It’s fun telling people that I enjoy solo traveling without an itinerary. Some people are shocked by the solo, some people are shocked by the lack of an itinerary, and very few people think it’s a good idea. Like most hobbies, once you start traveling without an itinerary, you meet a lot of people doing the same. I am always looking to categorize the traits it takes to make it fun, and, as luck would have it, I run into Em and Polly.

Em and Polly are the yin and yang of traveling without an itinerary.

Before we get too deep into this analogy, I do want to mention that I knew them for all of 24 hours, so there are a lot of assumptions baked into this. I’m projecting some of my experience solo traveling and I hope I pegged them correctly.

Em is our Yang. She’s organized, knowledgable, asks good questions, has a great sense of direction, and has a plan for any situation. She figures out how to get a SIM card in the country she’s staying in, makes the reservations, and rolls the weed. She is both a badass and gives you momma bear vibes. This can be intimidating because you’re either in the pack or you’re being attacked with no remorse. As Em would say, it’s a battle zone out there. Think of Em as a vegan cafe manager - caring about the environment, making it a fun place to work, and at the end of the day, making sure orders are going out on time and looking fire.

Polly is our Yin. She’s friendly, chaotic, energetic, easy-going, and pretty carefree. She regularly stops random strangers to ask them for good places to eat, fun things to do, places to go next, and where they can find weed (presumably for Em to roll). Her charm engages all kinds of personalities and she finds a way to include you in the conversation. From afar, you can see her positive energy and hear her sweet hi. Think of Polly as a burlesque dancer. - a ballet dancer’s flexibility, flow, and discipline, the talent of an exotic dancer, and the mesmerizing storyteller that makes you fall in love with her.

Everyone has an Em and Polly inside of them. Em is the part of you that makes sure you visit at least one site in a city to see, the portion of you that brushes your teeth regularly, and the portion of you that gets yourself up on a lazy travel day to come up with some form of exploring to make yourself feel accomplished. Polly is the portion of you that can talk to anyone anywhere, the part that sees a fun thing to do and joins along, and the part of you that is willing to take a risk to do something adventurous.

We can choose to be more like Em or more like Polly based on our personalities, our comfort levels, and our traveling preferences. At the end of the day, it’s not about which one you are, it’s about making sure you have a balance of both that makes you happy. If I’m being honest, the only thing that you need to solo travel without an itinerary is the confidence that Em and Polly have in themselves.