Travel now not tomorrow

 When it comes to travelling solo, location matters. I have spent time in two very different locations, Hawaii and Hong Kong. Hawaii sounds like it would be the easiest place to blend in - sun, beaches, English the dominant language - but it wasn't so simple. My solo status marked me out as a peculiar loner among the honeymoon, anniversary and once in a lifetime trippers. I felt like Miss Haversham from Great Expectations , who wandered around in her cobweb-laced wedding gown decades after being jilted at the alter. The wide circle of hotel guests kept their distance from me. And it wasn't just that they didn't speak to me, but they kept their eyes averted as though one look and they too would be struck solo. Hong Kong however allowed me to blend in. Whether it was at the bird market, the flea stalls or the homeopathic markets with dried up creature anatomies on display, no one gave me a glance. Among the locals, tourists and expats I was just a fly on the wall. And for a p...