Well hello to you my reader chums! Travelling solo is something that I'm so proud I've finally been able to do. I've wanted to do it for such a long time, so when the opportunity occurred, I'm really happy I jumped at the chance. 

I can actually do it

This may sound like a really silly point, but I don't think when I initially set off and arrived that I had the capability to do a solo trip on my own. I thought I was going to be too anxious to navigate myself around, too anxious to talk to people, too anxious about getting lost and simply, spending time with myself. I thought my anxiety would take over the whole time and I'd be in my head about the whole trip that I wouldn't actually be able to enjoy it. However, I couldn't have been more wrong. As soon as you put your mind to something, you can easily do it and that's what I learnt on this trip.

I learnt I was able to direct myself around a new city, find my way, and not get lost. I learnt I was able to talk to strangers and ask them to take photos of me or simply make conversation. I learnt I can enjoy my own company in a new place and live off my own accord. I learnt I can stay somewhere new and feel safe. I learnt that solo travel is possible for me and it was possible all along, I just had to believe in myself.

To rely on my own instinct and direction skills

When I'm with someone, I usually rely on them in a sense to be the navigator as my direction skills have always been pretty poor and it can take me a while to get my bearings. But, this trip taught me because I had nobody else, I had to rely on my own instinct and trust myself enough to know where I was going and I did just that. I didn't get lost at all, and I learnt I was able to test myself on figuring out problems alone and being my own satnav.

I have more confidence than I realised

Confidence is something that has certainly grown with age, from my body confidence to confidence in every aspect of myself. On this trip, that confidence was really put to the test because I was completely out of my comfort zone, in a new country and new city where I knew nobody or my surroundings at all. I learnt that I had more confidence than I realised in stepping out and actually experiencing the city to the full, making the right decisions for me on what to do, sitting alone in restaurants, and talking to new people to ask questions.

There are more solo travellers than you think

There are millions of solo travellers all around the world travelling from one country to the next but when I went to Budapest, I was in my head that it was just me and me only. I think it was important for me to learn and realise, that if I looked for it, I could find solo travellers and there were more than I thought. I met a lovely girl on my travels who was in the same position as me, and as I observed around, I saw many solo people dining and mooching. Travelling solo isn't abnormal and there are like-minded people out there, you just need to know where to look.

That being alone isn't abnormal

This leads me to the point about how being alone isn't abnormal. We walk past people going for walks, eating in restaurants, and doing their shopping alone every day so I don't know why I was so in my head that I would stand out from the crowd. I quickly learnt that so many people were like me, either traveling alone or simply mooching about their day in their home city. Being alone is normal and part of life. I love spending time on my own and I feel privileged to of had that solo travel experience.

I hope you enjoyed this post. What have you learnt from travelling solo?

Thank you for reading <3