The first time I travel alone, it’s a bit by default. I’m 20 years old, and my boyfriend at the time and I had planned to go to Indonesia for almost a month. Except that, three weeks before the big departure, he dumped me. It’s a shock for me, I didn’t expect it at all. He tells me that he will not go to Indonesia.
I’m thinking of doing the same thing, but my friends are pushing me to go alone. I don’t feel capable of it, it’s beyond my strength. My friends keep telling me: “Lucie, you have everything you need to leave: your tickets, your passport, some money saved. It is time. » So I force myself to go. I take my big backpack and fly towards the majestic islands of Indonesia.
My first steps alone abroad were complicated. I had already traveled to Asia with my family, so I had some reflexes that came back automatically. But my morale is down and I wonder how I’m going to move forward on my own. And then I settle into a youth hostel in Java. While I’m at reception for my room, I see two Danes and a German drinking a beer. They invite me with them.
We don’t let go anymore
As the conversation progresses, and even though my English is hesitant, I ask them what they plan to do the next day. The two Danes asked me to join them on their excursions. For three days, we don’t let go. And then I go off to other adventures, too. We will meet again two weeks later, by chance on a beach in Kuta. When I see them, it’s the best moment of my trip. I thought I would never hear from them again, and here they were sitting on the same beach as me, on a completely different island.
It may seem strange, but what reassured me during this trip alone was having an Internet connection. If I get lost, I can use a GPS. If I feel in danger, I can contact my loved ones. If I run out of money, I can call my bank.
During one of my excursions where I am alone in the middle of Bali, I realize that I have no more battery, no more water and no more money. Around me, there is not an ATM anywhere. I wander the city streets for miles, very panicked. On the side of the road, I pass a man busy eating chicken. Desperate, I ask him if he doesn’t know a distributor. He gestures for me to get on his motorcycle.
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