A few years ago, I never thought that solo travelling would be for me. I've always had an independent streak but never thought I'd enjoy travelling by myself. When, at the start of 2015, I made the leap to explore New Zealand and Australia, almost everyone seemed stunned that I was going to go alone, and okay, I was a little bit scared! After I'd got over the initial culture shock however, I quickly found that the whole solo travelling thing really is a lot of fun!

Hostels make it so easy to meet people, I mean, there's usually at least 5 others in your dorm, sometimes into double figures! Chatting to them when you arrive, asking what people are up to that night, you'll often find that most people are keen for a new drinking buddy! Or, something I never thought I'd be happy to do, head to the hostel bar by yourself, see who's there; I've had some pretty interesting conversations doing this! I remember once up in northern Queensland, I was sitting in a bar watching an Aussie rules football match and got chatting to some local guys about it. I enjoy the sport, but I'm not a huge fan and I ended up having to pretend to know what they were on about when they started asking what I thought of their team's new manager's game strategy! But hey, it was fun!

When travelling by yourself, it's nice not to have to be tied down to someone else's plans and you don't feel like you have to do things because someone else wants to. Obviously it's good to have people to spend time with, but if new friends don't fancy that day trip then you don't feel like you have to please them and you know that there will be others to chat to.

Something I also find is really important is to be positive and open to doing things. Try not to say 'no' to things for no reason, if a new friend asks if you want to go to the hostel bar, say 'yes', you never know where the evening will take you or who you may meet! Of course, when I say this, I'm talking about reasonable things. If you really don't want to do something, if something is just outright dangerous, or if someone makes you feel uncomfortable then absolutely say 'no' and don't feel guilty for a second. I'm not suggesting that you should jump off a cliff because someone thinks it would be fun, or go home with the first person who looks at you, just to have an open and positive outlook. I feel I've learnt a lot from observing how people talk to me and how my friends make friends with others while travelling and I try to emulate that.

I know that over the last couple of years since I first started travelling, I've changed a lot. It has made me more confident and open and has instilled a feeling of being capable of doing so much more. Meeting people from around the world means you learn so much about different countries and some of my closest friends now, I met whilst travelling. If you want to go explore the world solo, then don't feel like you can't and just go for it...a lot of people you meet will be in a similar boat!