After spending two months traveling alone through Thailand and Vietnam in early 2024, I went to Japan to meet a friend. I was excited, but within days, traveling with someone else felt more stressful than being on my own.
For months, I’d made every decision myself: when to wake up, where to eat, and how to spend the day. I could change plans on a whim. Suddenly, every choice involved another person.
After months of solo travel, apparently, I’d become terrible at compromising.
Just a few months earlier, I’d been laid off from a job that hadn’t made me happy for some time. I’d wanted to quit after a year and spend months traveling around Asia…
