Sitting 5,430 above sea level, Boulder Colorado is a slightly oxygen deprived paradise. At least that was the wording of one of the locals at the Kombucha booth at their farmer’s market Saturday morning.
For the last year I have run the My Yoga Online Facebook page and worked for them as an assistant editor. Now that company is in the process of merging with Gaiam TV, and I was flown to Boulder, Colorado to train my replacement. I got my own hotel room and a generous per deim that allowed me to dine in style. An interesting twist on the trip: when I wasn’t at work, I was alone.
Up at 3:30am to catch a 6:30am flight, I experienced a strange paranoia on the plane. I was afraid to close my eyes. This is not a joke. I was so tired that I was afraid that if I closed my eyes I’d wake up in my bed at home, and realize that I’d actually slept in and missed my flight. So I didn’t sleep. My paranoia turned out to be unwarranted.
I arrived in Boulder, checked into my hotel, and caught a cab to the Gaiam headquarters. It was beautiful! Pickable fruit trees and a meditation labyrinth made up their backyard, and although I’m not a huge fan of cubicles, their corporate culture was bright and casual. A short day of work, and I left for the first of three nights spent alone.
What to do? Write, go for a run, spend some time in pigeon pose. That was easy… but then dinner time arrived. I laced up my sneakers and began exploring the downtown culture. I couldn’t help but stop in at some of the local bookstores as I explored the streets, and by the time I realized that I really did need to eat something it was 9:30PM. Everyone was out with their friends and a beer, and I was alone and suddenly self-conscious about asking for a table for one. Eventually I found a nice japanese restaurant with a bar that circled around the chefs. Perfect! I got a table for one and ordered the most expensive thing on the menu, a sushi roll that featured the entire tail of an Atlantic lobster. It was called the “booty call.” It was awesome. I chatted with the chef as I ate my dinner, and even tried to take a picture of him in front of the dish he prepared. It didn’t work out.
I don’t want to elaborate too much on what I did on night two… because once work was done I didn’t really do anything. Maybe I should feel guilty about staying inside instead of exploring the streets and grabbing another dinner for one, but I don’t. I went to bed early (and maybe a little bit hungry), and woke up refreshed for day three.
Saturday I had all to myself. I didn’t have to grab the shuttle to the airport until 4pm and had practically the whole day to explore. Up at 6:00am, I started the day with some yoga, packed and then headed to a close by breakfast restaurant for another dinner for one at the bar. I took my time, and enjoyed every bite. Finally the self-consciousness was starting to dissipate and I was finally starting to enjoy myself. Afterwards I headed to the farmer’s market where I purchased a heaping glass of locally made Kambucha, and then found a tree to sit underneath and read. Before catching my shuttle to the airport at 4pm, I also enjoyed a little bit of shopping, journalling, more food, and a parade (the last sort of came out of nowhere).
So what did I learn?
3 Take Aways From My Experience Travelling Alone
1. Restaurant bars make an excellent and less conspicuous place to eat if you’re by yourself. Plus, there’s more of an opportunity to meet someone there (even though I didn’t… unless you count the chef at the Japanese restaurant. He was pretty cool).
2. Learn how to take a selfie… without being self-consious. Please say it’s not just me who feels weird about sticking a camera in front of my own face and smiling. Ugh… and yet, I’m still drawn to it somehow.
3. No need to apologize or negotiate. Do what you like and stay accountable to yourself. Lately I’ve been searching for the exact feeling of independence that I got to satisfy with this short trip. I got up early, spent an enormous amount of time in used bookstores, and spent an equally large portion of time reading outside. I had a blast and I wouldn’t have had it any other way, and yet…
4. When you travel with a partner you can create real memories that I think are more meaningful in a lot of ways. You can do risky things together and spend all night talking about your adventures and what you’re going to do the next day. It’s so much better to travel with someone who pushes you out of your comfort zone, who isn’t afraid to call you on your BS, and who urges you to try new things and to experience and see life in a different way.
The verdict: Although solo travelling is great, travelling with a partner is even better.
I love traveling by myself. It hasn’t been a conscious decision, often I travel alone because I wouldn’t get anywhere if I wait for others. Especially when it comes to synchronizing time off work. I also love traveling with others, and I’ve found it helps to treat the two as completely separate activities. And these days I find I really need both. My top advice for traveling solo (supporting many of the things your write in this great post):
1. Seek out things you don’t normally get to indulge in with other travelers. Like going to see some obscure site just because it was in a book you read (one of my favorites) or eating things your usual companions don’t really like.
2. Some destinations and activities are easier for people who are new to traveling alone. I had such a great time in Paris sitting by myself in restaurants where so many other people were. Places like airports where many travelers are there by themselves on business are great for practice.
3. Go at eating alone with a festive attitude (like you did by ordering that sushi roll). Sharing a glass of fantastic wine with a book in a restaurant still beats drinking a soda in my room (even though that’s nice and necessary too sometimes). I’ve sometimes had the feeling that some people at other tables actually envy the solo diners.