Emily D'Silva

A question I often get asked, is why do I travel alone? And am I not afraid to travel alone?

After spontaneously moving to Berlin when I was 23 — having only briefly visited once 10 years prior — and without knowing anyone there, without anywhere to live, without a job lined up, and with a very basic understanding of the language, traveling alone hasn’t rattled me since. Of course, visiting another continent with a totally different culture from what you’re familiar with can be a little daunting. But that’s part of the thrill. Navigating the challenges of the unknown on your own gives you a wonderful sense of accomplishment.

Apart from being incredibly liberating, traveling alone is also a great way to encounter exciting, unplanned adventures. Not to mention being able to connect with a wider variety of people. From locals to fellow wanderlusters, swapping life stories is a fantastic way to step out of your own world and get a glimpse into someone else’s.

When a friend asked me if I’d met anyone interesting on my recent travels in Cyprus and Greece, I realised I had encountered quite an international concoction of people. Here are some of their stories!

Two Italian adventurers on a sun-kissed beach

After a refreshing dip in the ocean, I sat on the beach drying off under the sun’s hot gaze. I was zoning out to the rhythmic eb and flow of the waves when two men kayaked into my field of vision. As they navigated toward the beach, I realised they were both stark naked. They got fairly close to shore before pulling on their shorts — it amused me to watch them struggling to keep the kayaks balanced at the same time. Once decent, they paddled up to the shore, their boats laden with huge bags and bin sacks. It looked strange, almost like they were living on the kayaks.

One of them unclasped a huge full bin bag from his boat and threw it into the big bins at the back of the beach. They were both faffing about with their baggage and my curiosity eventually got the better of me, so I walked over to find out what they were up to. It turned out they had in fact, been living and traveling on the kayaks, sleeping on beaches along the way. Three days into their journey, they planned to continue north, clockwise around the island for 10 more days.

At that point, their phones were out of battery and they were down to their last bottle of water. Since we were on a deserted beach in the middle of nowhere, they planned to kayak to the next town along to refuel. How they knew where they were or where they needed to get to, I have no idea. They’d never been to Cyprus before, but had done this kind of kayaking trip before in Italy, Spain and Albania. I was impressed and inspired by their adventurous spirit and endurance for traveling like that for days on end.

Wine tasting in the mountains with a young Czech couple

I was sat at a quaint winery, nestled in the heart of the Troodos mountains, enjoying the endless views of the grapevines and majestic forest-covered peaks all around. A young couple sat down and began to share their story with me. It turned out they had come to Cyprus for two reasons: to work over the summer season and more importantly, to test out living together for the first time. I didn’t ask their ages but they looked like they were fresh out of school, so I imagine it was their first time living with a partner full stop. I thought it was pretty bold, taking on the added stress of moving to a foreign country and starting new jobs, as well as living together for the first time!

But there were big smiles all-round as they happily told me it had been a success. After working for a few months in one of the hotels, they were now enjoying a week of holidays before heading home. When I asked them what they planned to do next, she excitedly told me that she had been offered a job with a luxury private airline. He planned to study programming to work with his dad, who had started up his own marketing company. I asked how they felt about doing long-distance if she was going to be flying all the time, but they seemed optimistic that it would work — especially since he would be able to do the programming from anywhere.

A soulful concert with a music-loving Russian student

Seated at the same table, we had spent the evening watching an incredible trio perform at an intimate, local music venue. It was a beautiful, moving concert: they played a mixture of Greek, English, Spanish and Italian songs about love, home and traditions. The student and I didn’t speak during the concert, but the venue was such that everyone stayed to mingle afterwards. As we left, it turned out half of our journeys were in the same direction, so the student and I set off together down the dark road.

His English was broken, but that didn’t deter him from enthusiastically telling me how he had moved to Paphos to study psychology. He’d already completed two years in Russia, and had two more years to complete in Cyprus. He explained how he didn’t have many friends there. He felt that the other exchange students had very different interests from him, and although there’s a buzzing nightlife in Paphos, he doesn’t go out much as he spends most of his time studying. When I asked him what he wanted to do after he finished studying, he said he just loves learning and planned to get a masters and then a PhD.

Lunch with a well-travelled Dutch couple

I was soaking up the gorgeous panoramic views while having lunch at a restaurant on the hill and writing about people I’d met on my trip when a Dutch couple sat down next to me. They had come to Paphos for a holiday, as well as to surprise his parents who were also there visiting his aunt and Cypriot uncle. None of his family knew they were there and there was no special occasion, they just wanted to surprise them for shits and giggles.

Like many people before him, he asked if I was scared to travel alone. To answer his question, I briefly explained my extensive experience of solo traveling. His girlfriend piped up and began telling me about her solo travels in Africa when she was 18. She’d had a relative that had worked there and grew up hearing a lot about the continent, hence her desire to explore it for herself. She didn’t dive into all the details but said she felt much safer when she went back with a group a few years later.

We got onto the discussion of how different things were travelling 20 years ago. Her mum had asked her to email every two weeks to let her know she was safe and well. And of course in those days, it had to be done over dial-up internet in an internet café. We discussed how when we’re away on holiday nowadays, we’re not really having a break from life like we used to, because we’re still connected to everyone and everything all the time. When I travel however, I often don’t get international data on purpose, for that very reason of wanting to be disconnected, at least for a few hours each day.

An award-winning Greek baker in a street market

Wandering around the streets of Thessaloniki without a plan is a perfect way to soak up the city’s vibrant atmosphere. I stumbled upon a charming market, with brilliant sunlight streaming through the leaves of the canopy above, casting beautiful patterns all around. Wanting to capture it, I was snapping some photos when an old baker wandered over to me. He couldn’t speak a word of English but gestured to me to follow him down another street in the market. I followed him until he stopped and stood proudly outside what appeared to be his bakery.

He pointed to a certificate that hung by the door and stated that his bakery had won a 1st class award in 2022. You’d think he was trying to sell me something, but that didn’t seem to be his agenda at all. He kept talking to me in Greek, trying to tell me something else. Somehow, despite the language barrier, I understood what he was trying to explain: it was a family business and had belonged to his father and grandfather before him. He then pointed to my camera signalling that he wanted me to take his photo, and I happily obliged.

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