Strangers Became Friends

‘Remember, Don’t Talk To Strangers’.

My mother would always tell me before I went out to play. For many of us, it was a golden rule of childhood, right?

We are all raised not to talk to strangers. But, when you travel solo, the ability to talk to strangers safely is a skill that makes for some of the most interesting travel moments. Meet people on the road—it’s part of the fun of traveling for me.

Let me share with you all the incredible things that have happened to me while traveling alone. Things that definitely would never have happened if I had a travel buddy or group of friends by my side. That’s the thing about solo travel. While it’s daunting and scary and sometimes dangerous, it’s also one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences you will ever have. You open yourself up to the world, and suddenly the world and so many of its amazing people, open themselves up to you.

Since my very first solo trip in 2015, I have made it a point to talk to anyone and everyone who is willing. It’s brought me friends from all over – from Europe, America, Australia to Asia – and given me lifelong memories and countless stories to tell. Usually, the highlights of my trips are the people I met while there. Humanity is a beautiful thing. 

The amount of times I have encountered the most generous and helpful strangers while traveling solo is unbelievable. In fact, from the minute I leave home on a solo trip, good things seem to happen all thanks to the kindness of strangers.

For example, when I was traveling to East Java in 2015, it was the month of fasting for Muslims. I was having trouble finding food and my host family was fasting but they cooked for my lunch. I even was the one they had just met, but they treated me like family. 

Then when I was backpacking to Siem Reap in 2015, I was donating my blood at Blood bank there. Lots of local people who are trying to communicate to me even though they could not speak English. They tried to help me look for blood transfusion room, and waited for me until I finished to donate my blood and took me to eat after wards.

The same thing also happened in Thailand in 2015, after Siem Reap, I went to Thailand for 3 weeks. I met so many nice people there. I slept in the dorm and met many people. I'm often involved in long conversations with them. Not just for one or two hours, sometimes I spend up to 1-2 days with them, but I forgot to ask their names. 

When I was traveling in Sulawesi and Flores more than a month in June 2016, I met so many kind people around me. They helped me and my friends to find Bus when we missed it. They helped us to negotiate things. Helped us to find places we wanted to go and many more. 

I met bunch of helpful and kind people during my Myanmar trip in November 2016. People there incredibly friendly and nice. Smile everywhere and I got so many gifts from people there. They just gave it to me and wish me a tons of luck before I left. 

I tried to hitchhike / get a free ride in few places and it was awesome! I have encountered the most generous souls who offered me so much when they found out I was alone. I have made some amazing friendships from chatting with strangers in buses, trains, and hostels, as well as from getting to know the people who host me. 

Especially if I'm traveling alone in Indonesia. Lot of people asked me why and they feel sorry for me. They said that I was brave and strong woman. Even some of them said that never saw the woman traveling alone before. Moreover, I am happy to go somewhere off the beaten track that are difficult to reach and away from the crowds. 

I have a rule where I smile at people who I make eye contact with. I smile to myself as I listen to music and as I read books. Basically, I’m always smiling. And it works — when I smile at someone, they almost always smile back or at least acknowledge me. Think about it: you’ll be more likely to strike up a conversation with someone who looks cheerful rather than someone who looks angry or upset. Stick a smile on your face and others will do the same. 

I’ve come to learn from travelling and speaking to all kinds of people that everyone has their own perspective, and my role is to listen and respect their view — even when I don’t agree. This has allowed me to have insightful conversations where I was better able to understand sides of a story that were previously obscured. It has made me more patient, tolerant, and open-minded, which has actually helped me meet even more amazing strangers!

"As you grow older, you'll find that you enjoy talking to strangers far more than to your friends."

When traveling, more often than not, other people want to talk to you. Sometimes it just takes a little leap of faith. And sometimes, you have to initiate that leap of faith. Often times, the best souvenirs while traveling are the friends you make. It’s as simple as that. Material souvenirs are nice, but when you have a meaningful and mentally stimulating conversation with someone, you’ll remember them forever. Learning how to introduce yourself is a magical skill, and one that isn’t too hard to learn. Who knows? Maybe you’ll meet a lifelong friend just by taking the first step. 

I'm not afraid of chaos and I'm happy talking to strangers. I really love to not knowing where I'm going. 

When it comes to travel planning, I fly by the seat of my pants most of the time. Meaning, I actually don’t do much planning at all. Funny enough, I mostly rely on stranger’s recommendations to do my planning: every time I meet people, I ask them where they’ve been and what they’ve liked. My itinerary ends up being pieced from the recommendations of many people, which are predominantly locals and fellow adventurous travellers. 

Don’t limit yourself to only speaking to a certain group of people or about certain topics. Don’t limit your conversation to only a few minutes. Let your talk go wherever it goes. Sometimes conversations can evolve from one topic to something completely different. With an open mind, these conversations can go virtually anywhere.

In my opinion trust is the foundation of every relationship. Personally, I trust everyone until they give me a reason not to, which has backfired at times. Everyone is a "STRANGER" at the very first moment for you except our family. Therefore I find no harm in trusting strangers these days but that doesn't means you may trust every next person, be quite selective too! If something doesn’t seem right or a person doesn’t want to talk to you, don’t push it. Don’t be afraid to stop a conversation if it is starting to make you uncomfortable. Don’t be afraid to withhold information about yourself. Also, avoid talking about controversial or inflammatory subjects — you never know what topics people will react unfavorably toward. Almost every interaction people have is built on trust. 

Through my interactions, I have found that the rewards from these friendships have been invaluable to my travel experiences. I have met people from all walks of life with all kinds of passions. Listening to these quirky, unique, and adventuresome stories while traveling has left me with lifelong friends, solid communication skills, and an uplifting and astounding dose of inspiration.

The greatest aspect of talking to strangers is this: it gives you the power to make someone smile from ear to ear, each and every day. You are able to give out that small compliment, the piece of encouragement or buy someone a coffee – that could turn a strangers day around completely. And, if you’re lucky – maybe someone will do the same for you one day.

Humans are incredible creatures, and I’ve found that everyone has a unique story to tell. Staying open to encounters with strangers throughout my journey has expanded my mind immensely, taught me life lessons I could have only learned from experience, and helped me evolve overall as a human being. You never know who you can meet in this wonderful train of life — some people may only stay for a few stops, and others can be in it for the long ride. But all, I believe, will serve a purpose in your personal growth.

I am never alone on the road. There are people everywhere who will be constantly talking to me and inviting me out. Traveling alone doesn’t mean I will be alone. Traveling alone will turn you into one seriously fearless human, something that will most certainly help you as you go through life. 

The more I traveled, and the more interesting people I met from all over the world, the more tolerant I became. The more of the world I see, the more I realize that it’s not as black and white as I previously thought.

Religion and language and hand gestures and etiquette can all be confusing and frustrating, but learning from others makes us better people and will teach us to love and cherish and welcome everyone we meet, regardless of however different they may be from ourselves.

Through my experiences, I learned that people are usually friendly and happy to talk to me.

I’ve been able to meet more people than I ever expected just by opening up to them. That’s when I learned that it was up to me to be proactive and create my own doors instead of complaining that none were opening for me. It was up me to create my own opportunity by connecting with people. Besides feeling more connected, I feel happier knowing that I have the power to talk to whomever I want to. 

Thanks to all strangers during my trip so far. Thanks for helping, talking and giving inspiration to me. 

This article is dedicated for you guys❤