Email Elizabethwinter 2014 vacation
Musings From A Solo Traveler in Vanuatu on Christmas Day
Villa at Havannah Resort, Efate Island
Some of the resort staff at The Havannah openly felt sorry for me last night at the Christmas Eve party. They said other solo travelers had admitted to feeling strange or out of place because they were not with another person, and they wanted to know if I was uncomfortable. While sweet in sentiment, it seems a bit chauvinistic to me to ask a woman that kind of question when they would not dream of asking a man and, in fact, would probably feel downright silly if they did.
I don’t find it odd nor weird to be by myself. I spend a lot of time alone because I like it. I get along well with myself. I know my desires and how to fulfill them. It’s relaxing, if you want to know the truth, in more ways than if I was with another person because the only person’s opinion that matters about anything at all is my own. Which, when I reflect on it, is not that much different than any other time in any other place with any other person, heh, heh. While I do take into consideration the opinions of other people, often my own opinion trumps.
A woman on the plane from Brisbane to Vanuatu, trying to be helpful I suppose, suggested I download an app that would help me find people to travel with. She did not seem to understand that I do not want to find people to travel with. It’s enjoyable being a solo traveler. There are people all around me. I don’t get the opportunity enough. If my husband or friends can’t go on a trip, it’s definitely 100% OK for me to go by myself.
The feeling of independence is one of strength and courage. Not everybody has it or can develop it. You will find it most often in entrepreneurs, people who run their own businesses, which is probably why I make such a good living selling real estate in Sacramento. I can depend on myself and so can others. I feel a strong sense of duty to my clients, and they know without question that I will always be there for them. It’s the same loyalty and conviction I carry for my friends and family because I carry it for myself as well.
When I lounge on my deck on Christmas Day, admiring the multiple shades of turquoise and sapphire blues in the water, feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin, listening to ocean waves break on the beach, and inhaling the scent of Tahiti flowers in Vanuatu, I am not alone.
There is little more precious in the world than peace within yourself. Being a solo traveler can help you to get there.
Culture Shock Moving from Manele Bay to Moana Surfrider
VIEWS Restaurant Manele Bay
My limo driver said the Moana Surfrider is the oldest hotel in Honolulu, built in 1901, but it does not hold a candle to the beauty and tranquility of Four Seasons at Manele Bay. It was an abrupt introduction as he thrust me into Disneyland and split. I could not sit by the water during dinner, even after diners vacated a table that offered a great view; the management could not relocate me, not upon request and not for any incentive. They validate your reservation for dinner, assign a table, and that’s pretty much all she wrote. Mooooooove ’em in and moooooooooe ’em out.
The manager guy was nice enough, he even bought me a glass of Cote du Rhone, but it’s no Four Seasons. It’s nowhere the price, either. So that’s a big difference between spending three times as much for a room. They were also very gracious and moved me from my small cramped room where I had to push the chair in by the desk just to scoot over to the balcony. A pulsating and oscillating toilet doesn’t make up for lack of space. That was a far cry from a 1,000 square foot suite. Goodbye dream world, hello reality.
I’m only in Honolulu for 3 days. Just enough time to go see Pearl Harbor. I haven’t been to Waikiki since my second husband’s honeymoon in 1978, and he’s long dead now. I recall a photo of him that I shot while we were driving past pineapple plantations that no longer exist, and he looked very annoyed. Guess that’s one of the reasons we didn’t stay together. This is just a “rest up” before heading out to Australia and, ultimately, Vanuatu.
It would be kinda cool to visit the North Shore and see the turtles. After Galapagos, any other turtles or tortoises — and there is a difference between the two — well, they just don’t much matter. But the opening scenes of Enlightened with Laura Dern, an HBO series I deeply enjoyed for its hilariously delicious and deadpan writing, featured a green turtle in Hawaii swimming. If for no other reason than that, it would be innaresting, as Neil Young would say, to go see the turtles.
I am thankful tonight for my newly assigned room at the Moana Surfrider, with a quiet AC unit, and a beautiful view of downtown and the shore. I am also thankful that I have sold another home in Elk Grove, although, to be fair, it is my third time selling this waterfront home due to flakey buyers who could not perform, but what the hey. My sellers are happy, they got a better price and, quite frankly, I don’t really care how many times I have to sell a home if it makes the seller happy. I know which side of my bread is buttered.
Like my new catchphrase, which is not exactly sincere, everything is awesome. You say it enough times, it becomes the truth. Every day is a new adventure. And right now, things are looking up.
Above is a photo from the Views Restaurant at the Four Seasons Golf Course at Manele Bay. You can see all the way to Maui, past Sweetheart Rock.
