The Combat Rush of Solo Travel

***(I strongly urge every reader to read the footnotes below as they contain really important information)***

For a very large part of my life I've equated combat to the ultimate rush. When you are locked into a life and death struggle, with munitions exploding all around, screams and an acrid pall of gunpowder, you truly feel alive. Sights, sounds, smells – even your cognitive skills – are more vivid, purposeful, and critical. You live in seconds rather than days, knowing every breath could very well be your last.

For more than 25 years that's been my paradigm; nothing would every make me feel as alive as combat.

In 2017 that finally changed for me. I learned a new paradigm, something which would make me feel more alive than ever before. It's solo traveling overseas.

In fact solo travel beats combat hands down for the “in the moment” rush, but I think a bit of that is because both experiences share certain attributes.

Combat layered my days with uncertainties. From the more mundane aspects like would I get put on shit-burning detail to would my aircraft be tasked out for a mission. Even what MRE (Meal Ready to Eat food package) selection I would have for dinner was mostly unknown each morning. When you live in those layers of uncertainty you find that planning ahead and trying to fix a rigid schedule are both efforts in futility.

Solo travel also has layers of uncertainty. From making connecting flights in foreign airports to random power outages, you're forced into a very fluid mind frame. The harder you try to control activities while traveling, the more you meet with frustration and difficulties. So, much like combat, you have to stay loose and be more prepared to react than act.

However, traveling differs from war greatly. When you're downrange, it's fear and caution that become guiding forces. While traveling, you are cast into an observational mode and subject to unexpected delights.

In both combat and solo journeying, you are gathering knowledge. Whereas war teaches hard lessons about death and violence, travel focuses on life and cultivating new friendships.

The biggest difference is when you travel alone you are more open to embracing unfamiliar faces and customs. Driven by an innate primate survival skill set, you seek out a place in every new “tribe” you meet. For example, in Tanzania I became a student with Maasai People, a worker with Chagga farmers, and in China I was a panda keeper and later a temporary family member to a grandmother and charming granddaughter on a long train ride.

I have dozens of examples from this past year of moments of enlightenment. The power of connecting to a place, people, cultures or history is indescribable. A person will never know themselves as completely and honestly as they do when you are alone and far from home. You see the world, and with that, you see yourself more clearly in it.

Me transcends into We (I am summarizing something Leon Logothesis writes about brilliantly in his books). Solo travel will always change you. Maybe the changes are small things like a fresh perspective, or more profound like forgiveness enough to truly love yourself in the skin you're in.

That was the paradigm shift for me, and it's where the life experiences of war and solo travel differ greatly. War left my soul scarred. I did things that in any other context would be considered monstrous. I witnessed mind bending obscenities. Combat left me hollow. Travel, oh the other hand, not only fed my soul, but it forced me to come to peace with myself, to re-love the man in the mirror (my reflection, not the Michael Jackson song).

I love that I'm slowly becoming a pied piper, leading others to stray off the safe and comforting path and embrace solo adventures. I hope I can inspire more folks to go abroad, and go alone. Meniere's Disease, deafness, PTSD, being over 40 and overweight doesn't stop me. In fact, I have a new list of countries and adventures saved on my computer, and I am just waiting for the email alert that tells me such-and-such airfare is only $400, round trip. I'll be bounding through the departure gate before I've even looked up where to stay (not really....but close). The bottom line is that you either just do it, or you spend years just dreaming about doing it.

So, as we enter 2018, I wish all of you a great and adventure-filled new year, and I truly hope you let go and go it alone. Let me know how it changed you when you return... and before your next solo trip!

*With all of my cheer leading about solo travel I have to share some disclaimers. First, you should actually do some serious research about your intended destination, it's cultural makeup, prominent religions practiced, languages spoken, political situation and safety. There's no reason to endanger yourself in order to travel. Not knowing that a recent election has thrown your destination country into a civil war will make for a bad trip.

**Try to hone your “Situational Awareness” before you travel. Remain aware of your surroundings, pay attention to the “vibes” given off by people or places. Your gut is pretty good at detecting danger.

***Travel with travelers medical insurance. In Tanzania I fractured my heel bone on my right foot after being in the country for less than 3 hours. Thinking it was just a sprain, I muscled through the 20 days there in a ridiculous amount of pain (maybe I shouldn't have been hiking more than 17 miles around Mount Kilimanjaro, hmm). Ironically, I was covered under my medical insurance if I would have gone to the hospital. Also, read up on vaccinations and possible regional disease threats. Don't let it stop you from going, just make sure you're protected and prepared.

****You'd be surprised at how little people want to know about you politics or popular culture. You'll find common ground quicker by relating to how you live your daily life and about family. Above all else: Listen first, and listen well.

*****Smile. Rinse and repeat.