SoloCrystal

My user name on Trip Advisor (a good travel website and forum I often use) is SoloCrystal. I sometimes travel all by myself, but more often with just one other person. I haven't traveled in a group like this since our family trip to Egypt when I was around 7 years old.

There is some good and bad that goes along with group travel. One of the things I've liked most about this trip is getting to know all the other travelers. There have been some really interesting people on this trip with interesting lives and fantastic travel stories from far more countries than I've ever ventured to.

I've seen more and done more on this trip than I would have done if I'd put together my own itinerary. And this way of traveling is certainly easier since everything is already figured out for you.

Easier is not always better though. Having to figure things out, I have found, is a big part of the fun! I have great memories of taking the Dolmas (little van bus) from Ephesus to Bodrum in Turkey. I felt so triumphant in Bangkok when I didn't fall for the Happy Buddha trick, and it was fun to order lunch in Cambodia by pointing to a picture and still having no idea what I was eating. Group travel shields you from those kind of experiences that make a trip feel more genuine.

I don't think I'll do another group trip anytime soon, but I'm still so glad I went on this one!