Writer, traveler and film critic Vladimir Jean-Gilles shares five solo travel tips to maximize your personal growth in 2026.
Travel log: Istanbul, Türkiye. November 12, 2024
“It’s now 7 a.m. in Istanbul. After having breakfast and enjoying my morning tea, I picked up a local newspaper from the hotel lobby. By the time I made it back to my room, I was already lost, wondering in deep thought… as I often do…
Looking out my window, I am now the witness of 20-some million lives in a place filled with strangers with somewhat familiar faces.
The only one I don’t recognize is me….
And yet, I don’t feel lost. If anything, I feel more myself than I’ve ever been. But at the same time… I’m not. Suddenly, I’m facing a truth I’ve kept hidden from myself for a while. I wasn’t sure if I’d be strong enough to admit it, let alone reveal it.
They say that in order to become a new version of yourself, the old version must die. That always sounded a little dramatic to me. But isn’t that what change is? I don’t know. Really. I’m aware of my growth. I learn as I go, and I’ve come to see that as one of my most beautiful qualities.
But change… change is the purpose of growth. I understand that now more than ever.
But had I known that before… maybe I would’ve slowed down a little.
Something to think about.”
COVER STORY
“Travel is about landscapes. Transformation is about people.” – Vladimir Jean-Gilles
I wrote this piece in a travel log when I was traveling in Istanbul in 2024. What I was experiencing in that moment was the expansion of my own mind and horizons. I was beginning to perceive the world in a completely different way and was forced to rethink the role I was playing in it.
In short, I was growing—mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. Those lessons didn’t come from guidebooks or itineraries. They came from the act of traveling alone, from allowing myself to be both lost and found in unfamiliar places. That’s what solo travel should be all about.
