The Solo Traveller
Your independence, passion, and lifelong memories.
Transitions
‘Transitions’ is where the ‘business’ of solo travel meets the soul of your journey. Whether you’re adjusting to time zones, navigating gate lounges, hotel rooms and transit options between meetings, presentations, bookings, gigs, or seeking meaning in the margins of a packed itinerary, this space is for you. Here, we explore the realities of solo business travel – from maintaining wellbeing on the move to making the most of new cities, connections, and quiet moments in transit. Because even when you’re travelling for work, every journey is a chance to discover something more.
Friska Wirya, who calls Bali and Melbourne home, is a self-described “borderless multihyphenate” – and while you could be forgiven for thinking that this term might perfectly describe a character from ‘Blade Runner’, a ‘borderless multihyphenate’ is a person with multiple skills and professions, and whose work intentionally blurs the lines between different fields and disciplines. Modern, non-traditional, innovative, and entirely transformational.
Published 20 October 2025
For British-born, Kathmandu-based Naresh Dahal, travel is both his business and his passion. “I often find myself travelling solo, exploring trails, ancient monasteries, and rivers, and even though I am a luxury travel operator, for me, travel is deeply personal, a way to feel present in each moment. I find myself heading to ancient monasteries in Mustang, feeling like I belong there, riding motorbikes through vast landscapes, or discovering quiet, unexpected experiences in Bhutan. Each journey shapes how I see human connection, culture, and the vastness of the world, and I try to experience every place fully, moment by moment.”
Published 6 October 2025
Business Futurist and Keynote Speaker Morris Misel (who is based in Melbourne, Australia), is passionate about ‘future equity’ and the idea that everyone deserves the chance to see a future and move toward it. “That comes from my own family’s refugee past, which taught me early that what really matters is being able to picture tomorrow, even when the present feels impossible,” Morris tells The Solo Traveller. “A lot of the pro bono work I’ve done – whether with people living with disability, in-prison chaplaincy, or through crisis street counselling – comes back to that same need.”
Published 11 September 2025
Monique Jeremiah is passionate about creating new opportunities for people who identify as living with a disability to succeed and enjoy meaningful employment through the world of modelling. Monique set out to become a champion for diversity and inclusion because from her own experiences, Monique was marginalised and never given a chance to fulfil her dreams of modelling. “When I was ready to truly make my mark on society, I created the most unique modelling agency and modelling and deportment school in Australia to break expectations and create the path for success for diverse models and models with disabilities who had the same dreams as me.”
Published 5 September 2025
With over 15 years of leadership experience across consulting, construction, technology, and eCommerce, Monique Cotton has led large-scale transformation projects at global firms like Deloitte and eBay, scaled a construction business to a multi-million-dollar turnover, and founded and exited a patented tech company that expanded across three international markets. “Travel has been the greatest teacher in resilience and presence. Professionally, I learned how to walk into a room full of strangers and build trust fast. Personally, it gave me the sharpest contrast – when you spend half your life ‘on’, you learn to savour the ‘off’. I appreciate stillness more because I’ve lived the chaos.”
Published August 2025
As a travelling musician, singer-songwriter and creative entrepreneur (based in Texas, USA), Alissa Musto performs for audiences around the world – singing and playing piano at piano bars, resorts, casinos, and on cruise ships. “It’s not always glamorous, but it is deeply fulfilling and sustainable. It’s also made me reevaluate what success looks like. I no longer measure it in job titles or how many hours I work – it’s about balance, freedom, creativity, and how aligned my daily life feels with who I am. I have come to believe there’s no one ‘right’ way to do life or career. If travel is something you love, it doesn’t have to wait until retirement – it can be part of the journey.”
Published July 2025
Solo travel has been a part of Kathy Ozakovic’s life since her first overseas trip to Europe at 20 years old. “Looking back, I am amazed that my mother let me go. It required trust in her own parenting style. However, I see how it was a crucial step towards me being brave enough now to travel and step into new roles. Having already experienced what it’s like to drop yourself into a new country, new city, and pick up a map at the airport, ask for directions and support, I have trained my body to adapt to the stress and fear of the unknown.”
Published June 2025
As an ex-paramedic who used to live in Papua New Guinea, and who speaks Tok Pisin (an English creole language spoken throughout Papua New Guinea), Annie Alexander is passionate about “… sharing first aid and basic medical knowledge with people in remote villages across Papua New Guinea. I’m able to explain these life-saving skills in their own everyday language, directly within the community through simple, hands-on conversations and demonstrations.”
Published June 2025
For most of her adult life, Jo Hayes has been “… very independent and adventurous, keen to explore new things, and experience places and cultures beyond ‘the norm’. And I’ve long been super happy to fly solo. People often see me as an extrovert because so much of my work is in a public capacity with lots of ‘presenting’, and I’m very confident in that role … plus, I’m very social and conversational, but in reality I’m a true introvert. I love and need my alone time. Solo travel is a bliss bomb for me.”
Published June 2025
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Departures
Transitions
Fellow Travellers