Top 10 Reasons For Riding Solo Across South East Asia

Khun Kay

Founder of Big Bike Tours
Sep 12, 2017
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Chiang Mai
www.bigbiketours.com
For reasons unknown, Solo travel is not particularly popular (especially in the US), and people think I’m insane for doing it. I am adventurous. YES (and perhaps a little crazy), and I also love what I do. You too can do it!

To travel is not impossible, also is traveling solo not dreadful. I am here to help you take a leap and just go for it. I’d discuss with you 10 reasons why you should ride solo across Southeast Asia.

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  • When you get there, you find out that everyone is in the same situation. It only takes a conversation for you to make a lot of new friends.
  • It is inexpensive. I have paid just $3 for hostels, $1 for meals in parts of Southeast Asia. It can be a lot cheaper than life at home.
  • A lot of people do it. Although it may not be a thing in the US, but a few days in Southeast Asia, you’ll discover how easy and common it is for people as young as 18 to travel alone.
  • You (most likely) won’t be kidnapped or murdered: The media portrays a lot of places to be more dangerous than they are, and to be pragmatic, you will be surrounded by other travelers if you are on a main backpacker track. Even though it’s easy to make irrational decisions (everybody does, me included), it’s important for you to be aware of your surroundings and you will feel absolutely safe. Throughout my travels, I seldom have felt unsafe, and if you are from the US, you know it’s sometimes more dangerous at home than many places around the world. Don’t be deterred by fear.
  • Hostels make everything very simple: Staying in budget hostels guarantees you meet other solo travelers who are in need of company. Majorities of hostels have shared space and also plan activities for travelers to engage in. This may sound daunting, particularly for introverts, but envisage the simplicity of merely saying “hello” to the person in the bunk next to you in your hostel room and finding out more about them.
  • It is easy to get around: Travelling in Southeast Asia is easy, for the most part; it’s even easier to travel without an established itinerary. There are plenty ways to travel over land without booking flights, from night buses to slow boats to shared vans.
  • You will meet people from across the world: You will discover more about yourself, and the people around you than you could have ever imagined. I have met and stayed in contact with a lot of people during my travels. A couple of whom I have met up with later on. As of this moment, I’m in Indonesia with a friend who I met six months ago in Thailand; and I now plan on moving to Melbourne to live with a girl I met in Bali. I have met up with different travelers from my earlier trips in other locations and I already made plenty friends who are in Australia where I’d be settling for a time. You end up having plenty friends around the world that you can visit on future trips.
  • You’ve got many crazy stories to tell: Riding motorbikes up a mountain in Cambodia under the rain with no poncho and almost zero visibility at the time was no fun, but definitely is an adventure with another solo traveler I will never forget. Or maybe going white water rafting in Indonesia and climbing a volcano at sunrise with people you barely knew the previous days. There is also my boat getting struck by lightning in the Philippines. The list continues.
  • Prove to your friends, family, loved ones that it is possible. Yes, I know many of us have people in our lives that discourage us on new things; prove to them you won’t be “kidnapped” or “murdered”. Remember, it’s your life, and you own the freedom to go an adventure of a lifetime.
  • Waiting for others. Waiting around for other people to join you in experiencing life will leave you ending up doing nothing, at least nothing that makes you happy. The time is now; nobody is stopping you except for yourself; be it tomorrow, next month, or next year, find a way to make it work; start your adventure today!
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If you need more inspiration on how to overcome your fears, kindly check out my posts on what happens when you let go of your fears. When you finally decide to take the leap and travel solo, I’m here to discuss and share tips with you about Southeast Asia. Be free to send me a message or email ([email protected])

www.bigbiketours.net
 
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DavidFL

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NIce tips Kay.

The advantage is riding solo is you can you please yourself where / when you stop & go; plus people are more friendly towards you. They are often concerned that you ride alone, talk to you more & invite you to join them for food, drink, events. When you are with someone they are much more inclined to leave you alone & not disturb you. So for me going solo definitely gets you a much better cultural experience.
 
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blackb15

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I do most my riding solo and it works particularly well when you want to cover a lot of miles ,it's a bit more difficult when you stop overnight in less friendly country's but still fun.
Safe riding
Paul
 
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