Why Travel Solo?

Going Solo Travel

There is some amount of surprise – possibly even suspicion – that emerges when one tells co-workers and even friends that they are going to be holidaying on their own. The responses tend to vary between pity and unconvincing encouragement of the “good for you” variety. This is clearly misguided in the extreme, because traveling alone can be the very best way to holiday. Rather than thinly veiled pity and other even less wholesome emotions, the correct response to someone holidaying on their own really should be envy – because it means you get the holiday you want with no compromises. Never mind trying to find a break for two, four or more – the solo break is the way to go for the unmarried traveler.

The first thing that a solo break has over traveling with people is the freedom it gives you. If you have always wanted to go to a specific location but have never been able to persuade anyone to go with you, stop trying! They clearly don’t get it, and if they came along then you would spend more time trying to convince them that the city is awesome than enjoying it yourself. By going on your own you can set out an itinerary which fully suits you. Eat in the restaurants you want to eat in, catch the shows you wanted to catch and do all this when you want to. You’re traveling on your own, so you can go according to your own whim and enjoy the ride all the more.

The second point is connected to the first. Simply put, sometimes on holiday you have an instinctive desire to go to a specific place – and this instinct can arrive at the shortest notice. By traveling alone, if you have this kind of whim, you can set off and enjoy yourself without having to convince your companion(s) of the brilliance of your idea. Often when you have discussion about what you want to do, you find yourself sitting there two hours later, only knowing what you don’t want to do. This way, you can have the thought one moment, and be in the cab the next. Surely this beats deciding everything by committee? If you want to change your mind at a moment’s notice, you can. It can make the holiday perfect.

There are also other reasons for going solo. Among these, there is the fact that, if you go somewhere with a different language, the chances that your traveling partner will speak it as well as you do are remote. You will find yourself translating for them, and bound to them in situations where you would prefer a bit of space. And then there is also the fact that may just clinch it – going on holiday solo makes the group holidays better, because it allows you to discover a new place at your own pace and then introduce friends or family on a return trip – where you will be the perfect tour guide. This is really the best way to travel!

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the Travelnowsimply.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to Ahmed Dawn Dot Com. This article originally published on the above website on July 10, 2009.

Cultural Travel Tips

Literary Holidays

To go on holiday is quite enough for many people. Once you get to that mid-point in the year, having been working flat out for some months, it is more than enough to get away from it all and spend some time by a swimming pool. Others, however, will enjoy the chance to go and do something that they have not had the opportunity to do for some time. Cultural trips are something that can be considered a niche market – you either enjoy it or you do not. They are, however, growing more popular than ever, and holiday makers will look to the books on their shelves before the brochures at the travel agency when it comes to planning a holiday.

The world does not view literature as something that as borders. There are great writers from many countries, and their influences, muses and their childhood haunts are greatly varied. Whoever your favourite writer is, there is a tour to be made in their honour. Their original writings may not even have been in English – some of the finest writers in the world are only available through the wonders of translation. This makes it all the better to take a little literary tour in their honour – you can enjoy the wonders of another country while witnessing what influenced your heroes. If it so happens that your favourite writer grew up 25 kilometres away from where you live, then you can at least make a cheap day trip out of the experience.

For the Canadian bibliophile, it is possible to travel and see the old haunts of arguably Canada’s greatest living fiction author Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid’s Tale among other books. A varied childhood took Margaret from her birthplace in Ottawa to the wilder areas of Northern Quebec and back again, before heading on to Sault Sainte Marie and Toronto, where she read English. She has taught in many universities in Canada and beyond as a professor of English. For any budding writer, to see the sights that sparked such creativity into life can surely never be a bad thing.

For those who wish to spread their wings a little more, there are options just beyond the borders of Canada – some people will invariably wish to follow in the footsteps of the great travelogue authors like Jack Kerouac or Hunter S Thompson. Others will be keen to see the sights that influenced the likes of F Scott Fitzgerald, James Ellroy and Edgar Allen Poe, to whose work Baltimore has become an almost permanent monument.

Further south, in the Hispanic area of Central and South America there are many reminders of the great work of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Isabel Allende and Carlos Fuentes. Elsewhere in the world there have been amazing writers in so many nations – Ireland has Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw and WB Yeats, England has William Shakespeare, Geoffrey Chaucer and very many others. France and Spain have had wonders which need no introduction, and the Africa of Senghor and Fanon among others will capture the imagination of any lover of great literature.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the Travelnowsimply.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to ahmeddawn.com site. This article originally published on the above website on June 26, 2009.

My Black Coffee Journey

My Dramatic Cut on Sugar

First Published: EntrepreneurJourney.com Dec 20, 2013

Nothing is impossible as long as you decide on something, make plans, and persevere to make it happen. This is how I made it possible to switch to black coffee.

In the past, I used to take 3-4 sugars for Tim Horton or McDonald’s coffee 7-8 sugars for Starbucks’s coffee. After reading on the harmful effects of sugar and salt, I decided to cut back on both of these. It was not instantly that I gave up on sugar. Rather, I gradually decreased my sugar intake. Just about a month ago, my final sugar (before turning to black coffee or tea) intake was 1 to 2 spoons with coffee or tea.

As I felt I was ready to try going without sugar, I tested coffee and tea without sugar and cream for 2 weeks. The first week was difficult, but the second week was not that bad, as my taste buds got used to it. Then what happened next? After two weeks of going without sugar, just to see how it felt with sugar again, I started coffee with sugar and cream again.

Surprisingly enough, I found out that I did not like coffee or tea with sugar and cream anymore and it just did not feel right.

As it stands right now, I am very happy with my black coffee or tea and will continue it that way. If you would like to cut back on sugar, start gradually right now and it’s not that as hard as it may sound.

Swine Flu And International Travel

Swine Flu and How it Will Affect Travel

There are some stories that cause you to immediately recalibrate the way you look at things, that change your realities in a quite profound way. In the midst of the current global financial crisis, it was always going to take a big story to drag attention away from the turmoil in the markets. The great misfortune is that the story which has done this has turned out to be another bad news story – and one with more very real human casualties. The outbreak of swine flu which arose in Mexico has become a global issue very quickly. It is still far more pronounced in Mexico than anywhere else, but it is something that nations are having to take account of, wherever they are in the world.

The fact that the virus originated in Mexico is, for a start, a hammer blow to the people of Mexico. Most importantly it has had a genuine human cost, for its victims and for the bereaved and concerned families. From the point of view of travel it has already had a major effect, as the popular Spring Break tradition of heading South from the US to the beaches of Cancun and further afield has been given a miss by many students this year. However big or small the actual risk is, there is a perception of risk, and that is enough to make a significant number of people change their plans. Meanwhile, travel the other way can lead to difficulties depending on where your destination is. Depending on the government response to the epidemic, you may face a period of quarantine in the country where you land.

As of now, there are very few prescribed steps being demanded by governments as to whether you should go to Mexico. The decision lies with the individual, although some governments have warned their national citizens against non-essential travel to destinations in Mexico. The World Health Organization has responded that it does not see a need to place any restrictions, and the facts as they stand are that at the moment, deaths from the syndrome are in the double figures worldwide. Any deaths count as too many, of course. But if you have plans to go to Mexico, there is little reason to cancel forthwith. Steps are constantly being taken to prevent its spread and treat its symptoms.

This is a rare case, and in its relative infancy compared to any similar cases. On balance, we still have a bit to find out – but there is little to be gained from closing ranks in our home countries. Mexico is currently experiencing a difficult time as a result of an outbreak that could not be foreseen and there is no reason why this should be exacerbated. By all means check several news sources for specific information on the state of play in the region where you are planning to visit. But do not let it get out of hand – hysteria helps no-one.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the Travelnowsimply.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to Ahmed Dawn Dot Com site. This article originally published on the above website on May 22, 2009.

Where To Go This Summer

Unites States, Canada, Morocco, or Tunisia?

It is getting towards that time, as the days grow longer and the temperatures rise, that people begin to think about taking a snap summer holiday. People who book in advance will of course have made their decision by now and be saving their spending money, but those of us who are never sure we will get the time off work will be working off a bit more of an instinctive reaction, to go somewhere that sounds good. Whatever your budget – and whatever your tastes – there are great summer holidays to be had even at such short notice.

It all depends on your starting point, to some extent. Naturally if you are starting in Canada, a summer holiday in the United States will not break the bank, but it might lack a little bit in terms of originality. Mexico is currently in the grip of something of a bio-hazard crisis and will probably be dealing with that throughout the summer, so the best tip is to head further south. Many people have spoken of the beauty of Andean Perú, and with good reason. It is a country that carries some of the most spectacular scenery in all of South America, and of course it is absolutely soaked in history. Macchu Picchu is one spot that has a worldwide reputation, but on the way there you will have the opportunity to see many others. The price for a basic hotel for one night averages out at close to thirty Canadian dollars.

If you are a bit more adventurous – or based on the other side of the Atlantic, then there are many delights to be had on the North Coast of Africa. Among them are Morocco – a real magnet for sun worshippers – and Tunisia. While these countries may suffer from the prevailing but deeply inaccurate reputation of being hotbeds of religious extremism, the reality is far from that. In actual fact both are highly modern, secular societies and are well equipped to serve the international traveler’s needs. Hotel rooms here are even more affordable than in Perú, and the scenery is pretty amazing in both countries. For the gastronome in you, the taste of the regional cuisine is something to experience time and again – whether you are a meat-eater or an avowed vegetarian.

Tunisia is the less expensive of the two – as Morocco has gained a reputation for being a real estate haven prices have climbed a little. But if you are feeling adventurous, splitting your holiday between the two could be the best idea of all. Both countries have plenty to offer, and it would be a shame to miss out on any of it – so by making Tunisia your base but planning a short hop to Morocco you can spend a little bit less while not depriving yourself of any of the fun. And yes, there are beaches galore in both countries, if you really cannot bear to do any more sight-seeing. It’s your loss, that’s all.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the Travelnowsimply.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to Entrepreneur Journey site. This article originally published on the above website on May 8, 2009.