Kristin Addis Conquering Mountains

For five years, Kristin Addis, a former investment banker, has been traveling the world. And she does this -- alone.
Addis decided to sell her items and traveled the world where she spent a life in silence at a Buddhist monastery in Thailand, trekked to see gorillas in Uganda, and hiked on glaciers in Patagonia.
Addis, who blogs her experiences at bemytravelmuse.com, and authored Conquering Mountains: How to Solo Travel the World Fearlessly, believes that going on a solo flight is easier than meeting with a travel companion.
“You make all the decisions. You get to just wake up that day and say ‘I want to go somewhere.’ Or ‘I really like it here, I think I’ll stay five more days.’ And you don’t need to ask anyone if it’s okay with them,” she says in an article posted in the National Post website.
Addis believes that traveling alone is the best way to learn about yourself and to test your skills.
“If you’re going to go on a big solo trip, your friends and family might be trying to talk you out of it. [A smaller trip] is a good way to show them, ‘Hey I can do this just fine,’ ” Addis says.
Choose a social (but not romantic) destination. If getting lonely is a problem, Addis recommends to visit a popular place for solo travelers like Southeast Asia, Central America, or South Africa. There, people can interact with a variety of people from different backgrounds who are also looking to connect with others. Addis advises travelers to avoid places that are notorious for being romantic.
Talk to locals. Converse with them so you can find out where the must-see and/or must-eat spots in a town are. Addis recommends travelers to visit a local pub or to get involved in an endeavor, such as rock climbing, scuba diving, surfing or hiking, where you can meet