December 9, 2025 • 20 mins
The glossy photos don’t show the jet lag, the missed connections, or the quiet nights when you’re not sure where to eat. We’re opening the guidebook to the pages most people skip and exploring five unglamorous truths about solo travel that can actually make your journey richer: the physical toll of transit, plans that unravel, waves of loneliness, decision fatigue, and the pressure to perform for social media. None of these are dealbreakers. With the right mindset and a few practical tools, they become the parts of the trip that teach you the most.
I share how I build buffer days to recover from long-haul flights, why flexible itineraries beat rigid spreadsheets, and the small rituals that turn solitude into nourishment—journaling, reading, music, and low-stakes social plans like walking tours or cooking classes. We talk about designing “zero days” and “minimal days” to reset your brain, ditching the urge to “see it all,” and creating simple defaults that cut through choice overload. We also unpack the pressure to capture flawless selfies and how batching photos—or sharing later—protects your attention for what matters: the people you meet, the neighborhoods you drift through, and the moments you can’t stage.
There’s a reality check too. Expectations shaped by edited images can set you up for disappointment, like the famous view that’s grayer than your feed. I revisit Rainbow Mountain as a case study in embracing the journey when the postcard doesn’t match the sky. The takeaway isn’t to lower your standards; it’s to widen them. Let the detours count. Let the small wins land. Let gratitude keep you grounded when plans bend. If you’ve been craving a more honest, sustainable approach to solo travel, this conversation will help you prepare, adapt, and savor the road you’re on.
If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend who’s planning a trip, and leave a review—what truth about solo travel has taught you the most?
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
How many of you dream of going to certain places
and maybe even keep pictures ofthat place?
You've cut them out of amagazine or you've saved them on
Instagram.
Well, we often, when we arethinking about traveling
somewhere, we only focus on theend result or the end game,
meaning meaning the place thatwe're going.
(00:22):
We picture this beautiful place,this wonderful experience with
all these just excitement aboutgoing.
And we dream of seeing thosebeautiful Instagram-worthy,
perfect moments and places.
But there is an unglamorous sideto travel that no one really
(00:44):
talks about.
And so there are five that Ihave run across that are I would
consider sort of the ugly truthsabout traveling solo that no one
wants to talk about.
Welcome to Solo TravelAdventures.
I'm Cheryl Esche, your host andsolo travel advocate for women.
(01:06):
We all dream of those beautifulplaces.
I'm with you on that.
I keep a list, I keep aspreadsheet actually of just
various places that I've comeacross through other travel
influencers and content creatorsout there that just places, some
of the places I hadn't eventhought about going.
(01:27):
And so it's great to get ideasfrom those kind of sources, from
social media and from hearingfrom other people's experiences.
But when it comes down to thereality of it and us actually
going to those places, well,there's a whole nother side that
(01:48):
we often miss or maybe we justwant to ignore because it's not
the fun part.
It's not the beautiful,glamorous part of the actual
travel experience.
And we're all about the travelexperience.
And that is totally fine becausewe get a lot out of the
experience or the kind of thedestination that you're going
(02:11):
to.
But I believe there's a lot morethat we can learn about
ourselves through the journey ofgetting there.
And even with some of these uglytruths, I'm calling them, or
pitfalls that you will find, uh,they are teaching us something
along the way.
So don't miss these.
Obviously, number one, one ofthe things you often forget
(02:33):
about, just like if you are awoman and you've had you've
birthed a child, they we oftenforget about those birthing
pains after the first child, andwe some reason are crazy enough
to do it again and maybe againand again, right?
And we forget about that becauseof the beauty that happens at
the other side.
And I feel like travel is oftenthat way.
(02:56):
The actual uh physicaltransportation of your traveling
to get to your destinationreminds me of those birthing
pains and the delivery pain thatyou might have and all that you
go through to get to thatbeautiful endpoint.
And so traveling, one of thethings we often forget about is
(03:17):
the physical toll that it takeson our bodies.
And I'm especially thinking, youknow, when I was in my 20s, it
didn't bother me as much to, youknow, crash in the airport or
sleep in a hostel with noisyneighbors.
And now, as I am in my 50s, thephysical toll on my body with
traveling in general uh reallyum wrecks havoc, I guess, just
(03:41):
on my um whole well-being.
You know, it messes up, hate tobe blunt here, but it messes up
my bowel movements.
I'm sure it does for you too.
Um, it messes up my sleep,right?
We have jet leg that we'reprobably dealing with depending
on time zone changes that we'reum, you know, dealing with.
But long flights in general,again, depending where you're
(04:04):
going, they just can befatiguing.
You're in cramped seats, you'redealing with various passengers
beside you that may or may notbe um, you know, just thoughtful
or respectful.
I just think of my last uhflight just a week or so ago
where the kid would not stopkicking the back of my seat.
So you got to deal with thosekind of things.
(04:25):
And then you're just tired andfatigued, and you're probably
hungry as well.
So therefore, when you'rehungry, you have less patience.
And so the physical toll canreally kind of wreak havoc on
you.
And even the timing of yourflights may not be optimal.
For example, maybe you're not amorning person like myself, but
the only flight you can get isthis 5:30 a.m.
(04:48):
flight, and you get up anyways,right?
Because I don't know, I'll dothat for travel.
I won't do that for work.
So, so the timing of flights, ormaybe uh there's delays and
unexpected cancellations offlights, that is always bound to
happen.
And so that can put a littledamper on your travels, it can
(05:11):
extend that quote unquote travelday for you, which again kind of
adds more to that body fatiguethat you might have to be
dealing with.
Long lines at the airport.
Now, if you're driving, um, youknow, you're probably sitting
for long stretches at at a timeto get to your destination.
So the physical toll on thebody, who it takes me, I need a
(05:33):
I need at least a day to kind ofrecover.
And if I can, I'll take two torecover after a long trip.
Um, if it's domestic, a day'sfine.
If it's international, wherethere's several hours of time
difference, I likely need atleast a day and a half, maybe
(05:54):
two to recover from thatphysically.
My physical body needs torecover and kind of get back
into sync of my regular routine.
We don't think about thatbecause we're so focused on that
end destination.
So, yes, it is worth it once weget there.
And we're often very anxious to,you know, get to our
(06:14):
destination, but also to gethome at the same time.
So, number two, that your travelnever goes as planned.
Yes, that is so true.
And if you are a someone thatplans to the minute, your
itinerary, everything isplanned, you have a spreadsheet,
or even if you've planned evensome of your stuff, I can
(06:38):
guarantee you it's never gonnago as planned.
And things can go sideways.
Your expectations may not be metbecause of things going
sideways, and you'll befrustrated and maybe even angry
at that fact.
You might even get sick andtherefore really having to adapt
(06:58):
your travels and it not going asplanned, of course.
I have a great episode, episode119, that actually specifically
talks about um unmet travelexpectations and how to deal
with them.
So if you want to go back andlisten to that, I talk, I dive
deep into you know how toaddress these unexpected, you
(07:21):
know, uh plans and your met youridea of a trip not being met and
how to deal with thatdisappointment.
So go back and listen to that.
It was actually a really goodone, and it will help you get
through this point, number two,that your travel will never go
as planned.
It'll mentally prepare you forthat.
All right.
(07:42):
Number three, as a solotraveler, you can get lonely.
It is true.
Um, and have I experiencedloneliness when traveling?
Sure.
I don't necessarily let myselfwallow in it, but there are
times when you will feel lonely.
And this is something, there issomething to be said that you
(08:04):
can cherish a moment when youshare it with somebody, and you
can share that experience andcreate a memory with them.
I love that, and I think thatactually uh connects or draws
people closer together when theydo have these shared experiences
in travel.
But it's not always possible,and there are some perks to
(08:26):
traveling solo, but one of thedownfalls and the ugly truths
about solo travel, we make itthink this, oh, it's so
wonderful, we have all thisfreedom, we can do whatever we
want.
Um, I can go when I want, I cansleep in, and I can make my own
plans.
But the reality is there's goingto be moments when you are
lonely.
(08:47):
And it could be because it'snightfall, and maybe you don't
feel safe going out by yourselfat night.
That is often the case that Ihear, or you don't feel
comfortable going out to eat byyourself.
So then you just kind of feellonely in the process, or maybe
you do go out to eat by yourselfand you're still sitting there
(09:09):
feeling kind of lonely and youknow, maybe depressed.
I would make sure from a mentalstandpoint, if you are traveling
solo, that you prepare for thosemoments and ask yourself, what
would I do to combat thatloneliness?
What are some things that I cando so when it comes upon me, I
(09:33):
can negate that feeling and notsit in and wallow in it?
Uh, one thing I do is I love tojournal and I love to read.
So when it comes to, you know,maybe I'm at a place and I find
myself alone in my whatever myhotel room or my accommodations
that I've chosen and havenothing to do, that I will sit
(09:57):
and write in my journal or I'lldo some catch up on some
reading.
And sometimes I also just listento music and just kind of settle
into that quiet time.
And so that helps me uh kind ofnot sit in the loneliness or be
sad that I didn't have somebodyto share this with.
(10:20):
But number four, believe it ornot, when you travel, whether
you travel solo, especially whenyou travel solo, you will run
across what's called disdecision fatigue.
And that is a true thing,especially if you are traveling
for an extended period of timewhere you have to constantly be
(10:40):
making decisions.
Decisions like where to eat,what to see, how to get from
point A to point B, that's ahuge one.
And it is exhausting, I will behonest.
And so when I go through my, ifI'm doing an extended travel uh
trip, I will actually have whatthey call in hiking zero days
(11:07):
and or minimal days, meaning youeither do nothing for one day,
completely nothing, don'tsightsee, just kind of live,
still go out to get something toeat, maybe sit at a park, but
don't make plans.
You can also just kind ofminimize um what you do.
(11:32):
And what I've also come toaccept with because of decision
fatigue is that I have toldmyself I no longer stress about
seeing everything when I'm at aplace.
I think that creates overwhelmand decision fatigue as to what
(11:53):
to do in the short amount oftime you might have.
So I don't stress about thatanymore.
I allow things to happen, andyou know what?
If I just do one thing on a day,I'm I'm okay with that.
And so you have to be okay withthat.
And because you're gonnaotherwise you're gonna kind of
burn yourself out, you're gonnabe mentally fatigued with all
(12:17):
the decisions that you're tryingto make, and it's just
exhausting.
So give yourself some grace,give yourself some space and
room just to be when you travel.
Very important.
And number five, and this is uhkind of going back to my intro
where we think about capturingthese moments, these
(12:38):
Instagram-worthy moments, andthen sharing the moments, like
you know, posting and so peopleknow what you're doing.
And, you know, you have thispressure to do that and to be
on, like you're having anamazing time.
And there may be times whenyou're not having an amazing
time, but you might still feelthe pressure to post something
(13:00):
to make it look like you'rehaving a good time or that
you're really enjoying whatyou're doing.
And then even on top of that, ifyou're traveling solo, it is a
bit challenging to capture goodselfies.
I will attest to that.
Um, in some cases, I don't wantto be bothered, so I don't worry
(13:24):
about pulling out my my selfiestick or setting uh my tripod up
for on a timer to capturesomething.
On occasion, if if I findsomebody that I feel like I
could trust, or they ask me, canwe take, you know, you want us
to take your picture, then yes,I will let them.
(13:45):
But, you know, I've seen somebeautiful moments and thought,
oh, if only I could capturemyself kind of looking in this
direction towards that mountainor whatever, and catch a side
view or whatever.
I I just I don't stress aboutthat, and some people do, and
for me, that's not my intent fortraveling.
(14:09):
Yes, I have this podcast abouttravel, I have a travel coaching
program, but that is not mygoal.
I'm not a travel, you know,influencer, so to speak.
And so capturing those momentsto make it look all rainbows and
(14:30):
fairy tales is not my thing.
So, yes, I capture moments.
They may not be the bestpictures, I'll be honest.
I'm not a photographer, and insome trips, I will post
sometimes daily, or sometimesI'll just do a capture, a recap
of the trip after I've gottenback.
(14:51):
And you know, I just have had torelease that pressure of sharing
the moment in the moment andeven capturing good selfies
because when we're constantlyfocused on that being what we're
doing on our trip, then the thetravels become less about being
(15:14):
in the moment and our experienceat the time.
So we're missing out really onjust cherishing uh that time in
that present moment and notthinking, oh, I gotta get this,
oh, I gotta capture this, andkind of missing out on what is
going on around you, possibly.
(15:35):
So do you still want to travelafter hearing all these ugly
truths or unglamorous thingsabout traveling, especially
solo?
Well, sure we do.
Like I said in the beginning, Iequate it to childbirth.
You know, we all still want todo it despite um, you know,
coming across.
Maybe you've traveled and youagree with these, but maybe you
(15:56):
haven't done any solo travel.
And I don't want this to scareyou, but I want to this to
inform you that yes, thedestination and us getting there
is is beautiful, but don't missthe moments of your journey to
get there.
Don't be so focused or umallowing maybe that physical
(16:20):
fatigue to make you missmoments.
Just know this is what'shappening, this is to be
expected, right?
So we're not caught off guard inthose moments.
But enjoy the moment is reallywhat I'm getting at when you
travel, despite um maybe comingacross, you know, frustrating
(16:41):
long lines or whatever it is, ormaybe just the crowds of people
that's kind of rubbing you thewrong way.
I think travel teaches us manythings about how we respond to
these types of situations.
Are we letting it get usstressed out and overwhelmed, or
are we letting it roll off ourbacks and really just being open
(17:07):
to what is going on around us,being gracious, and just I think
just being grateful that you canbe on your trip in the first
place would be a great place tostart if you find yourself in
any of these five situationswhere um you're feeling like
it's ruining your trip, and wereally don't want that.
(17:28):
We want uh I want your travel tobe life-changing and your travel
to be this experience that youcan talk about for years and
share with other people and havea positive um outlook and spin
on your experience, despitemaybe what you had to go through
(17:49):
to get there.
Well, sister travelers, I hopethis uh episode really um kind
of sheds light on the truth ofmaybe solo travel, but also
encourages you to get out thereand do have these experiences.
And keep dreaming, ladies, keepdreaming about that place.
(18:10):
Uh, just don't overfantasizeabout it, I would say, because
often we get a littledisappointed uh when we get
there.
And my one of my examples Ithink of right now, just thought
of, was uh when I was in Peru, Iwas encouraged to uh do Rainbow
Mountain.
And we did Rainbow Mountain, andyou see all these pictures and
(18:31):
you hear from other people umjust how beautiful it was and
exciting and all the hike, youknow.
And when we got there, um thehike was very difficult, by the
way.
And we got to the top and thecolors weren't as bright as I
was expecting.
Um and so I later found out thatoften, this was before I think
(18:56):
AI was really big, by the way,that a lot of some of the
pictures that I was seeing onthe internet had been
photoshopped to be a littlebrighter, to kind of heighten
the colors.
Uh they do something to thepicture.
So, yes, things can bedisappointing, but they also can
(19:16):
be, I mean, I have some, despitethe the the view not being
exactly what I thought it wasgonna be at Rainbow Mountain,
the the journey up the mountainand the journey down, and even
some things in between, um, myson and I actually laugh about
those moments more so than theview we saw at the top.
(19:37):
So, again, don't miss thejourney to your destination.
Um, savor it.
How many of you dream of going to certain places
and maybe even keep pictures ofthat place?
You've cut them out of amagazine or you've saved them on
Instagram.
Well, we often, when we arethinking about traveling
somewhere, we only focus on theend result or the end game,
meaning meaning the place thatwe're going.
(00:22):
We picture this beautiful place,this wonderful experience with
all these just excitement aboutgoing.
And we dream of seeing thosebeautiful Instagram-worthy,
perfect moments and places.
But there is an unglamorous sideto travel that no one really
(00:44):
talks about.
And so there are five that Ihave run across that are I would
consider sort of the ugly truthsabout traveling solo that no one
wants to talk about.
Welcome to Solo TravelAdventures.
I'm Cheryl Esche, your host andsolo travel advocate for women.
(01:06):
We all dream of those beautifulplaces.
I'm with you on that.
I keep a list, I keep aspreadsheet actually of just
various places that I've comeacross through other travel
influencers and content creatorsout there that just places, some
of the places I hadn't eventhought about going.
(01:27):
And so it's great to get ideasfrom those kind of sources, from
social media and from hearingfrom other people's experiences.
But when it comes down to thereality of it and us actually
going to those places, well,there's a whole nother side that
(01:48):
we often miss or maybe we justwant to ignore because it's not
the fun part.
It's not the beautiful,glamorous part of the actual
travel experience.
And we're all about the travelexperience.
And that is totally fine becausewe get a lot out of the
experience or the kind of thedestination that you're going
(02:11):
to.
But I believe there's a lot morethat we can learn about
ourselves through the journey ofgetting there.
And even with some of these uglytruths, I'm calling them, or
pitfalls that you will find, uh,they are teaching us something
along the way.
So don't miss these.
Obviously, number one, one ofthe things you often forget
(02:33):
about, just like if you are awoman and you've had you've
birthed a child, they we oftenforget about those birthing
pains after the first child, andwe some reason are crazy enough
to do it again and maybe againand again, right?
And we forget about that becauseof the beauty that happens at
the other side.
And I feel like travel is oftenthat way.
(02:56):
The actual uh physicaltransportation of your traveling
to get to your destinationreminds me of those birthing
pains and the delivery pain thatyou might have and all that you
go through to get to thatbeautiful endpoint.
And so traveling, one of thethings we often forget about is
(03:17):
the physical toll that it takeson our bodies.
And I'm especially thinking, youknow, when I was in my 20s, it
didn't bother me as much to, youknow, crash in the airport or
sleep in a hostel with noisyneighbors.
And now, as I am in my 50s, thephysical toll on my body with
traveling in general uh reallyum wrecks havoc, I guess, just
(03:41):
on my um whole well-being.
You know, it messes up, hate tobe blunt here, but it messes up
my bowel movements.
I'm sure it does for you too.
Um, it messes up my sleep,right?
We have jet leg that we'reprobably dealing with depending
on time zone changes that we'reum, you know, dealing with.
But long flights in general,again, depending where you're
(04:04):
going, they just can befatiguing.
You're in cramped seats, you'redealing with various passengers
beside you that may or may notbe um, you know, just thoughtful
or respectful.
I just think of my last uhflight just a week or so ago
where the kid would not stopkicking the back of my seat.
So you got to deal with thosekind of things.
(04:25):
And then you're just tired andfatigued, and you're probably
hungry as well.
So therefore, when you'rehungry, you have less patience.
And so the physical toll canreally kind of wreak havoc on
you.
And even the timing of yourflights may not be optimal.
For example, maybe you're not amorning person like myself, but
the only flight you can get isthis 5:30 a.m.
(04:48):
flight, and you get up anyways,right?
Because I don't know, I'll dothat for travel.
I won't do that for work.
So, so the timing of flights, ormaybe uh there's delays and
unexpected cancellations offlights, that is always bound to
happen.
And so that can put a littledamper on your travels, it can
(05:11):
extend that quote unquote travelday for you, which again kind of
adds more to that body fatiguethat you might have to be
dealing with.
Long lines at the airport.
Now, if you're driving, um, youknow, you're probably sitting
for long stretches at at a timeto get to your destination.
So the physical toll on thebody, who it takes me, I need a
(05:33):
I need at least a day to kind ofrecover.
And if I can, I'll take two torecover after a long trip.
Um, if it's domestic, a day'sfine.
If it's international, wherethere's several hours of time
difference, I likely need atleast a day and a half, maybe
(05:54):
two to recover from thatphysically.
My physical body needs torecover and kind of get back
into sync of my regular routine.
We don't think about thatbecause we're so focused on that
end destination.
So, yes, it is worth it once weget there.
And we're often very anxious to,you know, get to our
(06:14):
destination, but also to gethome at the same time.
So, number two, that your travelnever goes as planned.
Yes, that is so true.
And if you are a someone thatplans to the minute, your
itinerary, everything isplanned, you have a spreadsheet,
or even if you've planned evensome of your stuff, I can
(06:38):
guarantee you it's never gonnago as planned.
And things can go sideways.
Your expectations may not be metbecause of things going
sideways, and you'll befrustrated and maybe even angry
at that fact.
You might even get sick andtherefore really having to adapt
(06:58):
your travels and it not going asplanned, of course.
I have a great episode, episode119, that actually specifically
talks about um unmet travelexpectations and how to deal
with them.
So if you want to go back andlisten to that, I talk, I dive
deep into you know how toaddress these unexpected, you
(07:21):
know, uh plans and your met youridea of a trip not being met and
how to deal with thatdisappointment.
So go back and listen to that.
It was actually a really goodone, and it will help you get
through this point, number two,that your travel will never go
as planned.
It'll mentally prepare you forthat.
All right.
(07:42):
Number three, as a solotraveler, you can get lonely.
It is true.
Um, and have I experiencedloneliness when traveling?
Sure.
I don't necessarily let myselfwallow in it, but there are
times when you will feel lonely.
And this is something, there issomething to be said that you
(08:04):
can cherish a moment when youshare it with somebody, and you
can share that experience andcreate a memory with them.
I love that, and I think thatactually uh connects or draws
people closer together when theydo have these shared experiences
in travel.
But it's not always possible,and there are some perks to
(08:26):
traveling solo, but one of thedownfalls and the ugly truths
about solo travel, we make itthink this, oh, it's so
wonderful, we have all thisfreedom, we can do whatever we
want.
Um, I can go when I want, I cansleep in, and I can make my own
plans.
But the reality is there's goingto be moments when you are
lonely.
(08:47):
And it could be because it'snightfall, and maybe you don't
feel safe going out by yourselfat night.
That is often the case that Ihear, or you don't feel
comfortable going out to eat byyourself.
So then you just kind of feellonely in the process, or maybe
you do go out to eat by yourselfand you're still sitting there
(09:09):
feeling kind of lonely and youknow, maybe depressed.
I would make sure from a mentalstandpoint, if you are traveling
solo, that you prepare for thosemoments and ask yourself, what
would I do to combat thatloneliness?
What are some things that I cando so when it comes upon me, I
(09:33):
can negate that feeling and notsit in and wallow in it?
Uh, one thing I do is I love tojournal and I love to read.
So when it comes to, you know,maybe I'm at a place and I find
myself alone in my whatever myhotel room or my accommodations
that I've chosen and havenothing to do, that I will sit
(09:57):
and write in my journal or I'lldo some catch up on some
reading.
And sometimes I also just listento music and just kind of settle
into that quiet time.
And so that helps me uh kind ofnot sit in the loneliness or be
sad that I didn't have somebodyto share this with.
(10:20):
But number four, believe it ornot, when you travel, whether
you travel solo, especially whenyou travel solo, you will run
across what's called disdecision fatigue.
And that is a true thing,especially if you are traveling
for an extended period of timewhere you have to constantly be
(10:40):
making decisions.
Decisions like where to eat,what to see, how to get from
point A to point B, that's ahuge one.
And it is exhausting, I will behonest.
And so when I go through my, ifI'm doing an extended travel uh
trip, I will actually have whatthey call in hiking zero days
(11:07):
and or minimal days, meaning youeither do nothing for one day,
completely nothing, don'tsightsee, just kind of live,
still go out to get something toeat, maybe sit at a park, but
don't make plans.
You can also just kind ofminimize um what you do.
(11:32):
And what I've also come toaccept with because of decision
fatigue is that I have toldmyself I no longer stress about
seeing everything when I'm at aplace.
I think that creates overwhelmand decision fatigue as to what
(11:53):
to do in the short amount oftime you might have.
So I don't stress about thatanymore.
I allow things to happen, andyou know what?
If I just do one thing on a day,I'm I'm okay with that.
And so you have to be okay withthat.
And because you're gonnaotherwise you're gonna kind of
burn yourself out, you're gonnabe mentally fatigued with all
(12:17):
the decisions that you're tryingto make, and it's just
exhausting.
So give yourself some grace,give yourself some space and
room just to be when you travel.
Very important.
And number five, and this is uhkind of going back to my intro
where we think about capturingthese moments, these
(12:38):
Instagram-worthy moments, andthen sharing the moments, like
you know, posting and so peopleknow what you're doing.
And, you know, you have thispressure to do that and to be
on, like you're having anamazing time.
And there may be times whenyou're not having an amazing
time, but you might still feelthe pressure to post something
(13:00):
to make it look like you'rehaving a good time or that
you're really enjoying whatyou're doing.
And then even on top of that, ifyou're traveling solo, it is a
bit challenging to capture goodselfies.
I will attest to that.
Um, in some cases, I don't wantto be bothered, so I don't worry
(13:24):
about pulling out my my selfiestick or setting uh my tripod up
for on a timer to capturesomething.
On occasion, if if I findsomebody that I feel like I
could trust, or they ask me, canwe take, you know, you want us
to take your picture, then yes,I will let them.
(13:45):
But, you know, I've seen somebeautiful moments and thought,
oh, if only I could capturemyself kind of looking in this
direction towards that mountainor whatever, and catch a side
view or whatever.
I I just I don't stress aboutthat, and some people do, and
for me, that's not my intent fortraveling.
(14:09):
Yes, I have this podcast abouttravel, I have a travel coaching
program, but that is not mygoal.
I'm not a travel, you know,influencer, so to speak.
And so capturing those momentsto make it look all rainbows and
(14:30):
fairy tales is not my thing.
So, yes, I capture moments.
They may not be the bestpictures, I'll be honest.
I'm not a photographer, and insome trips, I will post
sometimes daily, or sometimesI'll just do a capture, a recap
of the trip after I've gottenback.
(14:51):
And you know, I just have had torelease that pressure of sharing
the moment in the moment andeven capturing good selfies
because when we're constantlyfocused on that being what we're
doing on our trip, then the thetravels become less about being
(15:14):
in the moment and our experienceat the time.
So we're missing out really onjust cherishing uh that time in
that present moment and notthinking, oh, I gotta get this,
oh, I gotta capture this, andkind of missing out on what is
going on around you, possibly.
(15:35):
So do you still want to travelafter hearing all these ugly
truths or unglamorous thingsabout traveling, especially
solo?
Well, sure we do.
Like I said in the beginning, Iequate it to childbirth.
You know, we all still want todo it despite um, you know,
coming across.
Maybe you've traveled and youagree with these, but maybe you
(15:56):
haven't done any solo travel.
And I don't want this to scareyou, but I want to this to
inform you that yes, thedestination and us getting there
is is beautiful, but don't missthe moments of your journey to
get there.
Don't be so focused or umallowing maybe that physical
(16:20):
fatigue to make you missmoments.
Just know this is what'shappening, this is to be
expected, right?
So we're not caught off guard inthose moments.
But enjoy the moment is reallywhat I'm getting at when you
travel, despite um maybe comingacross, you know, frustrating
(16:41):
long lines or whatever it is, ormaybe just the crowds of people
that's kind of rubbing you thewrong way.
I think travel teaches us manythings about how we respond to
these types of situations.
Are we letting it get usstressed out and overwhelmed, or
are we letting it roll off ourbacks and really just being open
(17:07):
to what is going on around us,being gracious, and just I think
just being grateful that you canbe on your trip in the first
place would be a great place tostart if you find yourself in
any of these five situationswhere um you're feeling like
it's ruining your trip, and wereally don't want that.
(17:28):
We want uh I want your travel tobe life-changing and your travel
to be this experience that youcan talk about for years and
share with other people and havea positive um outlook and spin
on your experience, despitemaybe what you had to go through
(17:49):
to get there.
Well, sister travelers, I hopethis uh episode really um kind
of sheds light on the truth ofmaybe solo travel, but also
encourages you to get out thereand do have these experiences.
And keep dreaming, ladies, keepdreaming about that place.
(18:10):
Uh, just don't overfantasizeabout it, I would say, because
often we get a littledisappointed uh when we get
there.
And my one of my examples Ithink of right now, just thought
of, was uh when I was in Peru, Iwas encouraged to uh do Rainbow
Mountain.
And we did Rainbow Mountain, andyou see all these pictures and
(18:31):
you hear from other people umjust how beautiful it was and
exciting and all the hike, youknow.
And when we got there, um thehike was very difficult, by the
way.
And we got to the top and thecolors weren't as bright as I
was expecting.
Um and so I later found out thatoften, this was before I think
(18:56):
AI was really big, by the way,that a lot of some of the
pictures that I was seeing onthe internet had been
photoshopped to be a littlebrighter, to kind of heighten
the colors.
Uh they do something to thepicture.
So, yes, things can bedisappointing, but they also can
(19:16):
be, I mean, I have some, despitethe the the view not being
exactly what I thought it wasgonna be at Rainbow Mountain,
the the journey up the mountainand the journey down, and even
some things in between, um, myson and I actually laugh about
those moments more so than theview we saw at the top.
(19:37):
So, again, don't miss thejourney to your destination.
Um, savor it.
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