Reportaire : Singapore - The Experience of Holidaying Single

This was the conversation that took place between myself and a friend:

Friend: "Hey man, where have you been? Haven't seen you for long"
Me: "I was on a Holiday to Singapore."
Friend: "Cool man, How was the trip?"
Me: "It turned out to be good, much better than I had anticipated"
Friend: "Did you go with your colleagues or college friend(s) or with someone special, Huh?"
Me: I travelled single.
Friend: Looking Shocked. Are you insane, How can one go on a holiday alone? you would be bored to death.

Well, the Singapore sojourn was my take to experience how it is like to go on a holiday without the company of known. I've been to almost 15 holidays either with my family or my with my friends, but this time I wanted to explore this uncharted territory.
The best thing I experienced about travelling single is that it gives you a great opportunity to meet new people and experience their culture. I made good friends with some wonderful people like Lin Yu, a local lady and with the CFO of Zapak.com, India's largest gaming portal. Lin, who is a local, was amazed and wanted to know whether I always travel alone. Then, she took me to Sentosa island, which is great man-made tourist attraction. She introduced me to the taste of local cuisine, a dessert - Sea-jelly(a local delight made from sea coconut, sea-grass and some other ingredient which I could not fathom). Initially, I was very apprehensive about having the same, as I'm a vegetarian to the core, and this looked very much like a Jelly-fish!!! Moreover, the people in the Eastern side of the Globe usually consider feed consisting of sea-animals as vegetarian. However, only after Lin assured me that it is completely vegetarian, I had a go at it. And Wow!!! didn't it tickle my gastronomical senses.
The other advantage of holidaying single is that you can actually enjoy the things without the rush that comes with travelling in a group. For example, I enjoyed being at Singapore zoo with several species in close proximity. Here, not being with a group helped as I could spend more time exploring the zoo without having to care for someone's tired legs. I would recommend Singapore zoo to anyone visiting Singapore. It's not just for kids, grown-ups can also enjoy and feel the nature's gifts. This zoo is a bit different in the sense that animals are not strictly kept in cages all the time like in India. There will be trails where they are left open and you can watch them very closely in close proximity. (Don't panic :-) as only non-dangerous creatures are left in the open).
But, as they say, nothing is perfect in real world, so here you go:

Disadvantages:
1) You end up spending more money on hotels, as you could have shared the accommodation costs.
2) You could get better deals from travel-agents if travelling in a group.
3) If you are not very much self-motivated you might be found sleeping in your couch after a tiring travel instead of enjoying places.(I've seen that happening for quite a few people)
4) Sometime, you may feel the need to blabber in front of someone about the experiences, but here you might feel a bit edgy. But then, What is Yahoo messenger for?

Tips when you are travelling single:
1) Try to make friends with some locals - they shall be able to guide you in a much better way and you can experience their culture.
2) Explore some places on your own like travelling on MRTS in Singapore.
3) Try some local cuisine too. If you a vegetarian, it would be a bit difficult but you can actually get some delectable dishes - something different from the food you usually have in your place.
4) Take care of your belongings and travel light - without heavy luggage.

And most importantly, leave the worries behind and enjoy the vacation. After all you deserve it after so much hard work.
Au Revoir and Bon Voyage!!!