If the pandemic has taught us anything it’s the importance of living in the moment, the preciousness of life, and the fragility of the everyday. It has also been a humbling lesson and one that has pointed out our privileges and duties.
One of the things we’re most looking forward to in the days after COVID-19 is traveling. And at least according to Leyla Giray Alyanak, traveling doesn’t require a partner. In fact, the best journies are the ones you take on your own. A solo traveler based in rural Eastern France, Giray Alyanak has launched an online platform that encourages women to take a leap of faith when it comes to traveling. “Forget the partner, forget the doubts—you can own this!” she writes.
Giray Alyanak puts her money where her mouth is. Her blog— Women on the Road— provides women with the tools and guidelines that can help them deal with unfamiliar situations on the road.
“This entire website should NOT be necessary,” reads her website. “Solo female travelers should not need to take special precautions, travel with greater awareness or behave in certain ways just because we are women. But sadly, the world is a less than perfect place, and we do have to be aware of those differences. I won’t let them stop me from traveling on my own, and I trust you won’t either.”
Having traveled all over the world for the past 50 years, you’ll want to listen to her sound advice. Her guide will teach you how to plan a trip, how to stay safe, what to take, how to budget, and how to avoid getting lonely. In other words: all the things you face before, during, and after you travels.
When international travel is permitted again, we just might take her advice.
