start traveling from making a decision now

Simply close your eyes, and listen to your inner voice. Your inner voice. If you hear any  other voices, that other people do not, it is worrisome... Pick your dream destination. Somehow deep down there you already know where you want to go, don't you?  Sound oversimplified? Life is damn simple. Only people make it complicated.

Listen! Book your flight tickets today. If you wait till tomorrow, your brain will find an excuse not to go on the adventure of your lifetime.

Remember as follows:

Desires shall be satisified immediately, especially the ones including adventures, overnight flights with free drinks, hot flight attendants and pilots, cramped toilets and exotic destinations.

HOW NOT TO LET FEAR STOP YOU FROM TRAVELING?

Feeling fear is human. This might include diarrhoea, abdominal pains, stress overwhelming your body and the feeling of confusion and disorientation. But you know what? It is damn good. You are a human being, and you have a right to fear and piss/shit your pants or sometimes do both simultaneously. Do not feel ashamed of it. Feel ashamed when the fear stops you from living and experiencing.

HOW TO TRAVEL ALONE? FEMALE SOLO TRAVELING

I am a female solo traveler who visited over 34 countries and I still plan next trips. Am I fearless? I do suffer from stress and rarely panic attacks. One of my last trips included trekkig in the restricted district of Nepal at the border of Tibet - Upper Mustang. Only once I booked flights, I actually realized that this entails spending a few days in complete isolation from the whole world (no wifi, no phone signal) in Himalayas meeting just a handful of people on the route. I was completely alone accompanied by a Sherpa (male) guide as you are not allowed to enter the area otherwise, carrying a 12-14 kg backpack. There are no hotels in this area. The accommodation was poor and unheated despite the fact that in the night the temperature was reaching -11° C. It was not easy. I also cryed half of my flight from Doha (Qatar) to Kathamndu (Nepal) due to extreme stress but smiled the whole way back home swelled with pride and full of dozens of unique memories that will cherish forever. Face your fears, fight them and conquer. The only tip for female solo travelers is: just be smart. It is enough.

On a side note, do you think I would go anywhere if I waited for a companion? It is your life so live your dream. Do not wait for friends. They are busy with their own lives and dreams. What if your wife/husband/girlfriend/boyfriend does not want to go? The studies show that couples who travel together have better, more fulfilling sex lives in general. But if a partner does not want to go? His/Her loss. Go on your own. Before you got married/together, you had seperate lives. Remember? There is nothing wrong if once in a while you spend a few days apart following your own dreams. Also, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Travel to unexplored lands. Meet and talk to locals. It is all pretty scary. I have been there but I guarantee you - totally worth it.

HOW TO GO TO A BAR ALONE IN CHINA?

• In Shanghai (China) in the legendary Peace Hotel Old Jazz Bar in October 2015, I ordered a glass of wine at sat at the bar. Have you ever gone to a bar alone (in China)? Do you know how awkward it feels especially for a highly introvertic person?  This was my last day in China before my departure back home. I was backpacking solo for over two weeks. I actually just finished a 22h 33 m train ride from Zhangjiajie to Shanghai.

Despite this fact, wearing a Nike t-shirt “Just do it” - the only clean piece of clothing that I had, I did not want to miss the opportunity. The Old Jazz Band is made of 6 musicians and is the oldest jazz band in the world. Their average age is 82. Even Ronald Reagan was once among their audience.

Five minutes later, I was already talking with a German (Lufthansa) pilot who turned out to be piloting the airplane I was returning home the next day. How often do you meet a pilot/passenger of your airplane in a 24 million city? How dope is that?

On a side note, have I mentioned that I had been celebrating my birthday the following day? Not only by changing the time zones extended my birthday which lasted 32 h instead of regular 24 h, and I was invited to a pilot’s cabin, but my new friend sent me a  bottle of champagne and roses. Some men just make promises, the others simply take you up to the sky, literally. So girl, next time ditch your friends and go to a bar alone!

TRAVELING ALONE IN GEORGIA?

• After a sleepless night that spent at the Atatürk Airport in Istanbul (Turkey) as my flight was scheduled for a very early morning, landed in the country (Georgia - Tbilisi) that loves you and where the names of the streets make absolutely no sense. Have you ever seen Georgian scripts?

Worth to note, despite their friendliness, Georgians do not have a fluent command of English. My luck was that could understand a bit of Russian. My bad luck was that I have a very bad sense of direction (the names of streets in Georgian were not helping though) and did not have any data on my mobile so could use GPS. (The temperature was reaching 35 ° C)

In this case, had no alternative but to ask for assistance a man approx. 70 yrs old of age (I did the swift due risk assessment and followed my female intuition). The man agreed to take me to my hostel but he actually took me first to his home, where he and his wife, opened doors to their bedroom (with a king size bed) and offered me to be their guest.

MEET more FANTASTIC PEOPLE WHEN TRAVELING SOLO

• In Turkey during a boarding of the Atlas Jet flight from Istanbul to Izmir, a man who had a seat allocated next to mine wanted to pass and take his seat.

   - “Türkçe bilmiyorum” (I do not know Turkish) -  I said

  - “Funny that you can say it in Turkish actually”  - He replied

  The flight lasted approx. 50 minutes, enough to realise that met an exceptional wise and kind human being of a Turkish origin, married to Chinese and living in Toronto (Canada) with a daughter of my age and a dog named Meatball.

  Guess who picked me up from the airport in Toronto two years later and took for dinner to the best Chinese restaurant & showed me around the city? Guess who was emailing me every few months sharing a piece of his life?

  18th of Sep 2018 Bedi passed away. He caught a very aggressive type of lymphoma cancer.

  Our time in this world is limited but what we can do in that time, is not. It is amazing that one travel can change so much, sometimes it can change everything.

But you have kids? traveling with kids

Now it is hight time to be honest. If you have small kids, you are f*****. I really mean it. But you can still choose to show them the real world. Travel with kids. Do not postpone their education and do not put off your dreams.

Ok. But you will say, what about money? You are an adult. You have choices in your life. Choose wisely what you spend your money on.  Invest in experiences (not things) and people that matter. Worried about their safety? I guarantee you, those little noisy creatures will be fine. Worry more about yourself.

If you have already endured years of torment and abuse of your sweet little kids, and all those long  days filled with dirty diapers, sleepless nights are over & your offspring is now eligible to work under the law of you country, that is actually very good news. Now they can pay for their own adventures and yours.