MY INTRODUCTION TO
solo travel
PHOTOS & STORY BY FATOUMATA CEESAY
Honestly, I didn’t think I could do it. I really didn’t think I could travel solo — for a month and a half to four countries in Asia — and come home unscathed. Maybe I was being overly nervous, but I never saw myself as a solo traveller and suddenly, I was going away for a while with mostly just myself to rely on. It was scary and somewhat unlike me to do something like that, but I was tired of waiting for others to be available for travel. I was tired of seeing other people jet off whenever and wherever. I wanted to try new foods, see amazing sights and encourage myself to be adventurous. Really, I just wanted to experience it all for myself. And so I booked a one-way flight to Japan for January 1st. Now, I wanted to be strategic in planning for this trip. I started planning and saving a year before leaving. I had originally planned to travel across Europe as well, but realized how lofty that goal was and decided to focus on Asia, primarily because my sister lived in Japan as an assistant teacher in the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (JET). My plan was to start in Japan, go to South Korea, then head to Malaysia and Thailand. Everything was set and I was ready to go. Except, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something would go wrong. It was my
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SOUVENIRS
