September 24, 2015 TnH Global

Destinations Calling for Single Women Travellers

Explore the Most Exotic 5 Destinations in Asia that provide Enchanting Experiences to today’s Enterprising Single Women Travellers !

….Writes Priyaankaa Mathur

Travelling alone can be a wonderful experience, full of personal growth and introspection. If you happen to be a travel enthusiast who is your own best mate, here are some travel destinations that call for your attention to relax your senses, ease out all tensions and tranquil your mind away from the world and its folks. So pack your bags and get on with us on an expedition to explore most exotic 5 Asian Destinations that are both Safe and friendly to Single Women Travellers!

Singapore:

Singapore happens to be the safest destination for solo women travellers as its trustworthy police and negligible crime rate with 0.1% reported assaults and 1.1% reported incidents of thefts, certainly makes it an excellent choice. Even before you enter Singapore innumerable islands with ant size small tourist hubs and green stretches merged with deep blue sea visible from your flights window, tempts you to explore this countries natural splendours.

Singapore’s cosmopolitan culture, the openness and the inherent carefree lifestyle gives you a feel to footloose and get fancy. To top it further if you travel in the month of June and July the Great Singapore Sale acts as a boon for accessory freaks and shopaholics. Even if you have a non-existent amount of cash in your pocket you can buy a bag full of clothes during this shopping fiesta. Enter the picturesque Arab street to find everything from rugs, clothes, trinkets and sheesha.

Those who have an adventurous tongue, why not opt for a food tour? The tour serves on its platter a range from high-end dining tours to tours that focus on restaurants and food joints that serve delicious local Chinese food accompanied by experienced and knowledgeable food guides. Explore the street side vendors like China town, little India, Sentosa and Orchard Street, Bugis Junction, Arab Street where you find excellent local specialities like nasi goreng char Kway Teow, chilli-pepper crab, chicken rice, laksa, prawn mee and many more.

Board a hop-on, hop-off bus tour that has an informative and an educational guide along with tips about what not to miss in the city. The bus picks and drops you at a variety of interesting sights around the city, making it easy and convenient to cover the entire city in a short amount of time. The tour includes visits to Marina Bay Sands, Merlion Park, Lau Pa Sat Festival Market, Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, Sri Mariamman Temple and Masjid Jamae Chulia to the Botanic Gardens, where the greenery will astound you.

Dubai: UAE

Dubai happens to be a millionaires square, that has everything that the rest of the world can barely think to have such as the world’s tallest building the Burj Al Arab, the first indoor ski resort in the Mall of Emirates, The Palm Island – man-made island shaped like the world itself, stunning skyscrapers and breath taking beaches all that makes Dubai a winning destination.

Dubai is not found on any round the world destination tickets and certainly comes under a heavy price tag. Although you find unique first class hotels you do find affordable accommodations which may suit your modest budgets. Women who are brand conscious shoppers can find their kind of stuff in high street designer stores to find clothes, fabrics, electronics, furniture, novelty items and so much more.

Shop for the most exquisite gold jewellery which bestows the purest quality of gold at the Dubai gold souks, across all its malls or at the Deira district. You can’t get any better to entertain yourself, then to enter the Sky Bar at the Burj Al Arab. Although the cocktails are expensive, but its enchanting lobbies full of exotic royal blue, red and gold interiors are certainly worth a visit.

Explore great restaurants and vibrant bars at the Souk Madinat Jumeriah, Dubai’s very own little Venice. Take a boat ride in its narrow waterways and shop at the Arabian market. If you seek an escape from the modern skyscrapers indulge to explore the history of Dubai and visit the old part of the city to explore about the first Persian settlers, the early pearl divers and the nose tingling ancient spice markets. Peep into the traditional Dubai by experiencing a cruise along the Dubai Creek that gives you interesting insights how the new world is different from the old.

Precaution for single women travellers in Dubai: Dubai oozes in itself a kind of grandeur and opulence that can be rarely experienced in places across the world. It is indeed a very safe place for single female travellers because of its strict jurisdiction thus bestowing a negligible crime rate. However it is important to cast cautions to avoid unwanted attention and to understand the customs of the land, it being an Islamic country. Women are advised to wear fairly decent and un-exposing clothes and not to indulge with strangers in communication and ignore unwanted stares and comments. Do not to drink in public places.

Bangkok: Thailand

Thailand is one of the most comfortable places for solo female travelers. Being a Buddhist state great respect and emphasis is given to females. If you are enthusiastic about exploring local culture you can start your day with the stunning Buddhist monasteries like the Temple of Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho, Temple of Emerald Buddha at Wat Arun and The Temple of Dawan at Wat Saket.

During the day, visit the famous Koh Samet Island to soak yourself in the sun and if you look forward to a short trek, visit the Koh Chang beach that is just ideal for single women as you find deserted stretches of white sand beaches waiting for you. Relax and enjoy sipping a mojito and go for the famous Thai massages to pamper and rejuvenate yourself. Unwind your adventurous spirit riding elephants through the jungles.If you are a sport freak ice skating, surfing and bowling alleys will definitely interest you .Still if you need an adrenaline push swim with the sharks at the Siam Ocean World.

Bangkok happens to be the shopper’s paradise and women can’t ask anything better. From high end shopping malls like Siam Paragon and Platinum Mall to shopping streets and night markets one can find both men’s and women’s fashions in Bangkok. You ask and you get something for every kind of a shopper in the smaller rampant eclectic markets in Bangkok. Don’t miss to explore the Bangkok’s Best Street Food on ‘Sukhumvit Soi 38’ and indulge into Thai fried noodles, chicken wings, chicken cashew nuts, red curry chicken and shrimps wrapped in crispy bacon ,crispy pancakes, coconut ice-cream and a variety of delicious cuisines without which you cannot complete your Thai holiday.

Suggested Precaution for single women travellers in Thailand: There are certain things you can do to minimize the hassles while travelling alone. Thailand being a Buddhist land it is advisable for women to dress conservatively in the religious districts and monasteries. Women must avoid certain beaches with distinctly male party scenes. Beware of drug traffickers and don’t accept drinks from strangers in bars and avoid flashing your valuables.

Leh- Ladakh: India

The first thing that comes to mind about Ladakh is the famous ‘Pangong Tso Lake’…Remember the crystal clear blue lake in 3 idiots? This lake sprawls over an area of 100 kilometres across the borders of India and China. Located between the Great Himalaya and the Karakoram Mountain range in the north is the “land of high passes” -Ladakh that is indeed a great destination to be explored solo. This paradise on earth boasts of the world’s most impressive landscapes and spectacular ranges. Best time to visit Ladakh is June-September that happens to be the summer season that bestows pleasant sunny weather with spectacular views. Ladakh can be reached by taking a direct flight to Leh or by taking a bus route via the serene Leh-Manali highway. Women might be intimidated in the beginning to choose ladakh for solo travel, but it is probably the safest place as it has the highest army-to-civilian ratio in the country who are omnipresent and are ready to help always.

There is so much to explore in Ladakh for an adventure freaks- be it a road trip to the highest motor road in the world ‘Khardungla Pass’ or the ‘Magnatic Valley’ that defies gravity making you feel like a super women or be it the ‘Nubra Valley’ that brings you to a desert in the middle of a snowy hills.Take up a trekking expedition and white water rafting in the Zanskar River that happens to be one of the best white water rafting destinations in India. The trekking trips can be pre-booked by adventure tour operators. Those interested in adventure sports activities can also try mountain biking and cycling.

How about experiencing the fascinating Buddhist culture by living amongst the monks? The Buddhist ‘Namgyal Tsemo Gompa’ monastery with exquisite Buddha statues allows volunteers to stay and help monks in their daily cores. Visit the ladakh’s biggest monastery ‘Hemis Gompa’ during the annual Hemis festival in the month of July. The festival’s highlight is the exquisite mask parade wherein sacred rituals are performed during the festival days.

If you are lucky enough to be around on the 10^th day of the Tibetan lunar month, you can probably be the part of the two day ‘Tse Chu’ festival that commemorates birth anniversary of Guru Padmasambhava, who is believed to be a reincarnation of Buddha. Leh still enfolds rich royal past that can be witnessed in the royal ruins of the Leh palace that were constructed in 17th century by King Singe Namgyal as his royal residence.

Don’t forget to delve into staple food of ladhakh with exotic aromas and tastes such as Sku and Thukpa (made of wheat flour), Pava (made of sattu) and Khambir (local bread), Tibetan stew, Tibetan fried ba ba bread and many other Tibetan delicacies. After enjoying the food go for the best thing you love to do…Shop in local Tibetan markets to buy sovereigns like Pashmeena shawls, Buddha statues, masks and much more. One can commute from leh to ladakh in shared or private taxis and it is advisable to find affordable accommodations in old Leh.

Precautions for single women travelers in Ladakh: It is important to talk to locals about the place and know about the places geography, so that you are not lost in the hills. Do carry enough warm clothes if you are travelling in winters and medicines for high altitude travel. It is advisable not to travel in the monsoon season, as there could be chances of landslides that might interrupt your journey ahead.

Hong Kong

Well trained police, low crime rates, well maintained infrastructure and roadways makes Hong-Kong one of the safest cities in the world. Hong Kong has an anticipatory aura of mystery as the city is rich in terms of its ancient history and presents a distinct cultural kaleidoscope. One can explore in many creative activities like taking up a fang shui class from a master or making the Chinese cake or learning about the ancient Chinese medicine or learn how to appreciate Tea or learn the Cantonese Opera, this city’s ethnicity stores lots to explore.

You can take a Junk boat ride in the harbour or visit a number of beautifully manicured parks, like the ‘zen garden’ to appreciate the sculpted plants and the water features. Check out the ‘Po Street Bird Garden’ to interact with people who talk to their birds and listen to their chirpy replies. If you happen to be a fitness freak Hong-Kong is just the place to be.

Learn to stay fit with Tai Chi exercise classes or by joining a crash course in tango to a 30 km bike ride tour through the Hong Kong rural countryside, anything you do is indeed an experience in itself.The city has so much to offer from museums to exploring Chinese temples, to cruising the harbor or venturing into the rural villages or taking boat trips out to outlying islands.You have so much to accomplish in your trip that by the end of the day you feel a need for a relaxing message that you can have in any of the local parlors in the city.

It is hard to get lost in Hong Kong as the city has fantastic public transport facilities with an amazing underground network of trains. You can pick up the Octopus Card at the airport and can use the subway to get all over the city easily. The city has a wide variety of accommodation options from budget to 5 stars. Hong Kong is the best city in the world for women shopaholics especially women as it has exclusive ladies markets, temple street markets where you get affordable handbags, souvenirs and Asian beauty products. The city boasts of some of the best and largest malls in the world with trendy boutiques and high end shops.

Precaution for single women travellers in Hong Kong: Beware of taking an accommodation in Chungking Mansions that is a complex full of super cheap hostels, but the locality is not good enough it’s important to shell more money and get a much better experience elsewhere.

Wherever you go and whatever you do, it is important for solo women to stay cautious and abide by the law of the land, so that your journey ends up with pleasant memories and travel tips for your fellow women folks, inspiring them yet again to take up a solo travel expedition.