Just One, Please

I think it takes a certain, peculiar type of person to enjoy traveling alone. I don't have any illusions about my own peculiarity, but it's interesting that it works well with traveling.

Traveling by itself involves getting lots of curious looks from people. Restaurants obviously would rather fill a table for two with 2 people, not one. Last night I sat in the restaurant where I was the only solo diner and the only person at a table with an odd number of people (you have time to notice this kind of stuff when you're alone). You have to not feel uncomfortable in a situation like that, because it happens all the time. When I arrived here, the customs guy sent me to get my bags searched, rather than just waving me through. I asked him, "What did I do to deserve this?" but I know the answer, I didn't have my family with me. Who's gonna check a 52 year-old schoolteacher traveling with a wife and 2 kids? But the same guy by himself, and not on business, stands out enough to get noticed.

Business travel is the best preparation for that kind of treatment, and I have plenty of experience with that. In fact, a business hotel, weekdays in a busy downtown area or at an airport, is the only place you can be by yourself and not feel out of place.

I'll talk more about the kinds of feelings this evokes later- I've only been away for 24 hours.