Would You Rather Travel with a Big Group of Friends or All by Yourself?
I don’t really have an excuse to travel alone any more, and I miss it. I miss the times when I’d check in for a flight and let my eyes wander around the waiting area at the gate, trying to guess who my seat-mate would be. I always hoped I'd make a friend, yet still asked for a window seat, so I could stare through the window instead of having an unwanted conversation if my neighbour turned out to be a bore. The best conversation always turns out to be the dialogue you have with yourself.
When you're alone, every moment is an opportunity for something exciting to happen. The first time I travelled alone, I flew to London and took the Eurostar to Paris, where I was studying abroad. It was a two-hour train ride, and when I woke up, it was suddenly snowing and everyone was speaking French. When I ran my belongings through security at the station, I unknowingly dropped my passport, only to have a stranger pick it up for me. The kindness of strangers shines through when you're freed from a set tribe of friends, marking you as one of their own. When you're alone, you belong to everyone.
There are other advantages of being a party of one. Like stopping to take a photograph without making anyone wait. Creating your own route as you fancy. Eating wherever and whatever you'd like without a debate. You can walk away any loneliness and realise that sometimes it’s nice to keep quiet and just observe. Who am I, undefined in this foreign environment? Maybe I’m a tourist. Maybe I’m a mysterious passer-by. Or maybe I’m just another person searching for connection. Just like everybody else.
The second time I flew solo, I went to Hong Kong and checked into a hostel. I spent the day wandering around the city. When I returned to my tiny hostel, I found its excited owner, a woman named Miss Kitty, waiting up to tell me with concern that my mother had called. I thanked her and went to my room. When I started to dial home, I realised that it was 3 a.m. back home, so I decided that a few more hours of worrying until a morning call wouldn’t kill my mother, and went to bed.
Surprisingly, travelling alone isn’t popular. Is it because we so badly need to stay connected, are afraid to be on our own and make our own decisions? Do we need other people to approve of everything we do? Personally, I won’t wait for anyone to tell me that it’s okay or that they want to go, too, or that they have a place for me to stay. I'll just go.
What does the author say about her travelling alone, according to PARAGRAPH 1?
AShe had to give up travelling solo.
BShe chose seat-mates when checking in.
CShe made a lot of friends aboard.
DShe had to get into unwanted conversations.
