Here, Terzani nails one of the joys of traveling alone. It seems a shame that our constant connection via our devices makes this release nearly impossible.

the sense of relief that always fills me when I know that I cannot be reached, that I am not booked or expected anywhere, that I have no commitments except those created by chance. How wonderful it is to mix with a crowd as an ordinary traveller, free from one’s own role, from one’s self-image, which at times can be a cage as tight as that of the body; to be sure you won’t meet anyone with whom you will have to make conversation, and to feel free to send to the devil the first person who tries to start one.

From A Fortune-Teller Told Me: Earthbound Travels in the Far East by Tiziano Terzani