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Thailand
A
free spirit Curiosity and adventure forced this well-known writer to backpack around the world JARUNEE TAEMSAMRAN It's
not common for a typical Thai to travel independently without
groups of friends. It's even more unusual for a Thai woman to
do it. She is now one of the country's top female travel writers. Her pen name _ Pleng Dab Mae Nam Roi Sai _ is quite well-known these days among people who love to read travel stories. Ms Chollada has contributed travel stories to many leading magazines. She has also written and released five pocket books where she shares her travel experiences to readers. The 34-year-old writer is probably one of Thailand's best-known female backpackers these days. Many readers may be inspired by what she describes in her books and dream of travelling to experience the same thrills as her. But
what is it like when travelling alone? ``In fact, I don't like to travel alone but most of the time solo travelling is necessary,'' Chollada told Horizons. Her response was a bit surprising and it raised the question of what constitutes such a necessity? ``Just when I feel like travelling and nobody is free to go with me. Then I have to go by myself,'' she said. She said solo travel is nothing special to her. It's just like doing anything in daily life which she likes to do independently. ``It's very normal for me to do everything alone. I can go to have lunch alone, see movies alone and even shop alone. So I don't feel it's strange to travel alone,'' she said. ``And my experiences have confirmed to me that it's not odd at all to do thing alone, even travelling. It's just like when you see a female foreigner travelling solemnly in our country.'' Ms Chollada said she loves travelling and nothing could hold her back if she wanted to go somewhere, even if it means travelling by herself. Although she frequently sets off on solo journeys, she admitted that she prefers being accompanied by friends. `It's better when you travel with a friend because you have somebody to talk to, laugh with and share the view and experience with. When you travel alone you can share happiness with friends through postcards, paintings and photos, which I usually do when I take a solo trip.'' She
said she sometimes travels with a big group of friends. ``Travelling
with friends is also fun. But you get different feelings. When
you are with friends you tend to concentrate more on your friends
and don't see much of the places you visit. |
But solo travelling is a very normal thing in Chollada Teaosuwan's
life. For many years she has travelled alone to strange countries
and gained enough experience to write about it. 
