The people you meet in those solo trips

There are times when I wonder if I'm too old to be doing this. Traveling solo, living in hostels, showing up in a different city/country with absolutely no expectations, and no clue about what that place is going to be all about. "Just book a flight/train and accommodation and figure it out once you're there" seems to be the motto.

Personally, for me, a big part of traveling is the people I meet. The conversations I have. The stories I hear about people and the things I learn about different parts of the world. I've always been fascinated by what lies beyond my own countries borders. These conversations are like windows that give me a sneak peek at things I'm yet to experience.

Maybe it's me who's getting older or maybe there's something else. The conversations seem to be getting repetitive. They're becoming like instant noodles. Yes, you'll have a different flavor of sauce/spices in every box but essentially, it's the same noodle that you're going to cook in the same way by adding boiling water and spice/sauce mix to it. So here are the 3 broad flavors:

Flavor 1:  The young and the restless

You meet these young travelers, normally ranging from late teens to the early twenties. They're young, energetic and just want to have a good time. They might be into different things. For example, The Aussies/Kiwis/Brits are always down to party, the American exchange students are looking to soak in as much as possible on their time across the Atlantic, and the Asians will make sure every picture that goes on their Instagram is perfectly curated for the most number of likes possible.

Flavor 2: The old and broken

On the other side of the spectrum are the mid-30's and older misfits in a hostel. They're visibly too old to be traveling and staying in a hostel in a shared room. They normally stand out of the crow. Usually, something has happened which has pushed them to break the monotony of their mundane lives and get out of their comfort zone. The specific reasons tend to vary of course. For some, it's a failed long-term relationship/marriage, while for some others it's the death of a loved one or a family member going through a serious illness. I have also come across getting fired or business failing being the trigger at times. Whatever the trigger may be, they normally seem to be carrying more than just luggage on their back while traveling.

Flavor 3: The work machine with leaky oil

Then there's the mid 20's to early 30's lot. Normally, they travel with their significant other or friends, but you can find a fair amount of solo travelers as well. The ones who have someone in their life can't go 5 sentences without mentioning them. For others, conversations with people in this age group tend to rotate around a small selection of topics: career, hobbies & interests. Basically, things that we drown ourselves in to pass our time. Additionally, they talk about their travel trips, past, present and upcoming. Trips that they're racking on top of another to escape from facing the ugly truth - that while their skin will always age with time, their brains haven't as much as they have for everyone around.


So here I am, sitting on a rooftop bar in Malta, wondering what life has in store for me. It's the 17th country that I've racked up and as I sip a cherry cider with a view to kill for, I'm struggling to come up with plans beyond the jazz performances that I'm going to be enjoying tonight.