I have been traveling the world since I was 15. If you're thinking of going traveling solo, and it's making you nervous, just know that that is totally normal. In fact, even though I've traveled solo countless times, I started getting a bit of trepidation before every single solo trip, because there are so many questions playing on your mind, right? It feels like a first day in a new school, it feels like you might get lonely, you might not make friends, you might get sick and have nobody to take care of you. Anything could happen.
​
But here is what actually happens. The second you get on that plane, or that bus, or that train, taking you to your first destination, about half of your worries disappear immediately. As for the remaining 50%, let's tackle those now with my solo female travel tips. 

I finished my teacher training with Trika Yog, Bangkok, Thailand, in 2019. It’s been a while, and it was a long journey from picking the right yoga teacher training school, choosing the location, to finally getting on-board. When people around me found out I was taking the yoga teacher training in Bangkok, I got a lot of questions. So I’ll list them here and tell you about my absolutely wonderful journey in my yoga teacher training with Trika Yog in Bangkok.

Is yoga teacher training worth it?

Absolutely! Yoga teacher training has definitely deepened my yoga practice. I have taught my friends and family since the training ended. During lockdown because of COVID, practicing yoga at home was possible because I had been taught the proper alignments already. That means I was more aware if my hips are squared in poses, and definitely being more careful of my lower back in all poses, and much more. I wouldn’t have known all this without the teacher training. Even if you don’t intend to become a yoga teacher, I still encourage the yoga teacher training as a good investment in yourself.

Attending a silent meditation retreat could be one of the most rewarding experiences in your life. I’d never thought I’d join a meditation retreat. I can’t imagine eating only two meals a day, sleeping in a temple, and not talking and being away from my phone for days! But it turned out to be the best days of my life!

I had always practiced yoga. They include some breathing work every once in a while. But my mind is far from silent. In fact, I loved hearing things when I “meditated” – taking it as God or the Universe whispering wisdom to me. At times, it’s really wisdom coming to me. At times, it’s wishful thinking. But learning to meditate is how I learn to be quiet. Rather, my mind learns to be quiet.
​
My experience with the silent meditation retreat was with Wat Maheyong in Ayutthaya. It was amazing. The main work was purely on observing your breath. There were both sitting and walking meditation. I loved how everything was principle-based, and there were no strict forms of what you should do. As long as it quiets your mind, it doesn’t matter what mantras you use. And I will be returning when I need more silent meditation!

 I’m writing this from the balcony of my hotel room at U Jomtien Pattaya. Everything around here is so alive. The smell of the ocean. The sea breeze gently brushing against my skin. The sound of the sea waves crushing against the sand. The sight of the glistening turquoise water and the blue sky. The seagulls flying past.The silhouette of the mountains lining the horizon, embracing the vast ocean as it flaunts majestic grandiosity.

This trip is slightly different from how I ususally do it.  My vacation often tends to be about action: wandering around to see places, checking out attractions in the neighborhood, and looking for things to do. 

But in this trip, it’s pure relaxation at this Pattaya beach hotel.

I have to admit: it’s quite nice.

Starting from the wonderful breakfast. As I stepped into the dining room, I was greeted by friendly staffs who brought me to a table next to the window where I could have full view of the ocean. The breakfast buffet was delicious. I ordered an eggs benedict, and helped myself to pastries, cereals and a nice cup of cappucino. The coffee was so delicious and fragrant that I had to look up what the brand of the coffee machine was.  Their tea selection was an amazing collection of Dilmah. The peppermint tea was so soothing. This place knows how to perfectly pamper their guests!

As the sun got stronger into the afternoon, I came back to the hotel and basically lounged around in the hotel rooftop almost all day. Thanks to whoever so brilliantly designed the place, it has the perfect rooftop bar where I could sit in the shades looking over the infinity of the ocean, and read a good book. When it got too hot, I simply jumped into the pool.

Hours easily flew by. And before I knew it, the whole day had gone by.

I watched the sky changing colors from pale blue to soft pink before the sun disappeared into the horizon, leaving me to the darkness of the night. The ocean became littered with green lights from fisherman boats. And I was just lazily lying in my beach couch before falling asleep to the ocean breeze, only waking up minutes before the rooftop bar closed for the night.

I packed up my stuff, came back to my room and retired to bed.

I woke up to the soft ray of the sun and the sound of the sea.

That pretty much summed up my beach vacation in Pattaya at U Jomtien. 

Perfection is simple. 

Who doesn't love to travel? But as college application deadlines are approaching, with so little time, how can you afford to travel? 

But maybe you should! 

I wanted to travel the world too when I was in high school. While grades are undeniably important, your essays will be a big part of your application. And travelling can be a great way to help you form outstanding college essays that will get you into top colleges! 

Your essay shows who you are as a person, what you've experienced, and what your worldviews are!

And there are many destinations to choose from!

It's also very easy to find the right destination and accommodation these days. There are many travel resources that are available just clicks away. 

This post will show you how I turned my travel experience into powerful travel college essays that got me into an Ivy League school.  Here we go! 

After 15 hours on the plane, I'm finally here! Spain here I come! 

As a solo female traveler - and on budget - I decided to choose to stay at Hostal Oriente located right next to Opera Metro Station. I never stayed at a hostel before, but this one definitely surpassed my expectations! It's more like a boutique hotel, really. The room was so beautiful and cozy it reminded me of home.

There was a private bathroom too. I paid 140 Euros for my 3-night stay, I have never been happier with my hotel choices! I definitely will keep a more open mind when choosing lodging for my next destination!

Hostels are great!

I took a quick walk from the hostel to Plaza de Sol, very lively with lots of shops and restaurants.

Spanish people are very friendly. I asked them for directions all the time, and even though they didn't speak English, somehow we managed to communicate through sign language and lots of smiles!

One time, I asked a guy and he didn't know where the place was; he literally stopped a police car that was driving past, and asked them for me! When the policemen didn't know it either, they opened a map to figure it out. Like an actual folded paper map, not one on the smartphone. I was so grateful and overwhelmed by their kindness!

Is Spain safe? As a solo female traveler, I was worried too before I embarked on this trip to Spain. But being here, I felt very safe. 

And I was falling in love with Spanish people and the city by the minute!

Toledo
As I was exploring the city, I was handed out a brochure of a tour company close to Plaza Oriente. I decided to show up at their office at 8.30 am in the morning and see if any tours were available. I ended up buying a full-day trip to Toledo. Looking back, it was a bit impulsive, and booking in advance might be a better option as I'd have more time to check the reviews and see if the schedules suit me. 

Toledo represented so well the integration of many religious beliefs. There are Christian cathedrals, Muslim mosques, and Jewish synagogues - all in the same city! Some stones were 1000 years old. Can't believe I actually walked on them!

There were about fifteen people on the tour, which was nice because we all got to talk to one another. There was a couple from New Mexico celebrating their 30th anniversary whose daughter is a dancer for Madonna. The wife was so happy, lively and fun you couldn't tell she was in her sixties.

There were a few solo travelers just like myself from Germany and Puerto Rico. The German guy was in Spain to learn Spanish because he planned to travel to South America by himself next year. I thought that was very brave to be travelling alone to a place you don't speak the language! It was so interesting to hear stories and experiences of people whom you would never have met otherwise. 

​When you're all by yourself, travelling the world, it actually makes you realize that - outside the fierce meeting rooms - there is so much love, joy and kindness in this world. Friendships formed within hours: laughter and storytelling just went around as though we were old friends reunited. Before the tour was over, we even exchanged hugs! Isn't it amazing? That concludes my "solo" trip for today! ​

​Avila and Segovia
Before I went on the trip, I already booked a full-day tour to Avila and Segovia online through Viators.com. I was very happy to find out that the point of meeting was actually 5 minute walking from the hostel. By the way, when you buy tours in Spain, there are rarely hotel pickups; you have to meet them at their tourist offices. Oh, I forgot to mention: after my Toledo trip the day before, I finally got myself a SIM card. It cost only 15 Euros (be careful though, at the airport, there was a booth that sold the exact same SIM card for 90 Euros! Don't buy it there! ) It was very helpful for someone who has no sense of directions such as myself. I simply let Google Maps guide me. I never had to ask for directions again in the remaining days in Spain :)

The tour was organized by Julia Travel. It must be quite well-known because there were like a hundred people on this tour. The guide was amazing. She has a degree in art history, and could speak four languages! And best of all, she made history come to life!

The first stop was Avila. I loved how the city was walled. But, really, after you had been to Toledo, it's hard to find a place that can match its astounding beauty. We went to the Catedral of Avila.  It was amazing to finally visit the place where St. Teresa had once lived in  - after having read her book in college. The weather was quite chilly today, about 2 degree Celsius.

On the way back to the tour bus, as I was looking at the Cathedral in awe, one of the guys in the tour asked if I would like a picture with the place. I said sure, and the conversation started from there. He was from Mexico but worked in the States. It was quite cool that he was travelling alone as well and was basically in Spain only for a soccer match! I would never travel so far just for a sport event - or for a concert or anything whatsoever. But we had some very interesting conversations and exchanged Linkedin contacts. Another friendship formed :)
 
Then we went to Segovia. This city is breathtakingly beautiful. I loved every minute of it! There were many shops and restaurants. I could easily spend the whole day here. But since I was with a tour, I had only a few hours to rush through places. The best part was the Roman Aqueduct, 2000 years old. The majestic formation of this architecture just makes you feel so small as you stand underneath it, looking up. 

Retiro Park, Museum de Prado, Palacio de Cibeles, Temple of Debod

​Yesterday I switched to another hotel about 20 minutes from the center of Madrid. The place is called Hesperia Madrid, a five-star hotel. I booked it based on the many great reviews on many websites. It really was comfortable and luxurious. 
 
Well, I could only try so hard to blend in with the locals... I don't speak Spanish and basically I am an Asian... in a bus of 30 passengers, I was the only one with dark brown hair.

I spent 6 years in New York, and had never felt this self-conscious before.

Anyways, the metro system in Madrid is very efficient and simple. It costs 1.5 euros for each ride.

There's a screen at the platform telling you precisely how many minutes until the next train arrives and the destinations. It's the same system for bus stops as well.

​With such a friendly system, even I managed to get around the city by public transportation quite easily, and did not get lost even once.

My first stop today was Retiro Park. I got there by metro and the park is right in front of me.

This was one of the most beautiful parks I have ever seen! There was a big lake with a small plaza of its own. The best part was the Crystal Palace; kind of like a green house with no plants in it.

​It was so ethereal that the word Paradise came into my mind as I looked at it.

​Then I walked to Museum de Prado. Quite a painful trip! It was 40 minutes of walking from the Crystal Palace while the temperature was 5 degree Celsius. Maybe there was an easier way, and Google Maps took me through detours; but with my sense of directions - i.e. non-existent - I'd rather follow the Maps like a religion...

Looking back, I could've saved myself the time and energy by getting on one of those hop-on-hop-off buses, and also enjoyed the view of the beautiful city, but oh well.... 

The Museum was worth the pain though! I had no pictures of it as it was a bunch of paintings, and no photos allowed inside (also, no selfie sticks). I visited an exhibition of portraits by Jorge Ingles, a Spanish painter from 15th century. I had always loved arts; but his works took my passion to a new level!

He was commissioned by many high status clients. His portraits were... alive... you look at their countenance and expressions, then suddenly, you are transported back in time; suddenly it was as though you were an invisible observer watching them in their unguarded moments. You could feel their characters.

It was a surreal experience. I spent hours just in this exhibition alone. Thanks to my Art Humanities class in college, my experience was tremendously enriched!

The next destination was Palacio de Cibeles.

Inside, there was a rooftop restaurant. Other floors were something that looked like libraries with cozy reading corners. Anyways, this is where you can see the view of Madrid. It costs 2 euros to go up to the rooftop; it was so worth it!
 ​