3 Life Lessons I Learnt on my First Solo Trip
In the first week of November 2022, I decided to make a trip to the island of Taiwan. It’s been almost three years since I’ve traveled since the pandemic commenced, so I was exuberant to just get the f*ck out of Hong Kong.
Initially, I wanted to head to Taiwan to visit and train with one of my dance inspirations who currently lives in the countryside of Taiwan, Chiayi. However, I thought this would be also the perfect opportunity to embark on my first solo trip to the capital of Taiwan for a few days before my dance training.
To my surprise, I had a life-changing four days at my time in Taipei. I totally scrapped my “touristy” itinerary and just went with the flow.
I don’t regret it one bit.
Here are the 3 life lessons I learnt on my first solo trip to the city of Taipei.
1. Everything is all on you
In a country where you know nobody, you’re on your own. Literally, I had to adapt quickly to learn how the city functioned or else how I could survive right?
On my first day, I arrived around 3–4pm and I only had breakfast.
I was famished. I strolled around expensive malls vigorously around my hotel but nothing looked appealing to me. In an act of desperation, I ended up taking my food search to the dusty old streets like a homeless man, when suddenly I noticed a white man parking his scooter.
Knowing he probably spoke English, I ran up to him and asked him for restaurant suggestions where the staff could speak English.
He actually was parking his bicycle to grab a drink at a bar behind us to enjoy the Happy Hour specials and he suggested coming in with him cause he’s homies with the bar owner who also sold snacks like nuggets, fries, and Taiwanese finger food.
“F*ck it, I’ll eat anything at this point,” said a desperate a** Erryl.
We ended up having a great talk with the bar owner in his cat-themed bar BeerCat (because he owns two cats that live in the bar) and they were recommending the hidden Taiwanese gems that I should check out — instead of what most tourists would blindly believe based on TripAdvisor.
If I didn’t bump into this expat, I wouldn’t know if I would have had such an enjoyable time in Taipei. Massive shoutout to Anders for treating me to some Taiwanese smoked pig’s ear at the bar too.
But how does this relate to the first point of “Everything is all on you?”
Stay with me for a little bit, it’s getting there.
That same night, I also discovered a bar online called Vinyl Decision where they sold second-hand vinyl, have live jazz music performances, and provide all types of alcoholic drinks while you’re digging for vinyl.
As a Hip Hop fanatic and lowkey beeraholic, sign me up!
Long story short, I listened to a hypnotic live jazz band, mingled and drank with Taiwanese locals, and discovered how small the world is with the similarities we have as human beings on earth. I remember explaining to them the meaning of Wu Tang Clan’s notorious song C.R.E.A.M. and they were so amazed at how this “party song” was in reality — a rap song about the harsh truth of society’s financial problems.
However, I wouldn’t have unexpectedly experienced all these situations if I didn’t do research beforehand back in Hong Kong. Despite scrapping off my itinerary and going with the flow, I still had to keep in the mind the precautious of being in a country all by myself — even if Taiwan is one of the safest countries in the world.
Learning some simple Mandarin phrases, the exchange rate between Hong Kong and Taiwanese currency, solo traveler tips, and honestly — just being prepared for the worst-case scenarios.
It just feels totally different going on vacation alone when you’re adjusted to having a family member or friend by your side during the holidays. You can’t just call up your Mom or friend to pick you up if you’re in trouble.
You got to do something about it, all on your own.
Overall, the entire solo trip elevated my confidence to new heights, knowing I could survive in a country by myself in order to have a good time.
The keyword here is surviving.
I’m still in awe of how big and small the world is from this mini solo trip.
This leads me to my second point…
2. The World is so Big and Small
Two days after my time at Vinyl Decision, one of the friends I made at the bar invited me to go on a morning hike nearby his home.
Another f*ck it moment?
You betcha a** I did.
As a tourist, I always prefer to feel like a local in a new country rather than checking popular tourist attractions. So I was extremely blessed to have someone to show me a local hiking trail rather than browsing around “cliche” tourist spots in Taiwan.
We went on a hiking trail called XiangShan which directly translates to Elephant Mountain but ended up doing two hiking trails that were connected to each other. Although the hike was easy, it took us more than 5 hours to complete the unexpected two hiking trails and it was drizzling that day — so we had to be extra cautious.
On top of the mesmerizing views of Taiwan’s ancient mountains and temples, I will never forget this one conversation we had.
We were discussing the question, “what is art?”
Seriously, what is the true definition of art?
We came to the conclusion that art shouldn’t have a defined definition, or else it puts a boundary on how far art could go. I distinctly remember he was introducing to me a Taiwanese artist who said one of his pieces is not the art piece itself — but the message he wanted to illustrate to society.
The message where it gets spread around is the actual art piece, not the physical object itself.
That blew my f*cking mind on top of some random a** Taiwanese mountain.
Just having this super intellectual debate about art with someone miles away from me was monumental for me in realizing how big the world is yet how small it is at the same time. The more we talked, the more we discovered the similarities we have in terms of family, past relationships, spirituality, and much more — and this is coming from only one person I’ve met so far.
I met a handful of people on a surface and deeper level during my time in Taipei, and I was astonished at how different we are in terms of culture — yet how many similarities we can have at the same time.
Art, culture, family, and love — they truly can connect the world so much closer to home than we can fully conceptualize.
Shoutout to Kenny for taking me to his childhood hiking trail and being a great tour guide around Taipei. Hope you enjoyed our convos as much as I did brotha.
3. Happiness Starts from Within, Really.
In our home country, we are so adjusted to our comfort zones. We know where are all the good spots are and we have some sort of connection to pretty much everywhere. A childhood, embarrassing, humorous, sentimental, or some sort of memory will always pop up when you stroll around the area.
But in a new country all by yourself?
You don’t know j*ack sh*t.
But that isn’t a bad thing. It can actually be a fantastic thing.
For example, if I revisit my high school in Hong Kong, I’ll subconsciously teleport back to the high school version of me as I stroll down memory lane. But checking out a Taiwanese high school in 2022?
I’m just viewed as Erryl. Nothing else, nothing more.
I know this sounds weird that I checked out a Taiwanese high school, but it relates to the dance training that I mentioned at the beginning of my article, which I will write about in the near future — another life-changing experience for me.
I ain’t no pedo for y’all perverted-minded f*ckers.
Getting back to the topic, the world sees you for who you are at that moment. No one knows about your quirky childhood or your embarrassing high school moments.
I felt truly myself without past memories lingering at the back of my mind.
I hope that makes sense.
As I toured around Taipei, I was able to enjoy the attractions and places I genuinely wanted to visit, without anyone holding me back. There are no external factors such as family, friends, or relationships telling me what to do and where to go.
I did whatever the f*ck I wanted to because I wanted to do it.
Period.
Life works in mysterious ways, but I discovered so much about myself just in those four days of my solo trip to Taipei. When you are absolutely on your own in a country all by yourself, the only thing that genuinely comes out is you.
Being alone is one thing but being alone with the wrong people is the worst feeling. Learning how to enjoy life by yourself, especially in a new country, is just the most amazing feeling.
Imagine being at a level where you can honestly savor life’s greatest moments AND then being surrounded by people who are on the same wavelength as you.
So how does this translate back to my daily life?
Honestly, I’m at a place where if we are not on the same wavelength — then we are wasting each other’s time. I don’t want to waste your time and vice versa. Life has too many ups and downs and I guess we need to at least try to minimize them right?
I’m not sure too.
But I guess we just learn along the way.
Damn. Life’s a trip huh?
Have you ever gone on a solo trip before? I would love to hear about your solo trip stories! Leave a comment below or hit me up from one of my contact methods below.
Peace!
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- Website: https://www.errylclassicz.com/
- Email: sendtoerrylho@gmail.com
