I am an introvert, and there are pros and cons of being an introverted backpacker.
Here are the pros: I am highly independent. I don’t need to be constantly around people to feel happy. I have a lot of “me” time that I can use to polish my skills or to do stuffs I am passionate about. People think that I am a listener (*smirk*).
It’s not like I don’t like people – I do. In fact, one of the reasons why I decided to backpack solo is to connect with people from all over the world and to learn about their lives; that being said, being an introvert, I can only handle a limited amount of group time per day: It’s like I have a battery inside me that allows me to function socially for a certain length of time. When it’s drained, my social skills vanish, whether I’ve been having a good time or not. And I feel a tremendous need to be by myself and recharge – To me, socializing is a fun but strenuous physical activity.
As a solo backpacker, I am constantly putting myself into highly sociable environments. My goal is to try to balance my group time with my quiet time, so I can be truly “on” when socializing – As long as I am honest with myself on how much group time I can take and plan accordingly, socializing is oftentimes very enjoyable.
Backpackers / Business travelers from Italy, Spain, and India.
Bran Castle (“Dracula’s Castle”).
@Brasov
Backpackers / Business travelers from Italy, Spain, and India.
Bran Castle (“Dracula’s Castle”).
@Brasov
Bran Castle (“Dracula’s Castle”).
@Brasov
On my last day in Bucharest, I took a bus from the hostel to the airport to catch my flight to Belgrade, Serbia. I was sitting close to the rear door facing the back of the bus. There was a piece of glass in front of my seat – About 5 feet tall, separating my seat and the rear door.
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20 minutes into the bus ride, as the bus was going about 50 mph, something happened and the driver suddenly stepped on the brake really hard. The bus slowed down significantly within a couple of seconds. Although the bus didn’t crash, the glass in front of me completely shattered. Since I was holding my backpack in front of me while sitting, the shattered pieces mostly landed on my backpack and on my lap; as the passengers were trying to figure out what was going on, the guy standing next to the (then shattered) glass angrily walked toward the driver, yelling and cursing at him (I suppose he was cursing, in Romanian) – All these happened while the bus was still moving, heading toward the airport. Turned out the exterior of the bus was not damaged at all. The only damage was the shattered glass in front of me; I wasn’t hurt, besides some minor cuts on my right arm. A lady in the bus then handed me some tissue paper to stop the bleeding. I spent the next 10 minutes cleaning up my backpack and my pants. When the bus finally arrived at the airport, the driver got off his seat, walked toward me, and apologized. I took a picture of the license plate at the back of the bus for my own record before heading inside the airport.
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What do I think about the incident? Just an accident. Accidents like this can happen anywhere. I don’t think riding a bus in Bucharest was particularly dangerous. The bus was fairly new and I didn’t feel like the driver was driving too fast and too recklessly – I was surprised though how easily the glass shattered after simply a hard brake.
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At the end of the day, I am unharmed and life goes on. The shattered glass did make a small hole in my pants, making it more stylish 🙂 Just like ripped jeans.
@Bucharest
Zlatari Church.
@Bucharest
Triumphal Arch.
@Bucharest
@Bucharest
Palace of the Parliament. 2nd-largest administrative building in the world, behind the Pentagon in the US.
@Bucharest
Daniel Wu’s “Into the Badlands” showing in Romania. I watched the entire Season 1 on the flight to Dubai last year.
@Bucharest
6-hour train ride from Bulgaria to Romania. The entire cabin for myself.
@Bucharest
