Open invitation

I'm frequently asked by people who are hearing about the trip for the first time who I'll be traveling with. I say that I'll be going solo and they either "get" that, or they don't. There are so many reasons why it's a good idea to do a trip like this on your own. You can do what you want, when you want. You can go where you want and you can change your mind along the way if you so choose.

Another big reason that's maybe not so obvious is that a single person is more approachable than a group, or even a couple. If you've ever traveled by yourself, perhaps you've noticed that you tend to be more outgoing or more willing to talk to people you'd otherwise not talk to. As part of a couple, on the other hand, you probably isolate yourself a bit more as you already have a companion with whom to enjoy the sights, the restaurants, your free time, etc. To put it simply, traveling solo gives you more opportunities to meet other people, both other travelers and locals. And again, since you're alone, this is a choice you make cuz, let's face it, sometimes you just want to be alone.

Ok, that was a little bit of a tangent. To get back to my point - after people ask who I'm traveling with, a lot of times they then ask if I'll be meeting up with anyone along the way. It looks like that may just happen; one of the book club gals will be in Vietnam and maybe Laos with her boyfriend at about the same time that I plan to be there, so we're gonna try to meet up.

Here's the open invitation: Do you have plans to be in any of my destination locations (or even somewhere close that might make a good side trip for me)? Are you looking to take a vacation in the next year but don't have ideas on where to go? While I am psyched to go on this trip by myself, I also think it would be really cool to meet up with someone from home on the other side of the planet. So if you're looking for a little adventure of your own, let me know and we can try to make plans to connect at some point.