January 13th I left Canada for The Philippines and Indonesia. Now its March 5th and for much of that time I've been on my own. No wife. No kids. No family. No friends. Alone. It changes how you look at things. At home if I was to get sick I have people I could call. If my vehicle broke down I know who to call. If I got robbed I know who to contact. Plus as a Canadian I never have to think about VISAs and Immigration. Even paying for things. In Canada I know that if I have cash and credit card I'll always be able to pay for something. In Indonesia I once ran into a situation where my credit card didn't work AND they didn't accept cash. I wanted a cheeseburger and I have way more than enough cash to pay for it....but as I couldn't do QR code payments I was almost out of luck.
Having someone to catch you when something is wrong is something a lot of people take for granted. Since birth most people have parents the know will catch them when they fall. As people continue through life people make friends who have their back. Teachers or other community figures who will help in case of emergency. A social network that helps in emergency. However, a solo traveller in a foreign country? No social network? That changes viewpoint.
Now the Hive learners prompt today was to write about a solo trip across my country. They asked if I could take a trip right now if I so desired and what challenges would I face. Compared to the difficulty in doing the same thing in Indonesia and The Philippines it would be simple, beautiful and very very long.
Image source: Google maps
...see any traffic? side roads? Obstacles? Dangers? Washroom? Nope..
...Just more highway... for the next 8 hours.
I say it is easy to go across the country because we have the Trans-Canada Highway. Start in Victoria on the West Coast and continue to Newfoundland on the East Coast. Yes there might be a ferry or two along the way but dead simple. The highway is well maintained. The highway has good signage the entire way. The highway has regular fueling stations. Plus I have Canadian Tire roadside assistance insurance so if my car runs out of fuel, there is mechanical failure, or I hit wildlife and damage the car ... just one quick phone call and help is on the way.
What is the biggest worry on the road trip?
Having to use the washroom and not having one nearby.
For many people that might seem crazy. In the Philippines it seems there is always some home or business that isn't far away. However, the Trans-Canada highway is 7,821km long and a lot of it is nothing but nature and road. Indeed my son went on a road trip with a friend from Germany who said "he loves driving" but after travelling in British Columbia (my province) his thought was "..the road just keeps going and going and going, it never ends" and that was just 1300km in one of 10 provinces.
Consider typical freeway speed of 100km/hr. That means 78 hours of travelling to get across the country. Travelling 8 hours a day without stopping or slowing down to see the sights it will take you 10 days to cross the country. I guarantee you can't drive 8 hours a day every day for a week. Well, I suppose if you have a vehicle with a range over 800km (most aren't) you technically could do it but word from my youngest son (when he was younger) echo in my mind.
Dad. Are we there yet? My butt is sore
Of course 8 hours a day without eating, getting fuel, or using the restroom aside: You really should stop for seeing the sights. I went to Google Maps and took a random road image from along the highway.
Source: Google maps
The whole point of doing a Trans-Canada trip is to see the sights! Forest, mountains, lakes, plains, rivers, wildlife and lots of different attractions, museums, historic sights and more. Yes, you can drive like a trucker and see nothing but that would be a huge waste of two weeks.
To answer the Hive Learners prompt. Going across Canada is technically very easy. Just follow the road. There are no bandits or thieves out to get you. No random dangerous stretches where you need special gear just to get across the stretch of highway. No ambiguous places where one wrong turn and you end up in a place you really don't want to be.
The biggest issue of a solo roadtrip iis
It is a long time to be driving. Try to do too much and you may just fall asleep (yes its a real danger..so take breaks..even if it makes the trip even longer)
and
Being solo for two weeks with beautiful surroundings and really cool things to see...with no-one to share it with? That can grind on people.
Or at least I know when I do the 1400km drive to visit my mom it gets very long. 18 hours on the road with nothing but my thoughts and the music on the stereo is a grind. Doing that everyday for a week? That doesn't sound like fun at all.
Some things are better done with friends.
... actually many things are better done with friends.
Sure some time alone every now and then is a good thing. Doing a day trip to some places in Canada can be an awesome getaway but Canada is just too large to do solo.
Bring a spouse, bring a friend, even bring your dog but solo is sort of crazy.
Then again, two weeks alone in a confined vehicle with your spouse? Think about that for a moment 馃ぃ
Thanks for reading and thanks for making it this far. Any questions... I always love comments.
