Silent Fears of Lone Travelers

chillibreeze writer — Shalaka Kalgutkar

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There’s one thing that all lone travelers have in common; an insurmountable fear of being tied down to the mundane. Ask one and all; the sheer drudgery of everyday life never scares anyone more than the one who has seen more than a few places and been invited into the homes of foreign people and treated like their own. These are the people who develop an itch every time the weather turns too cold for they know it’s got to be warm and genial somewhere.

Absurd as it may seem, most are just searching for themselves in far off lands scared witless that, they are losing their essence in a world that expects one to be static and happy. Or worse still, enjoy traveling as nothing but a social activity that requires one to adjust to the circadian rhythm of others.

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That deep, deep fear of losing your independence scores high on the list of all those that opt to respect their own pace and explore their own worlds. Most lone travelers are a suspicious looking lot, so self assured and comfortable in their own company that others think of them as self contained to the point of being conceited.

Nothing could be further from the truth. That look of self assurance more often than not is a mere self defense mechanism acquired over a period of time to protect all that is sacred. For many fears reside in the hearts of those that choose to trod their paths alone and see the world with their own eyes.

The initial few travels can be disconcerting and at times downright scary, especially to foreign lands, where people don’t speak your language and suddenly one begins to grasp the importance of gestures in communication. But social as man is how long can one quench the thirst for bonhomie with something as basic as gestures? Too many days of silence and along with some very colorful memories, the fear of loneliness takes seat in the hearts of all those that travel. Though many intriguing friendships and surreal experiences are formed along the way, those days of loneliness are always there somewhere just around the corner, waiting.

Most travelers aren’t new to stories of someone before them getting drugged, robbed and cheated. The seasoned ones have their own set of norms to be safe and can smell a con, miles away but the ones that just begin their little escapade are generally wary until they discover that the world has its share of angels too. It can get especially nerve wrenching for women, while getting extremely self conscious with those crazy stares, and occasional paranoia trips as people see them as easy targets. But with a little practice and precaution they get use to being stared at by people as if they’ve just walked out of fairyland. Some even begin to outwardly enjoy it though all the while seeking it not, on the inside.

All those who travel know that it’s a wicked world out there but would genuinely like to believe otherwise. They would love to see beauty where sometimes, just sometimes none exists. When traveling alone there is no choice but to trust those that cross your paths for the choice is between being safe but unapproachable or yielding and unprotected, most travelers choose the latter. And the ones that have been at it for long have had their trusts shaken at least once. The fear here is not of losing objects but losing faith. And though one recovers and moves on to the next trip the scar remains always reminding of that one time.

If it stopped at having your faith shaken one would learn to be more cautious and then find no more excitement in it after a while. But travel has this peculiar characteristic of debasing ones firm beliefs and debunking all preconceived notions one builds throughout life. One may not admit it but the secret fear that all that one believes to be true may come to naught in foreign land amidst different people and their culture persists, on some level or another.

Perhaps the origin of the very desire lies in fear and the overcoming of it. The perpetual need; to put ourselves in unfamiliar places and uncomfortable situation and come out victorious has its thrills and that gentle tingling warmth that pervades through every cell in the end, which justifies the means.

Ever so often many travelers ask themselves if all the loneliness and insecurity and constant wandering are in fact worth it. But then someday the beauty of that lone trip emerges in retrospect. The things learnt slowly creep into subsequent actions and suddenly you realize you are not the same person any more. Those singular trips made you evolve on a conscious level. Travel then ceases to be a form of recreation and turns into a relentless addiction and as you look around, know your day job will never be interesting again.

Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in December, 2009. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.

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—About our writer:

Shalaka enjoys writing scripts for short films, creative articles and travelogues. Her interest in philospohy and psychology give her work a certain density of matter concerning the psyche. freshly out of media school she also holds a Post Graduate diploma in film making.She has interned with FOX Television Studios India working on developing concepts for televion shows. She is based out of Bombay. Presently, pursuing a Masters degree in Applied psychology.

Silent Fears of Lone Travelers

chillibreeze writer — Shalaka Kalgutkar

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