7 reasons every woman should go on a solo trip

For people who swear by travelling, the joy of packing a bag for a trip, planning an itinerary, and booking the tickets, is simply put, indescribable. The very thought of being able to spend some time away from the mundaneness of daily life ends up giving a much-needed rush to a lot of people. And once in the actual process of travelling, your horizons are broadened in ways that you might never have been able to think of.

As far as we Indians are concerned, trips with families and friends are the most common ones that we've participated in. However, notwithstanding the baggage (pun or no pun) that accompanies it, once in a while, a solo trip too is required in one's life. The joy of travelling, for some travel junkies, and especially if you're a woman, is doubled when the trip is a solo one. In addition to showing the finger to most people who declare a taboo on women travelling alone, the act gives one a different kind of confidence. Don't believe us? Read on. You'll realise for yourself why, if you're a woman, you need to have at least one solo trip in life!

Confidence boost: When on a solo trip, your confidence levels soar up like never before. From planning a trip to actually reaching your destination, and then roaming around the streets of an unknown place - the thrill is unparalleled. Once you realise the amount of courage you need to muster up to even step out of the house and go visit a new place on your own, your self-confidence is sure to get a boost. And once you've had a bite of that Forbidden Apple called travelling alone, you'll want to keep going back to it.

No answers: Remember that time when you missed watching that sunrise on that college trip because one of your friends never woke up in time and all of you had to stay back because of him or her? And then the entire group kept sulking and the entire day was wasted because your plans went down the drain, thanks to one person's screwed up sleeping pattern? Well, when you're on your own, even if you're that faulty sleep-pattern-ed person, you don't need to answer anyone for the fact that you overslept. You can tailor your trip to meet your own requirements, and in the end, you have only yourself to praise or blame in case you end up doing or not doing something.

No adjustments: All of us have had to struggle our way through spending a night with some snoring fellow traveller, or have been forced to go sight-seeing with someone who wouldn't pay any heed to the amount of time allotted to one particular spot. You get the idea. When you don't have anybody to share the trip to begin with, you don't have to bear any of the side effects that travelling with people usually force one to, either.

Getting out of a comfort zone: Travelling solo, for a lot of people - especially women who have always travelled with family - is a way to get rid of a certain comfort zone. For example, when travelling with family, it is sort of a given that the itinerary is decided by someone else, usually a family elder, and you need to go along with it. When the trip - right from the inception and the planning stage - needs to take place in your own head, you get to get out of your comfort zone.

Appreciating tiny things: When alone, you get to appreciate all the little things that you might have otherwise overlooked, while on a trip with others. For example, a friendly tea stall-owner somewhere in Pahalgam, in Kashmir, makes your Maggi with an extra dash of butter. Now normally, a tiny act of generosity by a random, unknown person would be lost on you when you're travelling with others. There's either no time to pay any attention to this little a gesture or you're too occupied elsewhere to notice the same. Not so when you're on your own. The most miniscule of acts of kindness by the most random of people will make you wake up and take notice...and be thankful for the same.

Opportunity to shock people: Ever been treated to the wide-eyed open-mouthed look that a person gives you the moment you utter the words 'I'm travelling alone'? If not, maybe you should go on a solo trip just to see the way people react when you tell them that you are on your own, in a relatively or completely unknown place. The experience of shocking people, especially when they don't expect much reckless stuff from you, is one that every woman needs to have.

Being more careful: Last, and the most important reason every woman should embark on a solo trip at least once in her life, is that it teaches you to be more careful. When you decide to go travelling on your own, you can't afford to have a lackadaisical attitude about the same. You need to be uber-careful about every single step - right from the planning to the execution of the same - in order to ensure that you are safe. And once you've had that crucial rite of passage, you'll emerge a way experienced person on the other side of that tunnel!