You Are Temptation!

You Are Temptation!

Paul Theroux: travel author presentation and Q&A on world cruise.

 http://www.paultheroux.com/

My question from the audience:

I am Karla, from the country of Miami.

In all your world travels, what have you experienced
/encountered with solo women travelers?
I traveled solo my whole life and hope to reach 90 nations by end if this segment.
Also, I am a travel blogger.

His basic response is that it’s not so safe for solo women. He does not encounter women traveling alone. In many parts of the world, women are seen as temptation to men. Go with man or another woman. If he had daughter, he'd advise her not to travel solo.

That day, and over the next few days, many woman (and several men) came up to me and thanked me for my question. Most expressed that they hated his response.

I replied that his response is based on his lens of the world. He is who he is. We women solo travelers see ourselves as human beings traveling. Not as objects designed to serve men's needs.

A few women asked for info on my blog. I told several women about my solo women travelers Facebook group.

An Indian man came and sat with me after lunch and told me his daughter travels the world alone. She is young and pretty and is skilled at adeptly traveling solo.

An angry woman came to me and thanked me for my question. She said woman travel alone all the time and he cannot tell us not to. She resented him discussing college, Peace Corps, homes in Cape Cod and Hawaii. She said she wanted to ask who funded his lifestyle. He has led a very privileged life etc.

Here is a brief article written by another solo woman traveler:

 

http://motto.time.com/4243276/sarah-marquis-travel-world-alone/?xid=newsletter-brief

 

I find her perspective refreshing!