Staying in hostels give you the chance to meet many other travelers. Many of them travel in pairs but I met many who travel alone. What surprises me most is meeting a lot of Asian women traveling alone, especially those from South Korea. I also met many from Australia traveling alone and sometimes they travel for months, as long as 6 months.
I asked the Australians how they are able to do it. They said they are encouraged to do it by companies and their parents. Some of them just quit their job, travel for 6 months, and go back and find another job. It helps when unemployment is only 5%.
One Korean traveler we met is Soyou, shown in the first picture below. We met her on the way to Nice, just past the Italian border, It was late in the evening at a train stop and she was alone with a rolling suitcase and a backpack. She is barely 5 foot tall and 22 years old. We asked her if she has a place to stay in Nice and she said no. This was 10 pm at night. How is she going to find a place to stay, we asked. She said she has the address of a hostel. We told her that she should come with us and see if there is room at the hostel where we are staying. Fortunately, the hostel did have room for her.
Then we met her again in Barcelona. While there someone scammed her of 50 euros. She reported to the police but next morning she went to look for the person who scammed her. With the help of some local retailers, she found him and grabbed him by his shirt and demanded her money back. Surprisingly, the scam artist gave her her money back.
I am really amazed by how some of these young women dare to travel alone knowing that a lot of people in most of these European cities are waiting to prey on them. The Korean travelers, from what I understand, have their own network of information on hostels, where to go and what to avoid. I also heard that they have their own Korean hostels in Europe, serving Korean breakfast and dinner.
I asked the Australians how they are able to do it. They said they are encouraged to do it by companies and their parents. Some of them just quit their job, travel for 6 months, and go back and find another job. It helps when unemployment is only 5%.
One Korean traveler we met is Soyou, shown in the first picture below. We met her on the way to Nice, just past the Italian border, It was late in the evening at a train stop and she was alone with a rolling suitcase and a backpack. She is barely 5 foot tall and 22 years old. We asked her if she has a place to stay in Nice and she said no. This was 10 pm at night. How is she going to find a place to stay, we asked. She said she has the address of a hostel. We told her that she should come with us and see if there is room at the hostel where we are staying. Fortunately, the hostel did have room for her.
Then we met her again in Barcelona. While there someone scammed her of 50 euros. She reported to the police but next morning she went to look for the person who scammed her. With the help of some local retailers, she found him and grabbed him by his shirt and demanded her money back. Surprisingly, the scam artist gave her her money back.
I am really amazed by how some of these young women dare to travel alone knowing that a lot of people in most of these European cities are waiting to prey on them. The Korean travelers, from what I understand, have their own network of information on hostels, where to go and what to avoid. I also heard that they have their own Korean hostels in Europe, serving Korean breakfast and dinner.
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| Solo Traveler |
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| Her journal |
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