Honestly, it can get pretty lonely on the road. Yeah, you’re surrounded by loads of people, even people who are more than willing to jump into conversation with you, but there’s nothing that can replace even a small conversation with an old friend. It’s like a warm blanket on a cold night.

Staying in hostels is a good way of keeping my the feeling of loneliness at bay, but so often of late, I’ve found myself in locations without hostels. In fact, sometimes there are not more than a dozen or 2 tourists in the whole city, not to mention the really remote areas where you’re the only person in sight.

In some places around the world, this would be totally fine, or even preferable. But there’s no blending in here in Indonesia for a 6’2″ pale-skinned American. Even if I spoke the language, it’d be impossible to shed the “foreigner” label affixed to me the moment I stepped off the airplane.

This is one of those hard times when traveling solo. It isn’t the first, nor do I expect it will be the last.