The Solo Girl's Guide To Travelling Well, Smart, And Safe

More women are choosing to travel solo. And why shouldn’t they? Going it alone means you don’t have to play by anyone else’s rules. The downside? You could end up inviting unwanted attention, as these solo travellers told Hoe I Yune.

It was 3am on New Year’s Day, and fashion stylist Amanda Tan was on the way back to her Airbnb apartment in Brooklyn, New York City. The 28-year-old was alone, and already, a feeling of unease had settled on her during the ride back – not helped by her Uber driver’s revelation that he had once been knifed in the area.

But things were about to get worse.

As she was making her way up the stairs to her apartment, Amanda was stopped by three burly men smoking on the landing – outside another apartment where a party was clearly in progress. They asked her to join them. She protested, but they persisted. As she tried to move past them, they blocked her way.

Knowing she was outnumbered, and that there was no one else around to help her, she felt she had no choice but to give in. “I didn’t want to show them that I was afraid, or have to put up a struggle to run away [because of their size], so I thought the best way was to be cool and act like I was familiar with where I was,” she says.

Amanda recalls there were drugs at the party, and guests looked like they were wasted. “It was the dodgiest house I’d ever been in,” she said. Trying to stay calm, she bided her time till the men got distracted, and moved towards the kitchen. That was when she made a dash for the door, flung it open, and ran. She didn’t stop until she was safely back in her apartment, the door bolted shut behind her.

Potentially dangerous situations like the one Amanda found herself in might be considered unusual, but it’s not far-fetched to think they could happen – especially if you’re a woman travelling on your own.

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