It’s nearly six weeks since I set off from Vanuatu and I’ve met many people along the way. That for me is one of the best things about travelling – meeting people.
One day in Rarotonga I was walking along the road in the rain, I had been looking to hire a car, without success, and was feeling a bit grumpy, and got picked up by this guy… well, he offered me a lift because it was raining and that’s what Cook Islanders do! However, we bumped into each other a few days later and then had dinner together, then a day on the beach. I learned about his family, traditions, how things work here…so interesting. Different ways and I also saw how at heart we’re all the same. That’s something that would never have happened for me if I had been a stay-at-home woman! And its interesting how things can go wrong on your travels (struggling to find a car hire wasn’t great) and then open the door to another experience.
Another time I went to a bar on a Friday night where there was music. Sitting there on my own, I remembered the posts I had seen on the Women Travelling Solo social media sites where women share how uncomfortable they can feel eating out. I thought I could do that, I’d learned to do it after my divorce, it’s not easy, the first trip for me was to Rome… but actually I felt a bit uncomfortable too. And then what happened, something that inevitably happens, someone came along…and the next thing I knew I was having dinner with four lovely nurses from Sydney who were on a jolly! It was great fun…and next day I bumped into them again at the market…
I was introduced to a friend of a friend, a stranger to me, who came to meet me at the airport and has been so kind and generous in showing me around and introducing me to people, only to find that we have a friend in common, someone I met 12 years ago in Cambodia! What a small world we live in!
Meeting people, it’s so easy when you travel, you’re never truly alone. All you need to do is smile and say ‘hello”. You can meet some fascinating people and my experience is that there’s more acceptance of people as they are. There’s an openness, less pretence, less judgement; people love a sense of connection and community, and sharing stories is an easy way to do it. Some people you may never see again, some may become friends for life.
I met a woman on a trip to Aitutaki enjoying the breathtakingly beautiful turquoise water of the lagoon. She told me that this trip had been on her bucket list for years. When I asked what had made her come now, she said it was a last minute decision…she wanted to create a memory, she was slowly losing her sight and might never be able to see this beauty again. She had tears in her eyes. A moment of connection I don’t think either of us will forget.
I’m beginning to feel that it’s almost easier to meet people when you travel on your own because when you’re with a group of close friends you tend focus on time with them. What’s your experience?