back to Piccadilly. It was an hour ride and halfway through, I get attacked with messages and to find out that my tour leader was calling me and leaving messages of “HI, WHERE ARE YOU?” and then I realized, “oh shit.” I had actually gotten the meet-up time wrong. Whoops.
I did get back safe and sound and I have a very entertaining story to tell. You’re welcome. The point of this story is that while things do go wrong, don’t be stressed or panicking. It’ll remain a great memory and train you to be better prepared in the future. Also, you you an awesome ice-breaker.
Have a wonderful day!
Baking Traveller 