Have you ever traveled alone for some time? Or simply you have better time with already known people? In this article, I will talk about my impressions of solo traveling!! It's becoming quite trendy to do so, with mottos like "you don't know yourself until you travel alone" and similar YOLO stuff... well... It can be true but at the same time if you have better time travelling with friends then you are not a "tourist not a traveller" or "typical traveller" as some articles want to point out, you simply travel happier ;) The thing is, while travelling, do it in the way you have more fun, I have travelled solo 5 times in my life, all of them were great moments and I will speak about them later, but my best travelling moments have been sharing them with friends in a relatively big group (like Transsiberian railway or Mongolia trip) It really depends on the people and if somebody tells you that you are not a real traveller until you travel alone, simply ignore it, he/she is an idiot. But why did I travel alone then? Well, after reading this you will understand me, people who know me are aware that I'm a very active person, and I can't resist a great travelling deal if I got the right number of holidays available, but sometimes, friends simply don't want to go and, before asking people who you know a bit already and you are sure that they won't be the best traveling mates then... better travel alone than with the wrong company! PROS
CONS
But as you can see, Pros are better than Cons, so, now I hope that reading my experiences will help you to understand this! First time I ever traveled alone was in Dubai, and it was quite a shock for me. After my trip to Russia, Mongolia and China, I needed to come back to Spain, but instead of choosing the 400€ China-Madrid with Moscow stopover, I obviously choose the China-Dubai for 200€ and a later Dubai-Barcelona flight for another 220€, with 28 h between them! So that gave me enough time to see Dubai in one day (you can get a really good glimpse of the city in just 24h) and just needed to pay for 1 night in hotel (4* Hotel with rooftop swimming pool for 40€), so in total, tours+hotel+food it was an extra 90€ cost instead of flying to Madrid through Moscow... but I saw Dubai for literally 90€, so totally worth it! Also, being alone in Dubai made me skip senseless shopping and heading just to tourist attractions or even doing the desert tour! Check the Dubai Cheap Guide for more info! Second time was not literally a solo trip, a friend was hosting me in Dresden and I needed to go from Bratislava, so, instead of going directly, I decided to stay 1 day before in Dresden and 2 after it in Prague. So, technically, I was in a hostel with unknown people and every morning I was traveling alone to nearby towns such as Czesky Krumlov or Plzen as you can read in this article. But every afternoon and night I was meeting my friends from Prague (who needed to work during morning) so it was a funny combination. That trip gave bith to the Bohemia Guide, check it out! Third time is an obvious one that I think no one would let it pass, I got an offer for 10€ go/back flight to Malmö (Sweden) for 4 day, perfect considering that Copenhagen (Denmark) is just 40 min away from the airport! I asked many people to come with me, but I had already finished my exams in May but most of people still didn't (it was beginning of June) so I booked a big youth hostel and I went to the adventure for 4 days!! The experience? Awesome, just by joining Free tours or having breakfast in the hostel you can get to know many people traveling alone as well, not minding to group with other people! And that's how you end up going in a group with people from New Zealand, Chile, USA and Australia while enjoying the awesome city of Copenhagen! As I said before, I finished my exams earlier, and had nothing to do. Since tickets were just 30€ I decided to go to Zagreb from Bratislava! It was just a 2-day break, so, mostly I went there to rest and check an "unknown" capital of Europe, but the best was the unexpected way back... somehow, I ended up in Pecs (Hungary) and thanks to a friend from a previous trip, I was hosted by her friends (she was not there that time) in their dorm... well... I arrived around 10pm and when I came there they greeted me with an awesome dinner and drinks! And that's the beginning of an incredible unexpected night going out until 5 am with a really awesome international group with people from China, Nigeria, Jordan, and Finland!! That's by far the best experience I could imagine when traveling alone! In my last weeks in Bratislava, I really wanted to see every touristic place of the country (I needed to get the guides ready) so, two times I went party and after it, instead of going home, I went to train station at 7 am to take a 5h train to pass the hangover and appear in the mountains, or seeing an amazing castle such as Spis. In the afternoon, I simply headed back to Bratislava for more party/traveling! (Remember that I had free trains inside the country!) So, my final verdict? Traveling alone can be really funny, BUT, it can go wrong terribly! Remember always to stay safe when traveling and that I went to really safe countries and cities, personally I will always choose a trip with people, but If there is an awesome (and cheap) opportunity like I had... instead of staying home, simply book the ticket and go!
After an amazing time in Russia, I continued my Transsiberian trip to a quite touristically unknown country: Mongolia!! From Ulan-Ude, we took a 12h bus that crossed the border towards Ulan-Bator, after a long day ride we finally arrived where our local guide was awaiting us. Regarding Visa, check updated info (changed in 2015) which countries need it, but all EU has free visa regime by stamp on passport on any border. This trip wouldn't have been possible without Dogii and Dream Mongolia Tours, she helped with everything answering my mails and FB messages, Dream Mongolia is also a top ranked tour operator in Tripadvisor! It took me weeks to choose the right tour operator, many tried to offer me a "typical tourist tour" just to Terejl park (which is just a few Km away from UB, but actually has a bit of everything (steppes, yurts, Buddhist temples and the huge Genghis Khan memorial) or an extremely expensive tour to central Mongolia. Gobi Desert is south and you need more than 6 days to see it properly, so we didn't take it. So, our option was Central Mongolia.
What made Dogii and Dream Mongolia Tours so special? They have the "budget" option that is renting the vans, drivers, and 2 guides for a very good price... And let you choose your itinerary (for example we removed 2 temples but added several other landmarks). As I managed to have a 30-people group (filling 4 vans) price for 5 days was incredible, I won't exactly say it since it depends on what you want to see and due to changes in currency value, it may have changed, but let me tell you that the 30 of us thought it was the best price/quality tour we have ever had in our lives. Now some basic info about the country, it's a huge one, there is no human way of seeing central Mongolia and Gobi in same week without flying, so plan your stay according to your traveling wishes, because although distances are short, average speed is about 60 km/h. Mongolians in general are friendly and welcoming, especially in countryside, but logically be respectful when you go inside their homes (if they invite you first) since after all, it's their home! I read in the Internet that UB was a bit dangerous because pickpocketing, it may be, any of us had any problem even if we went out at night and some stayed for 1 full day there, but remember to be always streetwise and safe. The only "problem" we had is that in Khakorin we were in a Ger camp with other tour group that had a few beers and were particularly noisy and a bit annoying but nothing you wouldn't see in your homeland. So now it's time to start the journey FIRST DAY After the first night, our Vans and guides greeted us behind our hostel, and took us to an outskirts supermarket to buy supplies for the trip, food/water is included in price, but beers/vodka and snacks are not, so we bought some (later in the trip there are small продукты shops that sell food and alcohol as well. First day is for driving mostly, but you see a lot of changing landscape as you go towards Central Mongolia as well as doing small stops to see some minor monuments, we had lunch in a roadside hotel and kept driving in the afternoon until we arrived to Elsen Tasarkhai sand dunes. There we had an included camel ride and since it's the only "desert" we would see, it was pretty interesting and shocking to see the contrast between the dunes and the mountains behind. We slept in a nearby Ger camp where we got assigned yurts (4 people on each) and had one of the best sights I have ever seen in my life, the whole valley/steppe with mountains and sand dunes at sunset. SECOND DAY After waking up with incredible view we continued our trip. This day we made many stops on our way, to see different landscapes, from incredibly long and flat plateau where grass mixed with horizon, to a river canyon in a volcanic valley. This day we enjoyed a lot in the van, after all you spend here long times during your day, we bought some vodka (4€ per bottle) and played some games, and atmosphere became magical, it's a really group-making activity! We also stopped to see some local families, and they invited us to their yurt, which was full of meat (literally) from a recent hunt. We arrived to our Ger camp in Orkhon valley, which will become our home for the next 2 days! Camp was made up just by yurts and 2 containers having western portable toilets and showers (you really love them for this), and it was located under a nice rock formation where hundreds of eagles got their nest. It's owned by a local family that lives in a nearby yurt and all their herd, so you will literally live among sheep and yaks. Every night there is a bonfire and you can enjoy amazing light pollution free starry nights. THIRD DAY It was a cloudy day and we spent most time in the camp. This day is all the good you can make it, since you have a lot of free time, especially in the morning, you can sleep a lot and do nothing or... You can hike nearby mounts and forest, help locals get some wood with strange soviet tools, borrow a 50 years old hunting rifle and do shooting practice, improve your photography skills, spend some time knowing better your guides and finally and the best... Getting to know the locals... And their alcoholic milk "Kumis"!! Now about that milk...it's Mongolia most famous alcohol! It has just 2-5% but since it's milk you drink a lot of it and get wasted... Now here are some warnings: Most westerners are not used to it so expect strong diarrhoea after it and also worry about Brucellosis, a bacteria present in cow’s milk quite present in Mongolia, it's wise to do a blood test quite fast once you are back if you tried some fresh dairy (Doctor's advice here). In the afternoon, we had an awesome 2h ride by horses, going as fast as they could! It was one of the highlights of the trip! This day they also cooked a sheep in the traditional Mongolian way (this part is not for vegans, since they kill one of the herd). FORTH DAY Early in the morning we went to nearby Orkhon waterfall, an incredible site in this valley and also a shrine for Mongolians. There you can swim in the waterfall and enjoy nature at its finest! After that it was time to start going back so we had a long drive through wild areas (roads were almost non-existent) crossing even wide rivers! In the afternoon, we arrived to Khakorin where we saw the old capital temple complex (northernmost Buddhist temples of the world) and it's incredible fortress. We slept in a nearby ger camp. FIFTH DAY Time to go back to the capital! We stopped in a small village to see the penis rock (monument of fertility) and later continued towards UB. We arranged also the visit to Khustaii nu National Park, 3h away from the capital so we stayed there for several hours looking for the famous prehistoric horses. It's a real natural park, like in Africa's safaris you can see a lot of animals or none. When we were about to return after 2h without animal sights our driver spotted some movement in the mountain and there they were, a family of about 14 horses! We hiked to get close and they didn't run away unless you get about 30 metres from them, pretty fair distance for nice pictures if you have a good camera. After that we came back to UB where we had dinner and went out! Terejl NP and Genghis Khan statue Earlier in the morning we went to see UB main attraction, the """"" temple. Because at 10 am we would start our trip to nearby Terejl NP and the Genghis Khan monumental complex (This part was another tour, althought we made it with Dream Mongolia as well). his is the most touristic part of the country since many buses come here every day, it is just 40 min from UB so it has the "Experience Mongolia in one day" feeling. Anyway, Statue complex is incredible, you can get to the statue itself and enjoy incredible views!! There is also many touristic attractions around, like costumes or photography with birds... But since it cost just 1 or 2 € I did them all! After that we went to nearby Terejl park, where we hiked for a bit to the Elephant Buddhist Temple, an impressive shrine after a long stair in the mountain! That night some of us went out and got ready for the next country!! Since we decided to fly to China, we needed to get to airport so our hostel arranged the taxis which drove us there. UB airport is a medium sized one with several destinations. It is worth to mention, that there is a duty free shop, where you can buy 1 L of Russian Standard or Absolut Vodka for 6€, unlike EU "Duty Free" shops. Next post will be about Pekin! Stay tuned!
Do you want to make the best of your Erasmus (or any other abroad) experience? If you are active you can really have the year of your life!! I have been organizing stuff for Erasmus for 5 years already, and I have seen that most of them are quite passive, they don't look for activities or things to do unless it's really shown in shiny colours in front of them. Same goes with University information, you will be surprised how many people start asking you things about subjects of their respective faculty before ever having googled the Uni website. And don't even get me started on people who don't know exactly where is their dorm or Uni until they arrive at their destination! I was an Erasmus too and instead of being part of the passive mass I started this website and organized tours and travelled to more than 20 countries, all for around 430€ per month!! You can see in an objective way that I made the most of my time in Slovakia. So, instead of complaining about passive people and being a useless article, I will make a list of things to do if you want to become an active foreigner and have the best of your time!! 1) Know where you are going Before choosing the destination, make a list with several options and evaluate each of them, in my case I had 6 values to rate: 1) Language of studies 2) City location 3) City life 4) University quality 5) Price of living 6) Options of traveling. So, I ended up choosing Bratislava because: Studies were in English, it’s in the centre of Europe, It's a medium sized capital and "Partyslava" is its nickname, CU University had a lot of hospital practices instead of theoretical lessons, Dorm+Food+Transport= 130€ per month, between Vienna and Budapest airports. My second option was Olomouc (Cz Rep) for similar reasons. Mistakes I have seen in this point: Choosing Kuopio (Finland) and later rejecting it because not realizing classes were in Finnish, choosing "University of Prague in HK" not knowing HK is not Prague but Hadrec Kralove (130 km from it), Coming to study Mechatronic Eng. in Zaragoza (faculty of which is 40km from the city) 2) Open. A. Map. We live in XXI century, Google Maps exist... USE IT! Use it even before choosing the final destination to know the position of the dorms, the uni... and once you have chosen it... Learn the city! Locate hospitals, train/bus stations and other places of interest!! People in my Erasmus still had hard time with the central streets even after 1 year living there or people were surprised when I told them that the biggest ski resort in Spain is just 2h away from Zaragoza (Even if Pyrenees are present in every map) I created custom maps for Zaragoza and Bratislava, so you can get the idea. 3) Read previous experiences If you google "Erasmus in ******" for sure you will find a ton of small blogs of people telling their story. Read some of them, you may learn which are the coolest bars, how to avoid taxi rip-offs and some hidden secrets! It's also really useful since they often mention which apps are the best to get around the city. I recommend Erasmusu.com for starting to check personal experiences 4) Schedule fast The beginning is a bit chaotic, I give you that... but the sooner you get your accommodation, the transport card, your class schedule and exam period... the better you are going to live! Second week I made a timetable and thanks to it I was able to travel every single week without neglecting my marks or other plans! 5) Meet as much people as you can the first days In the first weeks, everybody is friend of everybody, but as the months go by, people who you got wasted with won't talk much to you since they got another group. That's why it is so important to meet as much people as you can in the first parties/events, maybe later you become closer with another group and not your initial one! Common mistake: if you don't go out the first weeks, people won't count on you for next parties. Even if discos are not your passion, I really recommend going out the first weeks for the sake of your future social life. 6) Organize Stuff!! Do not wait for local international associations to organize a trip to somewhere... do it yourself! Many travel agencies will even offer you a 100% discount if you can bring 10 or more people to their tours (like StudentTripNetwork)! Or simply with your closest friends... Rent a car!! Choose a city to discover! Make a traveling group! For example, Barcelona is just 1h away by train from Zaragoza, yet some people don't go there if there is not a big event... and will return later paying for plane tickets. 7) Be Active Being active is not just dancing until 7am when going out, it means joining several activities and meeting with your friends often! Do you like basketball or football? Then why not join the university team or even make an Erasmus one? Or go to the tourism office of your city and get to know several weekly activities or workshops (like photography, dancing, hiking...), or come to my tours if you want to have a nice day! 8) Plan your studies Don't be a donkey, plan how you will study! Asking your local classmates will really help! They can give you notes and tell you which subject is hard and which is not (For example Geriatric Medicine exam is harder than Surgery in my faculty). It's also important to know deadlines for your different works, and above all, have good communication with your Erasmus coordinator! I hope this helps you to make the most of your Erasmus stay, remember that if you are twice active, you live twice more!! |
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date
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