“So why do we do it? Why do thousands of people year after year travel on their own – whether it be a weekend or a gap year – when it can seem so daunting? Why do we not go with friends or tour groups but instead brave it all alone?

Quite simply, because it’s a complete rush. The feeling you get when you realize you just navigated your way through a foreign metropolis or survived a hellish train journey makes you feel invincible. And it’s also completely addictive, for as soon as you feel content in one place you often move swiftly onto the next, yanking yourself from the comfort zone that you’ve just managed to build around yourself to do it all over again.” READ MORE