In partnership with Intrepid
Ridin Solo: Solo Trippin Through Sri Lanka with Intrepid
Sometimes, we need stress-free travel—without having to wait on friends to organise dates or agree on a destination.
Jide Maduako aka Saint Jidz has amassed hundreds and thousands of followers with his insightful tips for inclusive, diverse travel. He’s brought the mandem together on epic trips from Everest to Kilimanjaro but also relishes travel without the stress of coordinating dates and organising the gang.
So, when Intrepid proposed going alone on a trip with other solo travellers in Sri Lanka, he figured: why not?
Stepping out of his comfort zone, Jide joined a group of young strangers to explore some of Asia’s most wondrous sites; from sacred Buddhist temples to bustling fish markets.
He tells Trippin his honest reflections on a trip that pushed him to discover more—not just about himself, but about the very form of travel.
"If you go on a solo trip, the key thing is to be open-minded."
What was the first thing you got up to on your trip?
We first stopped at a fish market in Colombo. I met a fish trader who talked through the process of drying out the fish. It was a different kind of world because people worked so early to make their bread and butter. It was beautiful to see.
"Everyone is respectful and wants to get to know new people."
What was your group like?
It was a good mix in terms of age group, from 22-year-olds to 34-year-olds. Some had been solo travelling for a while and signed up for the Sri Lanka trip to take their hands off the wheel and be part of a tour, whereas others were on their annual holidays.
At the beginning, you’re not really in subgroups but as the trip evolves you’ve found your tribe a bit, which I think is beautiful.
So now you’re at Dambulla. What did you get up to there?
We went to an elephant sanctuary, which is probably one of the better animal experiences that I’ve had on my travels. There’s thousands of elephants, we were there for two hours and we saw nearly thirty elephants up close! Elephants walk on the roads in Dambulla, just like we see foxes in London. Cars just drive right up close to them and they are mad chill.
Any culinary highlights?
We went to a local spot where the food was mad spicy! We had a roti with egg, some curries, nothing too heavy in meat. Really authentic Sri Lankan cuisine, where it’s tradition to eat rice with your hands.
Could the group handle their spice?
Yeah they could! One of the guys was there because he’d eaten at a Sri Lankan restaurant in London and it inspired him want to visit the country.
What were other people's motivations for solo travelling?
People had seen Sri Lanka online. Some people had already travelled to more touristy places like Vietnam and Philippines; in Sri Lanka the tourism industry isn't as built out. With Intrepid you get chaperoned everywhere so you can switch off, but it still feels authentic.
Did you have guides with you the whole time?
One guide, Chimonda, was with us the whole time. She was proper cool and good at her job.
After Dambulla we went to the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy, and we got there quite early. The guide was good at getting us places early before they got too overcrowded.
What were some other highlights of your trip?
There’s a 7-hour train ride from Kandy to Ella. The train technology was brought to Sri Lanka by the British in the 1900s to transport tea, so it goes through tea country, which is unreal—something for the bucket list. Tea is an important industry for Sri Lanka—it has the world’s best. The tracks are also important for the locals, who use it for a commute.
It's sick because the doors are open, so you can hang out of the train and get to live life on the edge. When you pass waterfalls, the train slows down. My advice is to get second class tickets like we did; in first class the doors are locked and you can't hang out.
Seven hours is long, obviously the train offers beautiful surroundings—but did the group do anything to pass the time?
It was a good time to sign out and have alone time. For two or three hours of the train ride I had music in my ears and looked outside to take in the experience.
The group was cool, everyone respects each other's alone time.
What did the experience teach you about how you approach travel?
Travelling is about who you do it with, even more than where you go. But it’s also about coming out of your comfort zone and learning more about yourself.
I didn't go to find best friends, but rather to understand it as a new experience.
Did you learn from the others?
I feel like my group learned from me and I learned from the group. I like to ask a lot of questions and understand the history of these places, and I was generally with people who’d done a lot of research.
One guy was a big foodie who asked about recipes when we had dinner at locals’ houses. We helped prepare food. There was another guy with mad general knowledge who told me lots about animals during the safari, for example.
"You find your tribe as the trip evolves, which I think is beautiful."
What were other stand out moments?
At dinner we shared some good moments. I’m 6’6 and black, so often people assume I’m in the sports industry. It shows that, as a Black man, people often see you in one light. I'm an entrepreneur, I’ve built businesses, but people don't assume that.
So, I was explaining this assumption to the German guy in the group who wasn’t part of my culture. He listened and actually digested my world perspective without a blasé response. So that was cool, one of the most human parts of the trip.
Any last comments?
It was a robust experience. Our guide worked her socks off and put in her heart and soul. I can’t speak more highly of her.
If you go on a solo trip, the key thing is to be open-minded. If you are there with people who are different from you, appreciate the value of learning about diverse types of upbringings. Despite people coming from different backgrounds, you actually find you have more in common than you think.
Another plus is just being able to have some personal time, question about what you want in life and what you want to achieve, while counting on the security of being in a group.
