Mishka, South Africa. Solo female traveler since 2023. Teacher. Based in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Mishka left South Africa three years ago, moved across Southeast Asia and ended up in Thailand. When I asked her about a moment she doesn’t usually talk about, she told me about a visa run that went badly wrong at the Golden Triangle — stuck between two borders, alone, close to midnight.

Why she left

It started with job opportunities that weren’t there. As a teacher, she made the call to move. But it wasn’t only that.

“Back home, safety is a big issue. I wanted to be in a place where I feel really comfortable being who I am – with my beliefs, how I am as a person. Solo traveling helped to open my eyes to a lot of things.”

The moment she doesn’t talk about

She needed a visa run. Crossed from Thailand into Laos at the Golden Triangle to get her tourist visa sorted. The officer who authorises tourist visas wasn’t there. Her visa had expired. She couldn’t get back into Thailand. She was stuck outside immigration, not knowing what to do.

“As a tourist, certain situations like this can be very sticky”

It took hours to figure out what came next. She eventually got back into Thailand, dealt with immigration, and still had to find a hotel — walking the streets alone, close to midnight.

“As a woman, you’re very scared of what can happen next. You don’t know where this is going to lead to.”

She found somewhere to stay. But it was nearly midnight by the time she did.

What was going through her head

“I was blank. I did not know what to do. I did not know where to go. I just remember sitting outside, calling my closest people and being like: hey, this is the situation. I don’t know what to do.”

Then something shifted.

“I got to a point where I was like – I can cry about it later. But I gotta suck up my emotions and get my situation sorted out. Visa stuff is crazy. But you always gotta have it in your head that things will work out. And if they don’t work out, you have to make them work out.”

What it changed in her

“There were situations where I had to voice up myself, speak up for myself. Being assertive really does take you a long way. Keep your calm, keep your focus, know what you need to get done.”

She came out of it more assertive.

And now? “If I can get through this, I can get through anything. That’s the vibe.”

Her advice

“It can be a very daunting experience, especially being a woman. But if it’s something you really want to do, go for it. I know there’s a lot of hesitation, a lot of overthinking. But sometimes you just need to bite the bullet and get it done.

It opens up your viewpoint on so many things. It’s such a freeing, liberating experience. You build yourself. You understand yourself so much more when you do things alone.

Be sure of yourself. Enjoy the moment. Don’t worry about what people think. It’s your life. You are building your experiences, your character — for yourself.”

Solo travel looks different for every woman

NinaRevo is building the first community platform for solo female travelers.

I was 20. I had a language school in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, classes in the morning, nothing to do in the afternoon, and a city I didn’t know at all. My school had paired me with another student from the same program. But outside of class, I was on my own.

That was my first real solo trip. And nobody called it brave. Nobody called it anything. It just happened, because waiting for someone else to come with me would have meant not going at all.

The thing nobody tells you about the first time

Everyone talks about solo travel like it’s a decision you make once, after a lot of thinking, after you’ve built up enough courage, after everything is perfectly lined up. It’s not like that.

“My first real solo experience wasn’t planned as some bold statement. I just found myself alone in a foreign country, 20 years old, with an afternoon to fill and nobody to fill it with.”

So I went. I figured it out. And something shifted. That’s usually how it works. Not a grand departure. Just a small moment where you realize you’re more capable than you thought.

What fear actually feels like

People describe travel fear as big and dramatic. The what-ifs. The worst-case scenarios. And yes, those exist. But in reality, fear shows up smaller than that. It’s the hesitation before booking a table for one. It’s the second-guessing when you’re about to take a street you don’t know.

It’s the Saturday night in Chiang Mai when I walked through darker streets than I should have, felt my gut send a quiet signal, and changed my route. Not panic. Not danger. Just: pay attention. Adjust. Move.

That’s what smart solo travel actually looks like. Not fearless. Responsive.

The advice that helps: micro-actions

What actually helps are micro-actions. Specific, small, concrete steps that build familiarity before you need it.

• Book one restaurant in advance. So the decision is already made and you just show up.
• Use Grab instead of flagging a random taxi. The trip is tracked and you see the driver’s details.
• Walk your neighborhood during the day first. Know what it looks like before you navigate it at night.
• Tell one person where you’re going. Because if something happens, someone knows.

Most women don’t need more motivation. They need structure.

That’s exactly what I built NinaRevo for. Solo female travel safety tips are everywhere — what’s missing is a place that puts them together with real community and real support. Join NinaRevo here.

The good part

The afternoon in Fort Lauderdale when I negotiated a taxi, found a beach, sat there for two hours watching the Atlantic, and realized I didn’t need anyone to tell me this was a good decision. I already knew.