3 tips to ease anxiety for your solo trip
Sitting at my bunk covered in all of my “must-have” travel items, I have a flashback from two weeks before my travels when the idea of carrying one backpack and a duffle bag for a month’s travel all seem so practical. I chuckled now, thinking that I would be “the minimalist traveller“.
It’s 12pm local Jakarta time and an hour left till check out. My possessive items still scattered all over as if to mock my packing decisions. My sweaters and toiletries taunting me as they somehow expanded overnight and now refuse to cooperate.
“ It’s only when you start unpacking, you’ll realise how unprepared you are ”
- a fellow hostel bunkmate said that in passing as we’re both ransacking through our rucksacks.
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It’s not my first time travelling, but old habits die hard. My anxiety and the urge to be a control freak rises as a defense mechanism to the stress of packing for a trip. As much as I would like to glorify solo travelling and all it’s perks, it’s also a learning experience. One that will help you get to know yourself better and whole lots of cheesy phrases that I’ll leave for another post.
If you’re like me, a curious solo traveller with more than 7kg of carry on emotional baggage, here are some tips that could help ease your pre-travel jitters:
- Less is More.
As easy it sounds, I could not preach this enough. For every traveller, whether you’re packing with a 68L backpack or a pimped out GPS-enabled luggage, you’ll want to go minimalist in your packing. There’s nothing like misplacing or losing a valuable item while on vacation to get your stress up.
Essential packing is the way to go — pack only what you need and not what you think need. Does that makes sense? For example, you’ll need the essentials like a toothbrush — that’s a valid necessity. What you don’t need is TWO toothbrush IN CASE that one goes missing.
Don’t stockpile your packing list in case something doesn’t go as planned.
People try hard to over prep to avoid mistakes but that’s what life’s all about. Travelling is the perfect time to embrace and quickly learn from it.
“ Travelling helps you to declutter from your stuff and makes you dependent from the things that own you. ”
Tip: Most essentials can be bought at your destination and try not to allow “what if’s “ to steer your packing decisions to avoid unnecessary stress. This takes practice so don’t be afraid to let go of your things.
2. Luggage scales changed my life.
Excuse the sappy title headline, but this is something that has immensely reduced my pre-flight anxieties. I still sigh in relief recalling each time my carry-on backpacks enter the scrutiny of inspection by airlines staffs. It’s like shrugging dirt off my shoulders, a pat on the back and a sheer moment of joy when your carry-on meets the 7kg weight limit.
However, if you absolutely need it and had pre-purchased baggage allowance, my recommendation on the luggage scale still stands. Airlines charge double the fee for excess baggage at check-in counters regardless of pre-purchases.
Here’s the thing, nobody likes to pay airline’s ridiculous check-in baggage fee. Invest in a luggage scale and this will not only keep your mind at ease but save you a good amount of money.
Tip: Wear your heavy clothing and footwear on you. Also, most airlines will allow laptops to be carried on as a separate piece aside from your main carry-on.
3. The only travel app you’ll need.
Solo travelling in this digital era has given me the boost to be more confident while travelling. It helps to make things efficient and honestly, just to give you an ease of mind when you need it.
There are many travel apps out there but there’s only one I would recommend to help get you organised for your travels.
TripIt App -This app was first suggested by a friend a year ago and I’ve been using it regularly since then. My encounter with the app was pretty seamless. Essentially, the app automatically retrieves all of your travel itineraries from your email. It compiles all of your accommodation bookings, flight tickets, booking codes, location address, seat number…etc into the app. You’ll be able to view your complete travel itinerary booked from various sites. To have access to these information with just one click will come in handy when filling out immigration forms.
Tip: Travel apps are savvy and handy however certain countries will require you to produce a physical copy of your return flight ticket. Spend some time researching this one, to avoid spending hours in immigration at the airport.
You are only as ready as you think you are. Solo travelling gives you many opportunities to make a mistake and each of it has an underlaying life lesson never to be forgotten. These lists do not keep you from getting into sticky situations, but you’ll get better at figuring it out. Keep exploring and stay curious.
How do you deal with anxiety while travelling?
