Solo Travel

Shireen Khandelwal
Wed, 21 Sep 2016 15:43:38 +0000

The idea of being alone is often feared but not appreciated enough. It is sometimes associated with a detachment from society and has an expectation of being a certain age or being in a specific phase of life, for instance, after a break-up. For me, however, it was just a semester abroad in Paris. In the past two years living in New York and spending a semester in Paris, I have realized that I can only seem to call these cities home if I am perfectly at peace with being by myself. Having reached that level of comfort in Paris after the first month, I decided to travel alone to Lisbon. I realized that it would be a different experience than living alone in Paris, as I would be away from the student life.

Booking my tickets online, in the familiar environment of NYU Paris, the reality of being completely alone in another country did not dawn on me until I left my dorm to go to the airport three weeks later. As I mentally checked off things from the list of necessities, I couldn’t help thinking about everything that could go wrong. After boarding the plane, I calmed my senses, which had gone onto overdrive since I had left my dorm. A fully charged phone, portable charger and Kindle also lulled my senses into security and I could finally feel excited about the trip. This excitement was short-lived, however, as the plane landed in Lisbon and I waited for my baggage. Paranoia and anxiety settled back in as I called an Uber to reach my hotel. To my surprise, everything went smoothly and I was checking in my room at the hotel before I knew it.

Fears gave way to awe of the beauty of the city as I walked around the neighborhood, my eyes feasting on the different pastel colors of the buildings and the narrow, sloping cobbled streets. The city of seven hills delighted me with picturesque views as I wandered around. A couple of hours later, I was already in love with the city. The feeling of wandering and exploring alone, occasionally catching phrases of Portuguese was inexplicable. I observed more intently than I ever had in Paris or New York. I enjoyed every moment and walked till exhaustion made me retrace my steps back to the hotel.

Visually appealing and culturally rich, Lisbon seemed like an ideal city to settle in. This thought was surprising, as I had never thought about my distant future and the place I wanted to eventually settle in. Perhaps it was because of the connection I made with the city, devoid of influences from others. It was simple, just my interaction with the city. I was free to form any opinion without the societal pressure of making it sound either sophisticated or cool. I tried everything, from Pastel de Nata, overwhelmingly sweet traditional Portuguese pastries, which I hated, to cod fish, which I absolutely loved. What I enjoyed most about my trip alone was the lack of expectations. I wasn’t expected to be happy and excited every second of the journey. It didn’t matter if I decided to have a late morning; I was going at my own pace and that somehow made the city more beautiful.

It was a unique and eventful experience; I was almost waiting for something to go wrong as everything happened so smoothly. I guess, that is part of the reason I was so enamored by that city. Travelling alone to Lisbon was the best decision I could have made. No other city has ever been imprinted in my mind as deeply as this one.