Women Traveling Alone

Posted on June 10, 2010 - by Solo Traveler

10 tips for Women Traveling Alone

I’ve written all sorts of posts on how to travel alone. Posts on solo travel safety, eating alone, how to spend evenings… This post could cover all those again because they all apply to women traveling alone. However, I’m not going to try to say everything. This time I am writing about things specific to women – serious issues and girly things.


1.  Have patience. Even as an experienced solo traveler, every time I start a new trip it takes me a day or two to get solo stable — to shed those initial nerves of being out there on my own managing all the details, logistics and documents. Be patient. You’ll find your strength.

2.  Be cautious. If you are a young woman you need to be far more careful about unsavory characters than us more mature women. At least, that certainly is my experience...read the Solo Travel Safety section [at Solo Traveler] for lots of tips on staying safe.

3.  Pack light. You’re going to save money and be more mobile if you pack light. It requires a bit more planning to have a wardrobe that stretches from hiking boots to high heels but it can be done. Choose a base color (black, brown, beige, navy), a contrast color (white, beige…) and a color or two to accessorize and pull it all together. Watch the videos in my post on packing light.

4.  Dress conservatively. Maybe revealing tops and short skirts should be fine but, in reality, they can get you into trouble in many countries, including North America and Europe. You are always more vulnerable when you’re off your home turf so compensate by dressing conservatively. Read 10 Tips to Survive Culture Shock for more on this topic.

5.  Don’t make your hair an issue. Before I left on my long term trip I had long hair that was colored blond. It took too long to dry and the roots showed every five weeks. It was going to be a hassle that I didn’t need so I had it cut less than an inch long and let it go gray. Your situation need not be this extreme but it is worth having easy hair options so your travel time is not consumed with such a mundane task as your hair.

6.  Plan your first night well. At minimum, have a place to rest your head on the first night and plan to arrive by mid afternoon. It’s important to have the time to find your hotel or hostel in daylight and time to change your accommodation if you determine that this is not the place for you.

7.  Other women are not necessarily safe. Women often feel safer with other women. And, when it comes to small time danger, we probably are. But there are also dangerous women who are just as capable of luring you into bad situations as men. Be cautious.

8.  Choose your purse carefully. While a day pack designed with security features is ideal for travel you may prefer to carry a purse. If you do I recommend purses that you wear across your shoulders. In Naples a few years back I was the victim of a “scooter bandit”. What’s that? Two guys on a scooter. The driver charges through a cross walk against the light and behind a woman. The passenger grabs her purse. In my case, all he got was the strap.

9.  Take care of your feet. Nothing will ruin a trip faster than sore feet. Women’s shoes are notoriously bad for feet. Choose comfort over fashion.

10.  Pamper yourself. Women traveling alone are, just that, alone. No kisses from family. No hugs from friends. A manicure, pedicure, massage… are all safe ways to get a little human touch. Everyone needs that once in a while.

Go Hawks!

Temporary Home

When you feel discouraged, lonely, fearful or sad.....

Two Passions: Solo Travel and Cycling

Posted on June 8, 2010 - by Solo Traveler

Two Passions: Solo Travel and Cycling

I can’t remember where I first heard about cycling and hosteling but I do remember when. I was ten years old. It struck me as terribly romantic in the literary sense of the word. Maybe it was a character in a book that introduced me to the idea, I don’t know. But when I asked my Mom if it was still done she fueled the romance by describing her days as a teenager cycling and hosteling the Eastern Townships outside of Montreal.

Four years later I was on my first cycling tour. I saved my money carefully for 10 months to take a trip that my parents didn’t really think I’d manage to do. I spent one month in Wales and southern England cycling and hosteling. My bike was a white Peugeot.

I did a number of other tours after that. Some with a couple of friends, others on tours that I joined. While marriage and kids put hosteling off my agenda, I never gave up cycling at home and on vacation.

You can rent a bike at the McDonald's Cycle Center in Millennium Park, Chicago.

City Cycling and Solo Travel
When I plan to travel, I don’t choose my destination based on whether it’s good for cycling but, if it is, I make plans to make it happen.

Chicago is definitely a bike friendly city. Before going to Chicago I requested a guide from the Greeter program and specifically asked for someone who cycled. The result was a fabulous day. We picked up my bike at the McDonald’s Cycle Center in Millennium Park (just a few blocks from my hotel, the Hotel Monaco which was fabulous) and rode along the waterfront.

When I took my recent trip around Lake Ontario I brought my bike with me. I cycled in Kingston and Rochester. Neither city is really set up for bikes but each is small enough to make city cycling quite safe. It’s a great way to get around and see the many sights.

At home in Toronto, my bike is transportation April to October. The system of bike trails and lanes in Toronto is quite good. If you plan to visit Toronto you can get a free cycling map from the city. The best bike rental I’ve found in Toronto is Community Bicycling Network.

Country Cycling
If I had had more time on my trip around Lake Ontario, I would certainly have spent it cycling both Prince Edward County and around Niagara on the Lake. It would be the perfect mode of transportation for visiting the vineyards. But I was packing so much into that trip that it just wasn’t possible.

The one day I did get out of the city cycling was when I was in Kingston. A 15 minute ferry ride from downtown Kingston to Wolfe’s Island and you are in the country. The wind may be more of an issue than the island’s rolling hills.

Cycling is a wonderful way to explore a city and country. The pace is slower. It involves more of your senses. You breathe deeper. And, I’ve found that you meet more people just because you’re on a bike.

Stranger Danger -- Pt. I

Posted on June 5, 2010 - by Solo Traveler

Solo Travel: Stranger Danger Part I

New friends I made at Hogan's Hideaway in Rochester. Friday night Fish Fry - extra crispy as per Sandy (l to r, Tom, Darlene, Sandy, Mark)

As I travel solo, I am often the recipient of extraordinary kindness from strangers. But on one solo trip, I fell into an extraordinarily dangerous situation due to strangers. In this three part series, (three Saturdays in a row), I’ll share with you my experiences with strangers, good and bad, and then, a few things I’ve learned about telling the difference between the good ones and the bad ones. In this post, I begin with the goodness of strangers.



Solo Travel Enriched by Strangers
I suspect that we have all relied on the kindness of strangers from time to time. I certainly have. At times it’s been needed but on most occasions, these acts of kindness have simply enriched my travels.

Here are just a few of my favorite moments with strangers who, for a short while, became friends.


The Docent, the bouncer and a half day cultural exchange.
On my trip down the Blues Highway one of the big surprises was Jackson, Mississippi. As I traveled there on the train, I began to second guess my decision to go. People asked why I would stop into Jackson. To be honest, my reason was simply that it was the right distance between Memphis and New Orleans. But, once there, the people of Jackson made it clear that it is a place worth stopping at.

One morning I visited the Old Capitol Museum of Mississippi History. I got chatting with the docent at the front desk and, before I knew it, I was invited on a personal tour of the city by this lovely woman who was born and bread there. We had lunch together and then she toured me through parts of the city that I would not have otherwise discovered providing information that can only come from locals.

Then, in the evening, I went out to the 930 Blues club where I met many friendly people, but the special act of kindness came at the end of the evening. I arranged for my taxi and waited for it on the front porch with the bouncer who had a broken leg. When the taxi arrived, the bouncer went down the stairs despite my objections, took me to the car, opened the door, helped me in and looked directly at the driver and said “you take good care of my friend here, ya’ hear?”. He was doing more than his job. He was taking care of a stranger.

On the morning I was to leave Jackson for New Orleans, I joined a family from Texas for breakfast at the Fairview Inn where I was staying. We chatted casually. They were a lovely family and, you may be surprised, but I accepted their offer of a drive to New Orleans. We each learned a lot about our respective countries in a half day cultural exchange.


Ten bikes and two pickup trucks in PEI
This example goes back quite a few years to a bike tour I was given as a high school graduation gift. I joined the tour as a solo traveler. We rode through Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and the Magdalen Islands. On the day we left Summerside, PEI we headed across the island and then up the coast to the ferry. Across the interior was fine but when we reached the coast we fought a strong headwind. We all became scattered. I was cycling alone when a pickup truck pulled up beside me. It wasn’t danger, it was PEI hospitality in action.

One of our group had alerted a farmer to the fact that ten of us were strewn over this stretch of roadway. The farmer got a friend and the two of them collected us in their pick-up trucks and took us to their respective farms where we fed a fabulous dinner. Later they drove us to our camp ground. Such kindness.



Hungarians, Cubans and a Canadian Go Dancing

In 2004, I was in Havana for a week by myself and really wanted to go Salsa dancing. I figured that the club recommended by the travel guide, Casa del Musica de Centro Habana, would be touristy enough but when I got there, there was a line up of hundreds of Cubans waiting to go dancing – and this was the afternoon.

I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into — I don’t go to clubs like this at home. I hesitated and then saw three people who were definitely tourists. I slid into line beside them, introduced myself and explained that I just wanted to join them until I was inside. As it turned out, they were Hungarian and understood very little of what I said. But they did let me join them.

When we got in side it was a huge, exciting club. I stayed close and soon, to my surprise, their tour guide arrived with three more Hungarians. When their guide discovered that I spoke English, he practically jumped over the table to join me. He taught me to Salsa and the eight of us had a fabulous night.



Raising a glass on Guy Fawkes Day
After a day walking in the Lake District, nothing tastes better than a pint at a local pub. I was in Ambleside, Cumbria last year and my pub of choice is the Unicorn Inn. I went there three nights in a row and all three nights I had a fine time with new friends. But, on the fourth night, I had a fantastic time. When I walked into The Unicorn on Guy Fawkes night I felt like Norm walking into Cheers! This small pub erupted in welcome. It was not possible for me to buy a pint. And songs were sung in honour (I just had to slip a Canadian spelling in at this point) of me being Canadian. Fantastic!



Sharing a Meal in Rochester
New friends made another evening memorable in Rochester, New York. It was more quiet than The Unicorn but equally convivial. I arrived at Hogan’s Hideaway for dinner planning to sit at the bar to eat. When I arrived, a couple moved a bit to make space and we got chatting. When their table was ready, they invited me to join them.

The conversation was great. As they were regulars, I asked them to order my meal (a common practice of mine in such situations). We all had the Friday night Fish Fry. It was fabulous. Friends of theirs arrived and our conversation circle got larger. And, at the end of the evening, I couldn’t pay for my dinner.

These are just a few stories that demonstrate how the vast majority of strangers are wonderful, kind and generous people. I feel truly fortunate to meet so many.

The Fog Comes on Little Cat Feet

The fog comes

on little cat feet.

It sits looking

over harbor and city

on silent haunches

and then moves on.

Carl Sandburg, Chicago Poems (1916) "Fog"

US biographer & poet (1878 - 1967)

I awoke this morning to these incredible foggy views from my window in the city....Lake Michigan, Navy Pier, Ohio Street Beach and Olive Park.

(Click photos to enlarge...)

 

Bike the Drive

(Click photos to enlarge)

We have a yearly event over Memorial Day Weekend in Chicago called Bike the Drive.  Lake Shore Drive runs parallel to Lake Michigan from near Evanston up north, way down south, more than 30 miles.  Along all of this is, in addition, a lovely biking/walking paved path that I ride most days when I stay in my city condo.

But on this one special Sunday, cars are outlawed on Lake Shore Drive itself from 4:30AM until about 10:30AM, while volunteers set up, conduct and then dismantle Bike the Drive!  This year 20,000 bikers participated in the ride.  (The event is hosted by MB Financial Bank and the Active Transportation Alliance in the city, which advocates for cyclists throughout the city/state.) 

What a marvel to be biking down Lake Shore Drive (strains of the old tune in my mind) in absolute quiet, except for people's laughter and birds singing!  Couldn't we please have this every Sunday?!