SAVOR Magazine No.2

S-A-V-O-R Featuring the fabulous moment of solitude.

Uncover the personal and curious relationships we have when we are alone.

Little gallery: Into Morocco 40 days alone in the U.S. The Feature article written

by Barbara Wei

No. 2 Jul 2019

SAVOR Contents

Contents

Editor's letter

The letter from our editor

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Explore the alone story Photographer: Justyna Zdunczyk

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Throw yourself in blue

Six Things Solo Travel Teaches You The article written by Carrie Miller

Alone

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About solo travel The feature article written by 12 Barbara Wei

40 days alone in the U.S. The feature article written by 16 Barbara Wei

Explore the alone story

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Little gallery: into Morocco

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Illustrator: Yaling Li

Show the little moment of aloneness

SAVOR Editor's letter

Editor's letter Hello rea ders !

Welc ome t o t he sec o n d issu e o f S avo r

No.2

magazin e.

To delight in a n d savo ur yo ur p r ivat e t im e.

What’s the attitude on being alone? The sense of observing will expand to life, to place, and to yourself. Our magazine is based on the attitude of solitary, and the feeling, the lesson and the journey of storytelling from the perceptive of being alone. Notice tiny things in your life, and understand yourself better, then you become an observer and a completed you.

I n t h i s n ew e d i t i o n , we m a n ly fo c us o n t rave l l i n g a l o n e. I t o ut l i n e s t h e s c en e s o n t h e t ri p i n Mo ro c c o, a l s o s h a re s a s t o r y fro m o ur e d i t o r w h o s e f i rs t s o l o t rave l i n t h e U. S . A . S o l o t rave l c a n i n f l ue n c e yo u a l o t , a n d s h ap e yo ur p e rs o n a l i t y a n d yo ur t h o ug h t s a b o ut t h e wo rl d . G o o d t h i n g a n d b a d t h i n g a l l c o m e t o l i fe b ut we c a n l e a rn a n d d i ge s t i t we l l w h e n we b ro d e n o ur h o ri z o n t a l .

Yo u c a n ge t s o m e i n s p i ra t i o n s f ro m t h e s i x t h i n gs s o l o t rave l t e a c h yo u. I h o p e yo u w i l l e n joy o ur p ub l i c a t i o n !

Editor B a rb a ra We i

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Six Things Solo Travel Teaches You Deciding to travel alone can feel intimidating, but here's what you can learn if you take the chance.

by Carrie Miller

I

STILL MARVEL I didn’t drop stone-cold dead from

to say something,” she said. “I think you’re incredibly

embarrassment during my first solo travel experience.

brave. I’ve seen you around town this week and you look

As a 20-year-old, I booked a spontaneous trip to Darwin

like you’re having so much fun. I wish I had the courage

in Australia’s Northern Territory. I didn’t want to go

to travel on my own like you.”

alone, but none of my friends had the time or money to go with me.

Everything went wrong from the start. Poor planning landed me in the only available room in town, a

21 years of traveling solo, I heard that same sentiment again and again.

backpacker bunk room occupied by two German men

I became a solo traveler out of necessity, rather

who didn’t speak English. On a guided tour of Kakadu

than choice: As a travel writer I spend a lot of time on

National Park, I fell for every prank my Australian guide

my own. Also, as my friends settled into their lives and

pulled. (Eventually he stopped baiting me. My gullibility

acquired partners, children, careers, and mortgages, I

made it “easier than tackling a turtle,” he said.) And I

discovered I had to travel solo if I wanted to travel at all.

won’t get into how I won a wet T-shirt contest I never entered, thanks to a bad wardrobe choice.

I am the reigning world heavyweight champion of

I quickly learned to love it. There is a freedom to traveling alone: I am in charge of my own decisions and my own rhythm, and being in charge of my own travel

beating myself up, and each mistake made me more

budget has saved a few arguments, too. I’ve learned

self-conscious. I felt like Nancy No-Mates when I

independence, and I’ve even learned to love loneliness.

requested a table for one. I was certain everyone was

And I’m not alone: Solo travel is growing in popularity,

watching me, wondering if I was recently jilted, or

particularly among women travelers, and it’s getting

simply friendless.

easier.

It turned out someone was watching me. During

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It took a while for her words to sink in, epiphanies being slower than self-recrimination, but during my next

So if you haven’t tried traveling by yourself yet, you

my last solo supper in Australia, a British woman

should. As a little encouragement, here are six things

approached me. “I don’t want to interrupt, but I just had

traveling solo has taught me.

SAVOR Six Things Solo Travel Teaches You

7 Photograph by Carrie Miller, Chitwan National Park, Nepal

Despite knowing these benefits, it can be a challenge to find time alone in a world that seems to never sleep. Here are a few ideas to help you find more time to spend with yourself.

Yo u Won 't Die of

start off muddled. Once or twice I’ve

Embarras smen t

discovered I’m not missing someone

Fear of what other people think is one of the biggest barriers for potential solo travelers, but here’s the truth: My Darwin disaster

I should be, which answered a

Six Things

question I was too scared to ask at home. Loneliness taught me how I like to spend my time. Understanding

became one of my fondest

my own pace, rhythms, and

memories—and one of my favorite

preferences has impacted every

campfire stories. Darwin taught me

corner of my life, including where

that people don’t see me how I see

and how I live. We so rarely have

myself. I look at solo travelers with

time to be still, to be with ourselves.

respect, not pity, and that’s how

Traveling solo gives that gift.

It takes practice, being lonely.

people were looking at me. And if they are entertaining judgmental thoughts, what does it matter? I’ll

Here are a few tips that helped me: Resist the urge to be busy all

never see them again. The more

the time. Don’t fill every waking

time I spent on the road alone, the

moment. Let yourself be. Loneliness

stronger my self-confidence grew.

isn’t boredom.

Don’t keep in touch. I have a difficult time being in the moment,

How to Be Lon e ly

and I miss loved ones more, if I keep

You will get lonely traveling by yourself. Anyone who tells you

in close contact while I’m away. I’ve

differently is lying. But loneliness

conditioned my friends and family

gets a bad rap. At the age of 41,

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Photograph @kazumaogura

that no news is good news. They

I’ve collectively spent more time

know my itinerary, and I check in

traveling on my own than with

regularly and briefly, but stories and

someone. And while some of it’s a

pictures can wait until I get home.

Your demons will follow you. You

drag, I enjoy the time to myself.

Loneliness untangles and focuses

can’t outrun them. So, turn around,

my thoughts, although they always

face them, and invite them to have a

SAVOR Six Things Solo Travel Teaches You

cup of tea with you. By now, I’m old

W hat Yo u Wa n t t o B e W h e n Yo u

and do (just about) anything. And

friends with mine.

Grow Up

no one can take that knowledge or

More likely than not, traveling How to Ma ke Frie n ds All that being said about

solo will help your career. New

independence from me. It’s freedom.

The only way to try traveling solo

experiences open doors. You might

is to book a ticket. Just go. You’ll be glad you did.

loneliness, you will meet people on

stumble across a place or activity

your journey. Traveling alone forces

that changes your entire direction.

us outside of our comfort zones,

Or you’ll meet someone you might

which makes us more receptive to

want to collaborate with in the

T he Wo r ld I s ( M o s t ly ) G o o d In 21 years of traveling solo, I

new people and experiences. And

future. The world’s a small place, and

can count the dodgy experiences on

solo travelers are less intimidating

travelers tend to find each other. You

one hand. My travels have taught me

and more approachable than groups.

On some trips you’ll have

have time to get to know yourself,

the majority of people want to help,

to reflect, to be momentarily free of

rather than harm. But things can

interesting conversations with

criticism and competition. Learning

happen. Taking a few precautions

people you’ll never speak to again,

to listen to—and trust—my own voice,

puts you in a better position to

which is fine. Some people can

away from distractions and pressure,

handle a situation if it comes up.

remain fond memories. On other

bettered my writing.

Here’s what I do: Listen to your gut. That prickling

In de p e n de n c e

on your neck? The feeling something

trips, you’ll make friends—likeminded creatures you’ve impatiently been waiting to meet all your life.

My biggest solo trip turned out to

isn’t right? Heed it. Trust your

I’ve made some of my best and

be my best one. In 2004, I moved to

instinct, even in the face of seeming rude or paranoid.

longest-lasting friendships on my

New Zealand. I didn’t know a single

solo trips. These are people with

person in the country. And I wouldn’t

backgrounds and experiences so

have been able to do that if I hadn’t

about you. Traveling solo isn't the

different to my own, only travel

traveled solo.

Traveling by myself has taught me

time to get sozzled.

things I couldn’t learn anywhere else.

phone batteries die and networks

I learned how I like to spend my

jam in emergencies. I keep a

time, self-reliance, and I learned that

folded piece of paper with me at

I could go (just about) anywhere

all times. On one side is a scan

could have crossed our paths.

Enjoy yourself, but keep your wits

September 11 taught me that

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SAVOR Six Things Solo Travel Teaches You

of my passport. On the other is a list of important addresses and numbers: family, friends, embassies, consulates, hospitals. If you couldn’t use your phone, what information would you need? Write it down.

Travel light. Don’t take anything you can’t carry. You might need to travel fast. Also, keep your gear with you at all times, including in taxis.

Always carry a business card of the place you’re staying, especially in countries where you don’t speak the language. It’s gotten me “home” more than once.

Leave your travel plans with someone back home, check in regularly (but briefly), and tell the concierge where you’re going when

Photograph @kazumaogura

you leave the hotel.

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"Traveling solo does not always mean you’re alone. Most often, you meet marvelous people along the way and make connections that last a lifetime."

Jacqueline Boone

SAVOR Six Things Solo Travel Teaches You

Photograph @kazumaogura

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"The most important relationship in your life is the relationship you have with yourself.

Because no matter what happens, you will always be with yourself."

Diane Von Furstenberg

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SAVOR About solo travel

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Photograph @semanurcil

"Ten years of solo traveling have shown me the essence of how random our planet might be. But there is one ultimate winner of all the questions that meets and greets me nearly everywhere I travel and, of course, when I come back to tell the stories of routes and means of independent solo roaming: "But aren’t you afraid?"

No, I am certainly not. And you shouldn’t be either.

Simona Laiconaite

T

raveling alone accelerates maturity, thus it also requires

at least a rough mapping of routes, trajectories, and scenarios. It is not about challenging your luck, but rather becoming friends and allies

with it: if you are living a life full of travel, you should make it damn sure that that your life is as long as possible. If in doubt or uncertainty, start small - try out a short journey somewhere not too far, it doesn’t have to be extreme at all. Then take the second step, make the distance longer, let’s say - double the last one.

Like my boyfriend would put it: “You can’t learn to deal with extreme situations while sitting on a couch.

You have to face and experience them. If you want to walk the perimeter of your country by foot during winter, you gotta start with just a couple of hours of walking with weights in your neighborhood whatever the weather might be.”

Photograph @semanurcil

SAVOR About solo travel

"My alone feels so good — I’ll only have you if you’re sweeter than my solitude."

Warsan Shire

Thus, in order to get some skills for solo traveling, you have to actually travel alone. If there’s any doubt, go out and check it in real life.

And the world is not scary. Just like every one of us, it is thrilling to learn more about, wide to roam around, exciting to experience and, the best part, it is always different and never the same. Talk to strangers wherever you are, especially if traveling alone. After all, everyone is a stranger until efforts are made to get them to know and that is exactly how friends are made disregarding whether we travel or not. If in doubt, start slow and take all the time you need to explore persons or situations - friendships, conversations and acquaintances normally have their cultural challenges but those aren’t hard to examine, especially if you think about it before you make the first step as a solo traveler.

" There are some places in life where you can only go alone. Embrace the beauty of your solo journey."

Mandy Hale

"I wondered why it was that places are so much lovelier when one is alone."

Daphne du Maurier

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40 days alone in the U.S.

he summer in 2013, I was 19 years old.

I told my mom about the idea of

having solo travel, and this is how I started my first solo travel in the

Written By Barbara Wei

U.S.A. A friend of my mom, she has a daughter live in San Fransisco, and

in the gate and realised so many

that's it, I got her contact and the

Americans around me, I knew "now

place to stay with a total stranger at

this is a real game begins. I only

that time for me. As the departure

myself, no matter what happened I

day coming, I said goodbye to my

can do it."

mom and sister then I headed off

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San Francisco International

to a new country and my adventure.

Airport, after a long flight; finally, I

No plans, no friends, different

arrived in the U.S.A. I had no idea

language, and not scared at all, only

what is going next, so I followed the

my courage and my own. Besides,

crowds. Lots and lots of people in

English at that time I only knew

the long queue for custom, It took

basic communication.

me ages to my turn, I answered

I did not do any research on

the custom by words not even a

things should know in the airport;

sentence and he said welcome.

therefore, I followed signs and signs,

Welcome to my new journey!

and it went so smoothly to the gate,

The next thing after the custom,

nothing stuck my mind. As I waited

I assumed that I should call the

daughter of my moms' friend, but I didn't know how to contact her (Lily).

I haven't worried about the internet data issue for use before I left Taiwan, that a very bold and risky move to be honest and luckily, I accessed the airport wifi and texted her, in a very short time, we met our first time.

Lily is a very lovely person, no surprise; we become friends so quickly. Talk a lot and a lot and

"The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco" — Mark Twain Read the full artice: https://medium.com/@archieeybee/40-days-alone-in-the-usa-21351b6fce17

SAVOR 40 Days Alone In the USA

" I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude.

We are for the most part more lonely when we go abroad among men than when we stay in our chambers."

Henry David Thoreau

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none stop, even now when I write down these words, I can see her big smile in my head.

We arrived at her house, and I told myself "now this is the place I will have a lot of fun within the following days." We unpacked, talked more and met her sister and other roommates. That night I settled down and slept tight and sweet. I still remember her room.

The second day, I woke up, the first thing popped in my mind was telling myself "Alright, let's start this journey." Lily took me to see around where we lived and how does the city centre look like. After having a quick blast, we backed to home and have a rest for the rest of chill Saturday, and we went out again in the evening, having a walk for the night time church view. The next day, I told Lily I gonna go out and follow my travel plan. To be honest, I don't have a solid plan, the one thing I have is a list of places in San Francisco where I found some giant dots in google map. I know what you think is so crazy haha! Interesting, this's the most of who I am. I head in and face the unknown coming without a doubt. I said bye to everyone and off to start my first-day plan to see the whole of San Francisco my own!

Grace Cathedral, my first drop. It was Sunday, people gathered in the church, my first impression about a western country also my first time engaged in church thing. I spent couples of hours in there and as it finished I decided to head back home (Lily's house, the place I stay in San Francisco) due to the jet lag my body was unwell. When I backed home Lily and others were out of uni, only Ay (Lily's sister) at home. Â I backed to my bed and tried to shake my headache off, trying to get some sleep but I didn't know why I suddenly had a depressed feeling comes out, and I can't stop my tears.

They kept running out of my eyes. I looked at the ceiling and the things around me in this room. The people and this country all are unfamiliar to me, and It becomes a hidden pressure for me.

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SAVOR 40 Days Alone In the USA I need to breathe and let it all out of my body. After released this strange and unfamiliar emotion I felt way better in bed. Unexpectedly, Ay came into the room, and she saw me in bed. I told her that I feel dizzy because of the jet lag, I need to sleep to recharge my body. She said she can understand that feeling and she left me alone to sleep.

Before she left, she told me that "I think you are incredibly brave, come all way here and go out to discover the big city alone." These words are so sweet which comfort me just after my depressed early on. I never thought about I am brave, I would love to try everything and when I see a chance coming I will seize it and do it with no regret later on.

When she mentions I am brave, these words become a new word for me to think about myself. I am a brave girl, I should be proud of myself.

And the next days and days, I never have the depression anymore, I become more independent and more strong to digest all the personal feeling. I spent the couples weeks in San Francisco having a good time there with my poor English and brave heart, my story has the first chapter. Most of the time I travelled my own and I followed the random plan every day which impressed myself. Somedays when Lily or her friend have the day off we go somewhere further by car and spend a fun time with groups of people.

As things and life in San Francisco gradually settled down, my other random thought jumps into my head, "I want to go somewhere else". A friend from high school saw my post in San Francisco on Facebook. He asked

I around in the whole big group of different colour people in Flushing I was a bit anxious, but I stayed calm and looked cool on my face. The tip from myself is trying to pretend as a local, not a tourist. It will save you safe and build your confidence in a new place. ...

The last week in the USA, I stayed in San Francisco to see the features place I have not seen yet. The life in there getting better and better, compared to the second day I feel so small and now I could not think anything unhappy. Beneath the Golden bridge, I am small and little me but at the same time, I am strong and brave in my nineteen years old. I see the beautiful and ugly.

me "why not come to New York, I will wait for you here".

Things always come this way in my life, new plan pops in suddenly. I do not plan and I am willing to welcome all the things coming. There are always some interesting things happen you never picture.

I booked the flight ticket and took the US domestic flight from west to east. Eventually, I arrived in the Big Apple. A taxi brought me into the inside of the Big Apple from John F. Kennedy International Airport. It was the first time I took a taxi in a different country, also the first time of my life took a taxi my own using different language. I can tell how nervous and frighten I was at that time haha.

The place I stay in New York is a daily rent room, found it on Facebook. It is in Flushing. I never meet any other people except Asian in Taiwan, the first time when

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As Mark Twain says "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco" The summer in 2013,

unknown and welcome a new world open in her life. The

which I feel like living in the wintertime, I conquer the

more you want to try on one thing the more you should

coldest loneliness and weakness of travelling alone.

believe in yourself you can.

This trait transforms me a brave traveller who can take

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good care of herself and have the courage to face the

SAVOR 40 Days Alone In the USA

"Anything we fully do is an alone journey."

Natalie Goldberg

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SAVOR 40 Days Alone In the USA

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Each of us need a break, meditation. A few moments to stay with himself...

Alone

Justyna Zdunczyk www.justynazdunczyk.com

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SAVOR Justyna Zdunczyk

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SAVOR Justyna Zdunczyk

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SAVOR Justyna Zdunczyk

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SAVOR Human - Chess (When I was alone)

See her lovely perceptions on enjoying the sum of alone Throw yourself in blue Yaling Li (lylean lee)

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Being a

be enjoy

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SAVOR Yaling Li

alone can

yable too!

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SAVOR Yaling Li

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SAVOR Yaling Li

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Every part is all beautiful, the bad and the good.

SAVOR Yaling Li

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Pace Every one is single in their own own pace.

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Little gallery shows the little moment of aloneness, when I alone at the moment Photograph @design.barb

In this issue we take you to the amazing country, Morocco. What we see in my journey, and my own perspective when I am alone at the moment in my journey.

SAVOR Little gallery

The market

Morocco

Sale

Little gallery Into Morocco

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Clothes wash Kids

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One way

Daily routine

SAVOR Little gallery

Bike

single

43 The village

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Night 03

Night 02

Night 01

Sahara

simple

Walking

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Rabat 01-03 Bargain

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S-A-V-O-R Featuring the fabulous moment of solitude.

Uncover the personal and curious relationships we have when we are alone.

No. 2 Jul 2019

Little gallery: Into Morocco 40 days alone in the USA The Feature article written

by Barbara Wei