MONICA TAN, 52
Director of local hair salon chain Kimage, which now boasts 10 outlets.
“I started travelling solo four years ago. I had heard so much about it before, but to actually take that first step was very scary. So for my first trip, I spent just 10 days in Bhutan. Everything was properly planned, I had a full itinerary, and I knew exactly where I would be staying and what I was going to do. After that, for subsequent trips, I didn’t plan anymore. Now I just go with the flow. I will buy the air ticket, but I don’t book hotels or plan anything else. For my second trip, I spent two weeks in Tibet. The one after that was 24
days in South America, during which I managed to cover every country in that continent – though logistics were quite a nightmare because of all the air travel needed. Then this year, I wanted to do something other than hiking, so I went on an 18-day driving holiday in Spain, Portugal and Morocco. I am planning a cycling holiday next, in Canada, because the country has a flat landscape – ideal for cycling.
“I enjoy solo travel so much because I am not a business owner or mother to my children, or daughter to my mother; I am just me.”