I ended up on my first solo trip because everybody in my program wanted to travel "American style" (4 countries in 9 days) and I wasn't having it. I was in Istanbul, so as a solo female I did in fact attract a lot of attention (even during Ramazan when the men were weakened from fasting!!). I planned a two day excursion to Canakkale (to see Troy and Gallipoli) to get out of the city for a bit, regroup myself. So even if you decided not to do a tour "alone," you can always do shorter tours in the middle of your solo jaunt to break things up.
Be firm and assertive about whether or not you want to be left alone, though. I did all my solo traveling with a boyfriend back home, and that wasn't much of a deterrent. Fake a wedding band, or else find your own way to circumvent having to be polite when you refuse someone. Sometimes being rude is worth the guilt.
And for God's sakes, tie every strap of everything you own all over your body if you're going to sleep on a night train! I make sure my arms/legs/whatever are through the straps of my bags when I'm on my daily commute back and forth from work! Common sense is universal!
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"I set out alone, finding no companion to cheer the way with friendly intercourse, and no party of travellers with whom to associate myself. Swayed by an overmastering impulse within me, and a long-cherished desire to visit those glorious sanctuaries, I resolved to quit all my friends and tear myself away from my home."
---Ibn Battuta, CE 1325
Latest travel crushes - Arizona, Morocco, The Baltic States, Tunisia, Portugal, Mexico
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