Solo travel may sound daunting but it’s really easier than people think. It can be a highly rewarding experience and an opportunity to grow as a person. Here are seven important lessons that people can learn while traveling solo:
1. Learning to respect acts of kindness
When exploring a foreign city, a little kindness goes a long way. This is why you will be more appreciative of small acts of kindness when traveling on your own. More so, appreciating kindness makes people kinder and more patient themselves.
2. Learning that going outside of the plan is sometimes better
Itineraries are essential but if during the trip things go out of plan, know that you can still make the most of the experience. If you wake up too late or miss the show you wanted to catch, don’t fret. Let your heart take the lead and make it an opportunity to explore.
3. Learning to live in the present and cherish it fully
If the purpose of your trip is to connect with a place and its people, then consider going alone. Spending time alone lets you pay more attention to your surroundings. It will be easier to cherish little things that you don’t usually notice, like orange sunsets, ocean waves, and the chilly night time breeze. In turn, experiences can be better felt and memories will tend to last.
4. Learning to enjoy your freedom
Not having to wait on anyone or to go with their preferences are a few perks of traveling alone. It’s all about you – what you want, where you want to go, and when. Only your needs matter. You can even plan something and change your mind last minute. Indulge yourself in what makes you happy.
5. Learning to be independent
If you’ve always had someone arranging the trip for you, it’s about time you learn to do it on your own. Book your own flights and accommodation, learn to find your way around, and catch yourself learning more about you.
6. Learning to step out of your comfort zone
Solo travel opens a chance to challenge yourself. There’s no better time to take on an adventure, to talk to strangers, to learn about a new culture, to read a good book, or to explore cities by bike.
7. Learning to look at life with fresh eyes
The things that you’ve learned in your travels will make your life richer. At best, you will cultivate more appreciation for your own life and the world you’re in. It’s easier to feel at peace and content and it makes you thrilled to go on your next solo adventure.
What’s better than traveling solo? Traveling for free, of course! PayMaya rewards its young and adventure-seeking users with a chance to travel for free in the PayMaya Travel Blowout promo. Through the promo, users stand a chance to win an all-expense paid trip for four to Japan this April, with P50,000 pocket money. Users earn raffle entries whenever they pay their bills through the PayMaya app, or whenever they use PayMaya for purchases worth P1,000 and up from April 1 – April 30, 2017
PayMaya is a free one-stop-shop finance app that lets users shop and pay online, buy prepaid and data load, and pay bills in-app through a virtual Visa card for Globe subscribers and a Mastercard version for Smart, Sun, and TnT subscribers. Users simply have to download the app, register, and load up to shop anywhere Visa or MasterCard is accepted. With PayMaya, they can access Netflix, Spotify Premium, Zalora, Lazada, book flights and more! PayMayaphysical cards, used for transactions in physical stores such as restaurants, groceries, and malls here and abroad, are available at paymaya.com/shop, free of delivery charges nationwide. It comes with a Beep variant that can be tapped to ride the trains, buses, and any other mode of transportation that accepts Beep.
Users can reload their PayMaya in any of the over 15,000 top-up stations nationwide, which include SM Business Centers, Robinsons Department Stores, 7-Eleven with CLiQQ kiosks, Ministop with Touchpay kiosks, Wellcome, Shopwise and 2Go outlets, Smart Padala centers, UnionBank ATMs, and online banking via BDO.
For more information, visit paymaya.com.