On Solo Travel
a journal entry from Java, July 2024
My cameras are my best companions. Traveling solo affords me so many more opportunities to interact with locals than when accompanied by another Whitey.
Before you question the safety of being unaccompanied by a man: Men have caused more trouble on my travels than they’ve deterred. They don’t trust my intuition when I warn them of danger, and I’ve often had to rescue us both.
Curious locals are more apt to approach me when I’m on my own, to offer assistance. When whitey outnumbers them, they’re more inhibited about attempting English to ask questions about my cameras, my origin, my plans, my impressions of their hometown.
Sure, there are moments I’d like to share with someone else, if only to preserve the memory in the mind of another who may remind me in the future, if my memory fails. Memories and photos are all I take from my destinations. Memories are my most precious souvenir. Of course, when I develop more diligence to write or speak my experiences on a daily basis, I’ll preserve my own mind in a shareable format.
That said, if I ever travel with company again, I need time apart to explore on my own. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, after all.