What is it like to travel alone to a crowded tourist attraction?

It’s a great experience. Traveling alone is free and easy, but you must learn to take care of yourself, deal with emergencies, make better strategies, and think about how to save money.

The biggest characteristic of traveling alone is that you have to look down and see what you are thinking in your heart, and then follow it. You can stay in a place as long as you want, without going to any scenic spots. You can stay alone in the alleys and lanes for as long as you want, discovering and touching surprises everywhere. When a person is in a completely unfamiliar environment, he wants to chat with everyone he sees.

The first time I traveled alone was to Niubei Mountain on New Year’s Day in 2015. I followed a group organized by my seniors and took a bus to the foot of the mountain. After staying one night, I went to climb the mountain. The bus driver was being cunning. Not only did he not take us to Yujingou, but he stopped driving forward for various reasons just five or six kilometers away from Lengqi. At 6:30 in the morning, a group of people and I were thrown into a I don’t even know which direction Niubei Mountain is on the roadside.

I followed the road signs handwritten by fellow travellers, and occasionally bumped into other people. Most of the time I covered my face with a scarf and walked forward. I ate compressed biscuits when I was hungry and drank water when I was thirsty. It is steep and the ground is full of gravel, so walking is half a step slippery. The trekking poles I brought are second-rate, use them a little shorter each time.

It was almost dark when I climbed to Yunhai’s house. In the last half hour, I took the camp lantern and hung it on my bag for lighting, and climbed up using my hands and feet. The wind on the top of the mountain gave me a headache. After dinner, I went to the bunk bed and lay down, and then I started to have headaches and insomnia. The Tongpu on Niubei Mountain was crowded with people, and the sound of snoring was shocking. I got up at four in the morning to watch the sunrise, but my hands were so cold that I couldn't put on my gloves. I covered my face with a magic turban, and my nose ran out and I rubbed it directly on the turban. No one saw me anyway.

After standing on the top of the mountain for an hour and a half, the wind blew the hood of the jacket off and back up again. Rubbing my hands and shivering had no effect, and my head still hurt from time to time. Thinking about it now, I think I could still bear it, because I experienced a more painful hike later.