Solo Women Travellers Discuss The Challenges Of Travelling Alone

Travelling alone means taking care of reservations, transportation, luggage, food and accommodation all by yourself. It is one of the most exciting parts of planning a trip but can also be stress-inducing. For solo women travellers the stresses are more pronounced.

A recent Outlook Traveller-Toluna survey found that of the 1,214 women interviewed, 29 per cent were concerned about the security of the route or destination, 29 per cent worried about their physical comfort during long journeys, 23 per cent feared their car breaking down and 19 per cent were anxious about harassment.

Aishwarya Korde started travelling alone when she was still in college and continues to do so today. She shares photos from her trips on her Instagram handle and counts Hampi, Pondicherry, Rishikesh and Dharamshala as her favourite places in India.

Korde's main concerns when travelling are the lack of storage facilities for keeping luggage. "I think there needs to be more spaces where women can relax and keep their luggage and—especially as a female—use the washrooms. I think these types of facilities exist but are rare in number," she says.

Software engineer Mouna frequently travels alone as well as with her partner around India. She documents her escapades on Instagram and lists Coorg as her favourite place, where she also lives. The mountains of Ladakh, Spiti and Himachal Pradesh, and the state of Goa are places where she has felt warm and safe.

Unsuprisingly, Mouna's first concern is safety. "There is nothing else that bothers me as much as being alone in an unknown land. Am I being watched? Is someone noticing I am alone? [These] are some of the questions that keep me alert", she says. Most of her travels are on motorcycle but she has boarded local buses in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Sri Lanka.

It's usually not the place that makes Mouna feel unsafe but the environment. "I have felt extremely unsafe alone or with my husband when I spot a group of men. Once in a beach in Pondicherry in broad daylight, a group of men were drunk [and they] were holding beer bottles. They were definitely catcalling", she recalls.

While Korde has had mostly positive experiences on her travels, she remembers two particularly harrowing incidents that shocked her. The first one occurred when she was staying at a hostel dormitory with a few men from Haryana. The men got drunk and behaved extremely disruptively. While she remained "unusually" calm and was transferred to a different room, she felt that the incident showed how society had failed solo women travellers.

The second incident was even more troubling. A solo male traveller in Uttarakhand tried to take advantage of her solo traveller status by offering to "take care of her" in exchange for physical benefits. Korde complained to the staff, but "nothing could be done except [formulate] a written complaint to the Uttarakhand police". She let the incident pass since she was completely alone and had three more weeks left in the dormitory. "I wish I could have done something more than just being quiet, though I did lodge a police complaint when hostel managers asked me to," she says.

Mouna says that while she hasn't been physically harassed while travelling, catcalls, being stared at and fending off questions about her relationship status with the man travelling with her are instances which have occurred multiple times. To this end, she prefers paying more money to stay in premium lodging with trained staff over hostels and motels when travelling alone.

The Outlook Traveller-Toluna survey also asked women about the perceived challenges they thought they would encounter while travelling on their own. They found that 43 per cent feared harassment in public places, 24 per cent were uneasy about personal safety, especially at night, 13 per cent were concerned about the availability of women-only lodging options and 10 per cent wondered how to navigate differing cultural norms and societal expectations. A full 79 per cent of women thought India overall was not women-friendly.

Both Korde and Mouna try to get the most out of the day before retreating to their accommodations by the evenings. Korde says she always tries to get inside her dormitory early but that changing people's mindsets through awareness camps will go a long way in making women feel safer while travelling. According to Korde, "I think I have got pretty good experiences so far but eve-teasing and strong stares make things uncomfortable". The male traveller who made sexually suggestive remarks in Uttarakhand was not a one-off.

Mouna believes that existing laws need to be rigourously implemented for women to feel safe in India. "When people don’t change laws should. Perpetrators should not in the slightest believe they can cheat the law and get away with it", she says.

"A country is as safe as its laws are, its leaders are and its courts are. I personally think a person who has not had any negative experience is going to feel safer and those who have won’t. I know a lot of solo women travellers in India and they are fighting all odds to make it safe for themselves. So, for me, I would always encourage women to travel in India. The only way we can create a safe environment is by more of us being out there and not by being at home", she asserts.

The verbal harassment and sexual comments that both Korde and Mouna have experienced will resonate with many women who travel within their own city, town or village, let alone when they go to a new place. Their travel experiences underscore just how much work is left for Indian society to make women feel safe, welcome and secure in their own country.

Both Aishwarya Korde and Mouna can be found on Instagram. Their handles are @mountainsmomosandmore and @rucksackdiaries, respectively.