Boldly Go Solo

For solo travelers, twitter.com can be a beautiful thing.

Many people who hesitate to travel alone complain that they have no one to share the experience with. I found that downloading random thoughts about my travels in Egypt was hugely satisfying as a sharing technique. I sent off mini-blog posts just about anywhere I was.

I did it via a BlackBerry set to operate in Egypt. I realize not everyone is going to have this brilliant little piece of technology (are they for rent anywhere?) But Internet cafes can also work.

With twitter, all you do is sign up and start typing an answer to the question, "What are you doing?" People can go to your site and read your pithy answers.

Why twitter rather than email friends and family? It's six of one, half dozen of the other to some degree… but with twitter, you don't have to type in a lot of email addresses. You just jot
your thoughts and they're available for anyone to read.

Since you're only allowed 140 characters or less (about 20-25 words) you need to be short and sweet. But you can write more than one post, so the limit isn't that limiting. I could write about ancient ruins one moment, and about the beautiful dessert at the luxury hotel the next.

My friends and family members remarked that they felt like they were right there on the trip with me. And that they enjoyed reading about it as it was happening. And I liked not having to buy stamps!

Photos: Ellen Perlman.

Rug factory shop, Sakkara, Egypt.

Dessert at poolside restaurant,

Luxor Hilton Resort and Spa

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