Experiencinganother
cultureatyourownpace,
onyourownterms,can
beanincrediblyfunand
insightfuladventure.
Whilesuchasojournis
liberating,someworry
aboutsafetyandsolitudein
unfamiliarterritory.
Now,solowomen
travellerscaneasilyfinda
plus-onebeforeandduring
theirtripswiththehelpof
mobileapplicationsand
onlinecommunities.
Theseappsandsites
havebecomemust-have
virtualpassportsthat
providerealexperiencesand
tipsinrealtime,usingan
identity-verifiednetwork.
Thinkofitasthe
Tinderofsolotravel–minus
theromance.
Tried-and-truemethods
includeappsthathelp
thesologirltravellerfind
companyformeals,social
activities,guidedtours
orhomestays.
AsMichaelKlumpp,
founderoftheGerman-
basedTourlinatravelappfor
solowomentravellers,tells
HerWorld:“Solowomen
travellersfindthathaving
afemalepartnerontheir
travelscanhelpwithmanythings, from breaking down
of costs to safety and forgin g
new friendships. Users have
to create a profi le by logging
in through Facebook, so the
app admins can verify that
the user is really a woman,
and not a fake account.”
Tourlina has more than
10,000 downloads from 110
countries. The app’s newly
released version also has a
user chat function.••••
MAKING NEW FRIENDS ON
THE ROAD
Katrin Nagel, 26, an
executive, found travel
mates through Tourlina
when she took a six-month
break from work a year
ago to travel across Asia,
visiting Thailand, Myanmar,
Singapore, Malaysia,
Cambodia, the Philippines
and Bali.
Of her plus-one
experience, she says via
e-mail: “I never felt lonely
though I was travelling
alone, because I met
many wonderful girls
who were smart, funny
and courageous through
Tourlina. My main goal
was to make new friends.
By listening to their life
experiences and adventures,
I got to know so much about“SOLO WOMEN
TRAVELLERS FIND THAT
HAVING A FEMALE
PARTNER ON THEIR
TRAVELS CAN HELP
WITH MANY THINGS,
LIKE BREAKING DOWN
OF COSTS, SAFETY,
AND FORGIN G NEW
FRIENDSHIPS.”- MICHAEL KLUMPP,
FOUNDER OF THE
TOURLINA TRAVEL APP
TEXT HAYLEY TAIMAIN PHOTO
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