I’ve been fortunate enough to travel around the world to discover new places and cultures. I’ve always been curious to know how the locals lived in other parts of the world, which led me to study sociology and anthropology as my majors at college.

At a quick glance, it looks like I’ve been to 31 countries out of 250! In other words, only 12% of what is awaiting to be discovered. I’m planning to visit Japan, Taiwan, and Vietnam as soon as he borders reopen and it’s safe to travel again.

Here is how I start a solo trip:

First, I trust my instincts (and the universe). I start my trip with the belief that the world is a good place and nothing bad will happen to me. I don’t want to sound like Pollyanna but I trust that “good people attract good energies” and my past experience is the indicator of my future experience.

What is also super helpful is the vision boards that I make every year. I cut and glue a lot of images from magazines that reflect what I wanted to have in my life. For instance a few years ago, in my vision board that I made in my Brooklyn apartment with a couple of friends,  had a lot of jungle photos, yoga, riding bicycle on the beach and a hot boyfriend. I can assure you that I have them all in my life right now! I highly recommend you to make one and see everything manifest in your life one by one.

How do I plan my trips? Where do I start? 

When I decide to go on an adventure, my primary goal is to travel without spending a fortune and see the most amazing places that I don’t see on everyone’s social media feed.

For instance instead of visiting Taj Mahal shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of tourists, I make an effort to discover an ancient monastery hidden in the Himalayas.

While preparing for my next trip, I read a lot of blogs, message boards and of course Lonely Planet, my bible! Even better the “shoestring” version, so I can find the most on budget accommodations and activities that fellow travelers have recommended. I can’t preach enough about Lonely Planet’s South East Asia and South America on a shoestring editions!

Transportation options

Flights: I usually do a thorough research to see if I can use any of my credit card miles (I have traveled to Hawaii and Colombia for free with my American Airlines miles through AAdvantage card). I often use  Skyscanner for international and local flights or go directly to the local airlines of the respective countries I will be visiting (for instance Air Asia or Lion Air are pretty cheap in Indonesia and Thailand so it’s best to book on their original websites).

In the less developed countries,  you become creative in searching for ways to go from point A to point B.
In some places, biking, ferry, train, bus, boating, or elephants might all become viable options.. You get used to going with the flow without sticking to any timetables and this was the biggest stretch for me coming from the modern world where everything is set in stone and presented to us as an app or website.

When I land in a foreign country, I wear my detective hat and try to find how and where to avoid the tourist trail. I usually:

• prefer to stay in hostels and guesthouses to socialize with other backpackers who are either coming from or going to somewhere I’d like to explore
• look for flyers, boards on the walls in the guesthouses, coffeeshops, restaurants, and popular stores that give hints about local events that might be interesting
• make turns to unknown narrow streets to discover hidden beauties
• choose public transportation over taxis
• find yoga studios and study their boards to get clues on related places/events or chat with people who work there for their recommendation

I haven’t had a single bad experience as a solo traveler so far, moreover following my gut and taking a few calculated risks just added more to my experience!

Travel Insurance

I can’t emphasize enough the importance of getting travel insurance before starting an international travel. From minor accidents to big hospitalization, evacuation cases, or just for the sake of your mind.

I have used InsureMyTrip several times to purchase basic a plan from Allianz Atlas Insurance  ($30-$100 depending on what you want to be covered for: medical and/or travel). So far I’ve used the insurance for two hospital visits, one for a minor motorcycle accident and the other for bladder infection. I took a picture of my hospital bill and submitted an online claim. Boom! I had the reimbursement in my bank account in 2 weeks! Awesome service, no headache!

Credit cards/ATM cards

Most of the banks charge ATM fees for using the card outside of the country. I had a Chase Bank debit card and was being charged $5 per transaction (in addition to the ATM fee charged on the spot by that specific foreign bank).

So after a thorough search,  I opened a Capital One 360 free checking account that also came with no international ATM fees. Bingo!

I decided to take my Chase Bank ATM card with me just as a back up, which became very handy when I lost my Capital One card in Thailand. Capital One was super quick to Fedex me a new card within a week!

As for credit cards, I stay away from using them other than flight bookings. In South East Asia, cash is still the primary form of payment unless you’re in a big city.

I have been traveling for the last 8 years all around the world and you can find more info about me here.

Be safe and bon voyage! 🚀