Five years ago, Intrepid traveller Laura Rinderknecht was ready for a change. Her divorce had just gone through. She’d sold her home. And the thought of staying put held little excitement. So she did the only sensible thing you can do in situations like that: she decided to travel. A few months later she’d got an extended leave from work, sold most of her possessions, packed what was left and set off on an Intrepid odyssey across 18 countries. She would be on the road for the next 10 months.
To celebrate our brand new Eat, Pray, Love-style journey for independent female travellers, we sat down Laura and asked what it’s like to travel solo on a group tour (for real) and why travel makes the best soulmate.
What made you take 10 months off to travel?
I was married for 7 years and enjoyed some travel during that time. I took my first Intrepid trip to Indochina with my ex-husband and had a blast. After that trip, life happened, and he handed me divorce papers. I wasn’t ready to sign and I knew (as a teacher) I didn’t want to be alone in “our” house all summer long. So I contacted my Intrepid guide and found out that she’d transferred and was leading tours through the Middle East….at which point I bought my flight.
Of the 12 of us on that trip to Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Turkey, we had been in a combined total of over 100 countries, and I realized that what I needed was a period of time to reset. To get to know who I was if I wasn’t “Seth and Laura” and to have a break from patterns. While traveling that summer, I set a tentative itinerary for a dream trip around the world.
When I got home, I signed the divorce papers and we sold the house. I used that money to pack all my stuff in storage for 10 months and travel. I needed the “me” time to prove to myself that I wasn’t reliant on anyone else.
How was it travelling solo for that long?
It was a long time to travel solo, but I’m not sure I would call it full solo travel. Part of my comfort zone to be gone that long was to know that I had people and safety nets packaged in. I did nine Intrepid trips in 10 months. I started in Peru and traveled with a friend, went to Ecuador to get an additional teaching certification, and then did four Intrepid trips back to back – 87 days through South America.
Having the trips interspersed with the solo time felt safer for me (as a female). Plus, my parents were fans of me having a roommate. I did my own flights, stayed with folks I’d met on other Intrepid trips when I was in New Zealand, Australia, & Hong Kong. I took Intrepid trips to get me from point A to point B usually, and then would stay put for a while and do my own thing…Sydney, Bali, Kathmandu, Easter Island, Rio.
Do you think women in particular are worried about solo travel? Should they be?
I think you have to know yourself as a traveler. There are parts of the world where I didn’t feel as safe as a woman (Egypt, India) but I’ve had friends who are female that have done them solo, not a part of a trip, and are stronger for it. That’s not me. I didn’t want to eat alone for 10 months, and I know that when I’m a part of a group, there’s a sense of safety that lets me take my guard down and make friends.
Do you think travel let’s you connect to people in ways relationships can’t?
I think you’re forced to get to know yourself when you travel. We get into patterns, into ruts. It’s easy to fall into a routine and just be on autopilot. It’s impossible to do that when you’re in a foreign country where you don’t speak the language, don’t recognize any of the food, and have to mime your way through the entire day. Not everything will go right, and you figure it out.
And you learn about yourself in the process. That was what I valued the most in that year. Who am I? What am I capable of? What country do I want to be in when I find out my ex gets remarried? (Answer: I was in Rio. I saw it on Facebook, shut my computer, and went off to samba lessons. That wouldn’t have been a fun night back in Indiana.)
Did the trip change you? What’s different in your life now?
I think all trips change you. Ten months though helped me to see what’s important…. Helped me to distinguish between my needs and my wants… I lived out of a backpack! It helped me to not fear the rest of the world… To trust that people are inherently good – especially in places that people want us to think are bad… (Nicest people on the planet in no particular order: Cambodia, El Salvador, Syria, and Indonesia.)
It helped me to grow back my confidence. It made me a better salsa dancer. I don’t take things for granted. I think it shifted my “filter” on how I view the world. When bad things happen, I think… Well, this will make a great story. And know that I’ve got it so much better than others, and am grateful for it.
