Perspectives

Photography by Dimitris Asproloupos

The art of arrival

By Michael Webster

Briefly …

Arriving in an unfamiliar city is always invigorating. From airport halls to the first steps outside, our senses sharpen as we navigate new light, air, and rhythm. We asked seasoned solo travellers how they ground themselves in those early hours – from practical safety habits to mindful routines that turn arrivals into calm and confident beginnings.

Arriving in an unfamiliar new environment presents a unique array of challenges, with every sight, sound, and sensation suddenly demanding our undivided attention. We move through ‘Arrivals’ with an intoxicating combination of fatigue, curiosity, and excitement. We double-check signs and observe people – some of whom know exactly where they’re going, and others, like us, who are just finding their focus and direction. We follow the current because standing still feels louder and more helpless than moving.

Once we are outside, it is the air hits us first – dense, intense, new. People move fast, speaking a language that rolls past us in bright, often indecipherable bursts. Signs bloom overhead in shapes we possibly can’t yet comprehend. We steady just long enough to notice the city breathing – alive, restless … as though it is waiting to see what we’ll do next.

We start to recognise the rhythm – the patterns in the noise and the activity. We don’t understand the words yet, but we recognise the tone and the intention – a question, an offer, a welcome. The city no longer feels like it’s pushing us back. It moves around us, making a little space. We take another step, lighter this time, and it begins to feel less like arriving and more like beginning.

We pause just long enough to steady ourselves, then step forward. The trick is to look like we belong, even when we don’t – yet. But that’s part of the thrill – this first moment when the world feels wide open and completely ours.

We invited members of our international community of seasoned solo travellers to share their insights into managing the sensory overload that is ‘Arrival’.