My lone reader knows I often travel alone. There are advantages and disadvantages to traveling solo.
Some of the advantages are that you can do what you want to do when you want to do it and how you want to do it. If I want to sit in a cafe all day I do. It may have detrimental effects on my stomach but that’s my decision. If I want to walk all day until my feet swell and turn pink. I walk.
The lame side is that discovering new things alone can be well, lonely. What’s the fun of seeing new things, tasting new food and smelling new airs if you can’t talk to someone about it? Sharing with others makes it a little more real. I guess that’s one reason I’m here and you are here. My dear lone reader.
One of the worst things is actually sitting in a cafe or a restaurant alone. Its weird, you know. Think about it, what do you think when you see people sitting by themselves in a restaurant. These people usually fall into a couple of categories.
There are the obvious waiters. The people, constantly looking at their watch and the door waiting for a friend or a date. I have feigned waiting before. I sat alone in a cafe, looked at my watch frequently. The horror though was having to fake the emotions that no one came of being stood up. How humiliating. No one was probably watching but it is a discomforting feeling to fake being stood up when you were actually a lonely loser in the first place.
Secondly there is the talkers, drunks, creeps and looneys. There are strikingly large numbers of these people sitting in restaurants and cafes around the world. People who, I assume, have spent so much time alone they just start talking to themselves aloud as if someone else were there. I tried that but only half hearted. I laughed outloud when I tried and felt really weird.
Everyone can recognize the drunk, either happily or grumpily slouched on the table. Possibly asleep with a glass propping his head up. Or even the drunk on the verge of sleeping and bobble heading. We’ve all seen them. No, I have not been the lone drunk. I do have a bit of self respect. Come on what were you thinking?
The creep is probably the worst. I assume it mostly a problem for women but there are occasional creeps that will freak men out as well. You know the one. Dressed darkly peering over his paper at you. Or the guy that keeps going to the bathroom and slows down every time he walks past. Or the guy who sits without a drink on his table, his hand spread out before him, his mouth wide open and blank but penetrating stare at your direction. Or… wait I’m giving away all my secrets.
My point is that it’s hard to visit community places alone. One way I’ve been able to get over it is to sit and draw or write while I visit these places. Sure I may look like a creep because I’ll stare in one direction for a while or I may talk to myself but I am at least producing evidence that I’m doing otherwise.