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Going Solo: Interview with Debby Lee

Debby Lee has travelled up and down Europe, Vietnam and Alaska on her own, and she’s visited Australia, New Zealand and Iceland with friends and family. Most recently, Debby circumnavigated the Baltic Sea for a little over two weeks, squeezing in visits to seven capital cities.

Debby now blogs about her travel experiences on Beth Whitman’s Wanderlust and Lipstick, a site dedicated to encouraging solo women travellers.

I caught up with her to talk about her recent trip to the Baltics and her perspective on travelling solo.

Your latest trip was a voyage around the Baltic Sea. Was that the first time you’ve made a trip by boat?

No. I have actually traveled by boat a few times prior to my Baltic Sea voyage. During my first two-week solo trip several years prior to the Baltic Sea, I took the Alaska ferries from Washington State through the Inside Passage into Alaska. I spend about a week of my two weeks riding the ferries, and getting off to visit various towns, such as Ketchikan, Petersburg, Sitka, Juneau, and Skagway. I wanted to experience travel as a “backpacker,” so on these ferries, I did not get a cabin, like I did on the ferries of the Baltic Sea. Instead, on the Alaska Ferries, I slept in my sleeping bag on lounge chairs on the deck of the ferries, next to others who were doing the same, or had pitched their tents. It was an exciting way to travel, a good way to meet people, and a beautiful way to see Alaska, both by day and by night. It was this Alaska ferry experience that helped to inspire me to travel around the Baltic Sea by ferries.

I have also been on several cruises to Mexico and to various places in the Caribbean. While these cruises are obviously more luxurious than ferry travel, I must say that I much rather enjoy the more down-to-earth experiences of my ferry trips.

What attracted you to the Baltics?

Several years prior to my Baltic trip, I spent five months backpacking around Europe on a solo journey, where I ended up visiting 17 countries. However, during that trip, I did not have a chance to get to the either the Scandinavian countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, or Finland), or to the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. A few months before I actually took my Baltic trip, during my planning phase of my travels, I was trying to decide where a new adventure would take place. I looked at a map of Europe, and realized that these two groups of countries that I had not yet been to, essentially surrounded the Baltic Sea. This discovery led me to my concept of circumnavigating the Baltic Sea in only 15 days…utilizing not only boats, but also buses, trains, and other modes of transportation.

Why do you think many women are hesitant to travel solo?

I actually found that it is quite enjoyable traveling alone, as I am able to choose what I want to do and when I want to do it, without needing to consult with anyone else. It gives me a sense of freedom.

I would say that the safety of solo travel is a concern for many women. It is even a concern for myself, even though I do travel solo. But, I have found that with choices of which countries to travel to, of where I travel to within each country, when to be sightseeing, when and where not to be out alone, (such as I choose not to be out alone by myself at night), awareness of my surroundings, and taking other safety precautions, some safety concerns can be minimized. I find that the way I carry myself, such as with confidence, and looking like I know what I am doing and where I am are going (even if I don’t) helps. This is not to say that something could never happen, but I have been fortunate enough in my travels, that I have not encountered any thing that has jeopardized my safety. (Knock on wood, and let’s hope that I continue to travel that way.)

A sense of loneliness is possibly another concern as a hesitancy of solo travel for women, as it was actually one of my concerns before I started to travel as well. But, once I started traveling, I actually found that it is quite enjoyable traveling alone, as I am able to choose what I want to do and when I want to do it, without needing to consult with anyone else. It gives me a sense of freedom. Also, I have found that when traveling alone, I am more approachable by others. Of course, I take safety precautions as to whom I am being approached by. But what I mean is that I believe that I have had encounters with several local people of the countries that I have traveled in, that maybe I would not have had those experiences if I were traveling with someone else.

Another way that I have prevented potential loneliness when I travel is I usually stay in hostels, where I can easily meet other fellow travelers in order to either just get into conversations with, or to find a travel partner for a day.

A spectacular way to discourage a sense of loneliness that I have done on my solo journeys is I keep in touch with friends and family via email (and now via blogging). For example, during my five-month solo European journey, I wrote back home, sometimes weekly, to about 60 people, sharing with them my stories and experiences. My friends and family would often write back, making me feel close to them, even if I was far away.

I would like to add, that while I do enjoy solo travel, I also very much like traveling with others as well, whether with friends or family.

Are there places you wouldn’t travel on your own?

Actually, yes there are. Without naming specific countries, there are some places that I would not travel to on my own for various reasons. For example, some obvious countries are those that due to political reasons these days, no one wants to travel to, whether traveling solo or with others. Then, for me, there are certain countries that I think would actually lend themselves better to going on a guided group tour. (Ok, I’ll name a continent for this one – my dream trip on a safari somewhere in Africa.) I also would not travel on my own if I wanted to do an adventure trip, such as a hiking/camping trip. These trips aren’t due to a specific country, but rather due to the type of vacation that I am considering. Finally, with regards to safety, as mentioned above, again without naming specific countries, there are probably a few countries out there that I would just not consider traveling to as a woman traveling on my own.

When did you have your first solo travel experience?

Well, that depends on the length of experience you are asking about. My very first solo experience was a two-day trip to a lighthouse in my own state. (I have an attraction to lighthouses.) It was on this journey that I stayed in my first hostel, ate in restaurants on my own, and even walked a distance of eleven miles round-trip by myself down a sand spit to the lighthouse. This trip was to test my waters (no pun intended) to see if I liked solo travel, and I think is a great way for any woman to test her waters – by starting simple and enjoyable.

My next longer solo experience was my adventure to Alaska, where I was gone for two weeks, much further from my home, although still within my own country. In a way, this was another “test” trip for me. I spent my first week on the ferry, as mentioned, getting off in various towns. The second week was spent getting around by train up and down Alaska, including a visit to Denali. This was truly a confidence-building, independent-making trip for me.

But, what I would consider my real first solo travel experience was the five months that I spent backpacking in Europe. Here I was exposed to other cultures, other people, other languages; I had to figure out how to use transportation when I did not know a language; I had to arrange for where I was going to sleep the next night, as many times, I was spontaneous in where I wanted to visit the next day. I ended up covering 17 countries, and had so many amazing experiences that I never imagined, seeing museums and buildings and artwork and churches and memorials, etc. etc. etc.. I absolutely loved it! It was quite a learning experience as well, not only about other countries, but also about myself. This trip gave me so much more confidence and independence that I knew for sure that I was hooked on traveling.

Do you have any future trips planned?

Why, yes. The next trip I have planned going to the Galapagos Islands, off the coast of Ecuador. I am very excited about this trip. It will be a lot different than my other trips, as I will be focusing on seeing the animals and birds of the islands, rather than seeing sights, such as museums and churches, that I experienced in Europe, and rather than the people experiences that I have had in countries, such as Vietnam. Ironically, this trip will be on yet another boat – a small 16 passenger cruise ship. And, technically, this trip is a solo trip, as I am going there by myself; although once I get on the boat, I will be with the other passengers and crew members for over a week. Fun, fun!!

Check out Debby’s blog, Tea, Sugar, a Dream.

Subscribe to TravelBlogs Posted by Eric Daams on July 2nd, 2008 in Interviews.
Tags: Baltics, Europe, female travellers, sea travel, solo travel