Traveling alone, the attitude
I love travel because it opens up my perspectives, allows different ways to connect with the world, and bank on more empathy in a scary polarised online world. Having said that let’s not fool ourselves, travel is taxing on our body, our energy and our mental energy (or I call this headspace). Mentally, I will have a few days of anxiousness, where I would run through all fear-based distorted thoughts that bubbles up. If this happens to you, remember you’re not alone and it is normal.
The 3 years of no-travel during the pandemic has changed the way I think about travel, and has changed the way people travel as well I feel. These changes can be anything from more restriction and rules, to unforeseen realisation that we may not be ready for.
Some examples of a bunch of what-ifs fear thinking around travel especially when I travel solo are; what if I get lost? What if I cannot find a taxi? What if I get scammed? What if I miss my flight? And as a single female traveller, there might be other fear thinking such as ‘ What if I am molested or attract unwanted attention’? and so on the scary thoughts goes.
Traveling requires a strong conviction in yourself, and self confidence in the face of the unknown. Traveling solo toughens me up, makes me more resilient and present. The unknown is part of what makes travel so interesting and exciting. How do you build these conviction and confidence? By traveling even when afraid, by walking with your fears and doing it anyways. Travel will always have its risks, but nothing you would consider deadly unless you’re going to war zones or well known dangerous places. We know better. Trust your gut instinct, it never failed me. So the perspective I have when travelling is that while travel is a risk, life out there is fascinating and I am going to make the best of it. Your intention to have fun and be the best traveller will guide your way and bring you amazing experiences.
Don’t look lost they say! What do you mean?
Learn how to be resilient, and part of being resilient is to know what kind of energy you’re exuding. Dangerous people and places thrive on visible vulnerability, so before you go, ask your friend how your public selves appears to them. Sometimes we are not conscious how we look to others. An example to avoid is looking lost in thought while in a crossing, counting your money in public place in front of the ATM machine. Don’t give anyone any reason to take advantage of your discomfort and confusion vibes. Learning to adapt quickly to new surroundings gets easier the more you travel alone.
Our clothes can be a very big indicator of our foreign-ness and the way we walk can also offer more silent indicators. Do you know how you appear in public?
Recent example is when I went to George Town, Penang. This part of the island is the old city parts of Penang, full of charming old houses and markets and temples. Staying here means you can walk everywhere and there’s always something to see and to sketch. The old shop houses, temples and colonial legacy of the past are intense here. For 4 days 3 nights, I get 2 full days of sketching and walkabouts. And one half day of sight seeing. And in the morning of the last day, my flight was 11.30am, and if I want to, I could squeeze a morning sketchwalk or just have a leisurely breakfast, something I ended up doing.
Some Questions I ask myself
What makes you tick in a place like Georgetown Penang? How do you navigate your curiosity and manage your energy? Do you want to be given ideas? A route? A list of prompts? Or would you rather be given free and easy time to explore on your own?
For travel sketching holiday
This sketching trip is suitable for all levels of drawing skills because the trip can be used to learn about how you tick when you travel. You can make friends and go in pairs, but there is at least one sketchwalk that I highly recommend you do alone. Why is that Susan? Because a solo sketchwalk will give you the opportunity to listen to your inner chatter and build your own internal navigation system. How you navigate your fears and curiosity will come up when you’re solo sketching, and you can challenge your fears, and follow your curiosity. See what happens.
I will organize a group sketchwalk once a day. At the end of each sketchwalk we will meet up and do what I call a sharing session. In the sharing session, there are a few systems we can put in place. A system of rolling critique and a system of listening to each other talk about our process in a group setting. Each of this system is designed to create a feedback loop from yourself and from your peers. In each sharing session, you will be asked what you learned and a new aim you want to apply to your next sketchwalk.
Here are some ideas of an itinerary I came up with:
Meander walkabout no sketching
Sketchers dinner together
Sketchwalk solo
Sketchwalk group or pairs
Museum time
Free time
Optional sketchwalk evening
Finally, I just want to say that as an artist, I am a seeker of growth and a knowledge purveyor. I am always learning, learning is a lifetime skills so I can navigate the small world we live in better, with more joy, more whole heartedness, and learning to travel safely, with my wits about me and following the good flow of energy, good weather and good people. The world is the way it is because we are the way we are. Let’s travel sketch and learn!
See you in the next post