Anna Meryt Writings: 2025

Solo travelling - does and don'ts

I've been solo travelling for over 20 years, so I know a thing or two about going it alone. Much of my travel has taken me across various African countries—Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa, Kenya, Gambia, Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco. Outside Africa, I’ve explored Indonesia, Bali, Perth in Australia (great backpack hostels), Tenerife, the Canary Islands, and more.
I was born in Zimbabwe but grew up mainly in Wales. After Wales, Africa is where I feel most at home. My solo journey began around 2002, after my husband and I parted the ways. I've had various male partners since then, but for different reasons, they couldn’t join me. Back then, I kept in touch with loved ones via Skype—usually from an internet café. These days, of course, it’s all about WhatsApp.
I actually prefer travelling alone. I love that feeling of arriving at an airport and seeing people from all over the world, all nationalities, heading off to different destinations. I’m not beholden to anyone—I can browse the shops, sit in a café and read my Kindle, or pull out my laptop. I always travel with my 11 or 12-inch laptop.
When I travelled through Africa, I’d send email updates to friends and family and post stories on Facebook. (You can find some of them on my website ameryt.com—click the ‘Travel Writing’ tab.)

In the early days, I'd find the nearest internet cafe, click on to their wifi and sit there with my laptop, writing. I have also travelled to the Philippines, Turkey, Portugal and America (New York). Turkey doesn't have backpack hostels(cheap apartments) and I'd be dubious in America (hotels are best) with all the gun crime. Some European countries don't do backpack places - then it's over to Airbnb.

Then there's the UK - I have often driven down to the south coast from London to escape city life and take in the sea and countryside. I generally stay at Youth Hostels (YHA) - cheap, comfortable, warm (in winter) and safe for lone females. The advantage of the UK youth hostels (and don't be put off by the word 'youth', you get all age groups at the YHA) - there are plenty of male and female travellers who go for many reasons, not just holiday breaks. And if you're thinking, 'Oh no - big dormitories', forget it. Female (and male) dorms usually have 4-6 beds. In dorms, I've bonded with many women over the years, while we swap travellers' tales or life experiences. YHA hostels also have single rooms you can book or outside cabins, campsites and parking for camper vans. Sadly, many YHAs have closed down for cost-cutting reasons in the last couple of years and some have stopped taking solo travellers - only groups.

The best thing about all hostels, whether here or abroad, is that they have shared kitchens and microwaves - you can cook up a stew or a stir fry with your own ingredients (in the UK, I take a cooler bag) or put a ready meal in the microwave. Nowadays too, YHA's usually provide basic cooked meals if you don't like cooking. There's also a communal lounge and bar if you want company in the evening.

For me, Cape Town is my favourite place for backpacker hostels. In Cape Town alone, there are about 26 to choose from and because labour is cheap in South Africa (unlike here), their reception desks are usually open 24/7. They're safe for lone travellers - usually have 12-foot fences and sturdy gates and full-time security staff - so while it's fine to walk around the main beaches and shopping areas (The Waterfront is the main one - full of bars restaurants, shops) during the day, it's probably best to be in your hostel by nightfall - unless you get (a very cheap) Uber to where you want to go. Or you can sit in the bar or lounge and talk to fellow travellers. Everyone is very friendly.

At the Cape Town Waterfront, 2 hour boat trips on catamarans are reasonably priced - you should see dolphins, seals and penguins - maybe the odd whale in the distance. The coastline from Table Mountain along a mountain range called the Twelve Apostles is spectacular if you drive or bus it.

✅ Dos for Solo Travelling

Do some research about your destination: It's fun finding out the local customs .... but also check out laws, and areas it's better to avoid. Backpack hostels usually have group day trips too, you can book when you get there. It’s always safer in a strange place to go with a group.
Share your journey plans before you leave with those at home: Check in every few days by WhatsApp or SMS.
Pack light: As a solo traveller, I usually bring a minimum amount of clothes - a few shorts, and a couple of T-shirts, plus a couple of wraps, one warm sweatshirt, 1-2 pairs of cotton trousers, underwear, a couple of swim things and a lightweight towel. A sun hat, sun glasses. You can buy your toiletries there. Don’t bring big suitcases of stuff – the trick is to have only bags(wheelies or backpacks) that you can carry on your own. You’re independent then.
Trust your instincts: If something feels off, remove yourself from the situation and walk quickly to the nearest hotel, security guard, shop, whatever.
Here's an example, I was in a small seaside town not far from Cape town, walking down the main street. A man appeared on my right asking me the time. I glanced to the left and another man was keeping pace with us. I also saw I was about to pass a petrol station - they always have security guards on duty - I turned and walked quickly in and over to the guard. I looked behind - the two guys had melted away. I explained what had happened to the guard and asked him the way to the internet cafe. He insisted on taking me there in person. I gave him 10 Rand (about a pound or a dollar).
Keep copies of important documents: Passport, ID, insurance—digital and paper printed.
Blend in: Dress appropriately if you're a woman - in moslem countries that means women wear long trousers or skirts, NEVER shorts and keep their arms and shoulders covered – otherwise they think youre a Western loose woman). And keep a low profile in public areas.
Be open to meeting people: I'm someone who talks to anyone anywhere - you can open a conversation easily by commenting on the weather, the area, the time, ask directions - anything. Social interaction is important - but sometimes you have to make the first move.
Have backup plans: For transport, money, and communication.

❌ Don'ts for Solo Travelling

Don’t ignore safety precautions: As a solo in Africa, I’d say don’t go out at night, unless you’re with a group and going by taxi. Stay in your hostel after dark otherwise.
Don’t overshare personal details: Be cautious with strangers and on social media. Protect your privacy.
Don’t rely solely on your phone: Carry a physical map or guidebook. What if there’s no Wi-Fi?
Don’t carry all your money in one place: Split it between bags and pockets. Keep an emergency credit card hidden somewhere.
Limit alcohol while on your own: A friend of mine had a traumatic experience in Turkey after drinking alone at a bar and walking back to her hotel alone. She didn’t feel safe reporting it t and ended her trip early. It was a stark reminder to stay alert and limit alcohol when travelling solo.
Stay alert and in control.
Do not ever skip travel insurance: It’s essential for emergencies even if youre fit and healthy, accidents happen - what if you broke an ankle or had a scooter or car accident and had to be airlifted home?
British people often feel compelled to be polite: But as a solo traveller, you’re not obliged to talk to everyone who approaches you. Some people are expert “tourist groomers”—trust your instincts.
Be sensitive and careful about local traditions and etiquette. In many Muslim countries, it’s respectful for women to dress modestly which helps avoid unwanted attention. I've seen this flouted by European women - locals will judge you harshly and give you scant respect. For men, some countries have an unspoken rule about eye contact between the genders - it's avoided.

· Best not to leave valuables unattended. Even in seemingly safe places. In the UK, I might ask a sensible-looking person nearby to watch my laptop while I pop to the loo. Abroad, I follow my instincts and chat briefly first. Remember, in places where poverty is extreme, tourists are easy targets.

Don’t rush: Give yourself time to absorb the experience. Constantly snapping photos means you're seeing everything through a lens. Look around first, enjoy the atmosphere, then take pictures. Staying alert also helps you avoid opportunistic crime.

In 20+ years of solo travel, I’ve only had two serious incidents:

Mugged in Zimbabwe (2003): A man leapt from an alley. No one helped—later I learned locals feared retaliation from gang leaders. I was with two local women, one carrying a baby. We fought him off and he fled.
Scammed at a cashpoint in Hermanus, South Africa: I’d been browsing a market and wasn’t alert. They followed me, stole my card, and withdrew £300. I got it back eventually, but it was a palaver.

Aside from those incidents, I’ve travelled safely by staying alert, choosing secure hostels, shopping in malls, and walking where others are around. I’ve had incredible adventures, met amazing people, and made lifelong friends across the globe. I’m still travelling—and I can’t wait for the next adventure.

_______________________________________________

Some of my books on Amazon -

A Hippotamus at the Table - a memoir set in S Africa 1975-8

Catching the Breeze - 2025 latest poetry collection

Jumping Free - my poems from Not a Bad Word 23rd Sept 2025

These are poems I performed at the above event - so, here it is Jumping Free - written towards the end of a 10-year off/on relationship with a guy from Barbados. He eventually went back to Barbados to care for his aging mother with dementia ... long story.

Jumping Free

Winding track up the mountain

through the forest of dusty pines.

I stare out as if suspended,

my past dragging behind.

I talked to you, but you didn’t hear;

I waited for you so long, but you fell behind;

I watched through mists and windows

but my picture faded and

you couldn’t see me anymore.

The track winds up, cutting through rock

I glimpse the sky lapis blue and shiver in the shadow.

Is this it at last? The time to jump?

No another bend and another...

Above an eagle circles,

as the clock slows, as my life unfurls,

'like nothing ever mattered'...

I see it coming now, the final bend;

all that’s left is jumping...

Will my orange wings catch the breeze;

float me over the shimmering sea far below?

‘Run’, my guide says, ‘run into the air,

and then sit back and feel

Allah’s breathe upon your face’.

See me there drifting over the hills, hazed in blue;

time shimmers and stops

as I swoop over the pale turquoise lagoon.

Now I’m swooning, the sky turns me upside-down.

Hold steady, don’t flash back, time suspends

as I soar over the sparkling water,

arc around where the red crescent leads

to land softly on the new road ahead.

Anna Meryt

13//5/2010

....................................................................................................

Cutting through eternity

The time of trees is measured

in rings

and rocks are stratified

in layers

Cut a slice of me

and see if my time

is visible there -

in brains and veins and bones

or will the search

for ordered patterns of time

kill me

Anna Meryt ©

May 2005

I think this got a runner up (or something) in a Forward poetry competion 20+ years ago

Purple prose

PURPLE PROSE

Many years ago, when my ex-husband was living and working in Indonesia, he asked me to give feedback on a draft novel by a would-be sci-fi writer he knew. It was well written in parts, but my only real feedback was: too much purple prose.

I never found out whether he finished the book, or whether he took my advice to improve his style. But purple prose has stuck in my mind ever since. You may already know what it is, or you may be wondering — but if you’re a writer, it’s something you’ll want to avoid.

Simply put, purple prose happens when the style overwhelms the story. Instead of keeping things clean and direct, the writer drowns the sentence in ornate adjectives and overblown metaphors.

For example:

Simple: She opened the window to smell the sea breeze.

Purple: Her slender hand clicked the gilded latch, the window swung open and a blast of pure ozone assailed her wide nostrils.

You get the idea. The straight-forward action gets buried under decoration.

It shows up in speech too. You say you’re going for a walk, and someone

replies, “That sounds absolutely amazing, have a truly wonderful, glorious walk!” A bit much for a stroll in the park.

So why do writers do it? Often because they think it will make their work sound “literary” or impressive. In fact, the opposite is true. Purple prose buries meaning, slows the pace, and risks losing the reader’s attention.

It interrupts the flow of your story.

What’s the cure?

One good method is to read your work aloud, preferably in a writers’ group. You’ll soon hear which sentences flow — and which stumble under their own weight. Others’ feedback helps too: 'Does this serve the story, or just the sentence?' is a useful question to keep in mind.

That said, lush description isn’t always bad. Fantasy, gothic, and romance sometimes benefit from a little stylistic excess. The trick is to know when you’re enhancing the mood — and when you’re smothering it.

As a poet, I frequently see the same issue in the work of new poets. I run a monthly poetry event and I'm a performance poet with 3 published collections.

(Not a Bad Word — next one 23rd September @ The Old Dairy, N8, if you’re in London).

Beginners sometimes send me poems filled with flowery, over-lyrical descriptions of nature or emotions. It makes me smile, because we’ve all been there.

In poetry and prose alike, restraint is powerful. Pare down each line. Focus on rhythm — not rhyme — on structure and sound. Most adjectives are unnecessary. Strong nouns and verbs will always do the heavy lifting for you.

So beware the purple prose trap. Keep your writing spare, simple, and clear. Your readers will thank you for it.

CHAOS THEORY

Chaos theory

It's how tiny changes in anything can build into massive effects. Like a butterfly's wing flapping in Mexico can build into a tornado in Taiwan (that's the popular understanding). A better example is how tiny changes in atmospheric conditions can make accurate long-term weather forecasting almost impossible.

'Small differences amplify over time, making prediction hard.' That quote is from ChatGPT - and I think it's the easiest-to-understand explanation.

You see it in Back to the Future movies quite a bit. McFly has to be careful what he does if he goes back to the past, because if he meddles with events, the future he returns to can change drastically - not always for the better.

I was telling my cousin/niece about a friend and saying this person had a chaotic lifestyle. 'They sound great', she said. 'I love chaos, I even love the word 'chaos'.

I turned and looked at her in surprise. Most of us claim to prefer peace and quiet. We meditate to be mindful and calm. We moan to our friends when our lives descend into chaos. But here she was saying the opposite. She clearly liked the excitement and drama of chaos. Her life is often chaotic. She faces challenges that most of us would avoid at all costs - her partner has a life-threatening condition. Daily, they live on the edge. Her daughter and grandchildren are neurodivergent and very challenging to deal with sometimes. It runs through the family. So I guess for them chaos is normal.

Chaos also means unpredictable; you never know what's going to happen next. The rest of us though, think we can pin things down, keep everything the same, to keep chaos away from us. Another friend told me about her house hunting and my attempt to get her to think more positively about her chances of finding just what she wants - 'Yes but that's not reality is it? The reality is .... blah blah blah.

I tried to get her to stop predicting the all bad future and think maybe the property she wants is going to come to her, very soon. She's had a difficult few months and tends to predict the future based on the past. Which is what we all do sometimes, isn't it? But stop. Think about it. How many times have your nay-saying, doom and gloom predictions suddenly switched and a different scenario that you hadn't expected at all suddenly appeared? Just when you'd given up all hope?

Daily life is totally unpredictable, isn't it? So maybe my cousin's right, we should embrace chaos in our lives and stop trying to force things to be predictable. We're all going to die, aren't we? And yet we spend our lives ignoring, denying and pushing away that rather large piece in the jigsaw of our lives. One great Buddhist teacher used to make his followers go meditate in the charnel grounds (in India), that's the place where bodies are burnt on large, elaborate funeral pyres. It was his attempt to get them to face the most unpredictable event of our lives over which we have virtually no control. Look death in the face and tell me you want your life to be predictable.

Here's a poem I wrote about this topic a year or 2 ago. When you approach 70, you realise that most of your life is over and you have to start thinking about how much longer you've got. This one is relating to that -

When it’s my turn

When they come knocking

I think I’ll be surprised

I think I’ll answer the door

and say ‘Oh is it time already?

I think I’ll say ‘but I’ve still got things to do.

I have to finish a project or two.

Are you sure I have to go now?

Are you saying it’s too late?

Are you saying it has to be now?

Not any other time in the future?

You’re not joking are you?

This isn’t some scam?

You actually mean now.

But my friends will be upset

My daughters will be upset

My grandsons will be upset.

I don’t think I want to go now.

What do you mean ‘no choice’?

But where will I go? Who will I see?

Oh my Dad, my gran, even my Mum

will be waiting for me?

My beloved friends Val and Steph

will be waiting for me

They will hold my invisible hands

and guide me through the transition?

But hang on a minute ….

______________________________________

I'm not trying to depress you. It's just that my beloved cousin/niece got me thinking about chaos and all our futile attempts to push it away from us. She who lives in the middle of struggle and chaos seems to have found a way to embrace it, even to enjoy it. Life is unpredictable, isn't it? That's reality.

*Catching the Breeze: A poetry collection: Amazon.co.uk: Meryt, Anna: 9781916369771: Books

CROUCH END FESTIVAL - POETRY EVENT JUNE 15th 5-7 pm

CROUCH END FESTIVAL

15th June 2025 - Crouch End/Hornsey Library

5pm to 7pm

Poets Line up:

5pm: Anna Meryt - Event Intro

Listed poets:

Two young poets

Anna Meryt

Viv Fogel

David Floyd

Martyn Crucefix

Christine Evangelou

Mozibur Ullah

Ayshe Gül

Hannah Geraldine Dyson

Ayfer Orhan

Adriana Polifrone

Christine Vial

Abe Gibson

Thanks - Ayfer Orhan

NABW session ends: 6:45 pm

NOT A BAD WORD Tues June 17th 7.30 pm The Old Dairy, Stroud Green, London, N4

Here's the poet line-up for next Tues 17th June and I think you'll agree there's some fascinating and diverse talent. And of course there's YOU, our lovely amazing and always interesting Open mic performers - it'll be a blast as always.

Shanta Acharya is launching her latest poetry collection. She already has many publishing accolades to her name, so we're delighted to have her in Not A Bad Word.

Shanta Acharya has the rare achievement of being published in fields as diverse as poetry, literary criticism, fiction and finance. Educated in India, the UK and the USA, she has lived and worked in all three countries. Widely travelled, Shanta brings a global perspective to her work.

Ian Johnson (born 1961),^[1] known by his Dharma name Maitreyabandhu, is a British Buddhist writer and poet who lives and works at the London Buddhist Centre.^[2] He has written a number of books on Buddhism. His poetry has been published by Bloodaxe and awarded the Keats-Shelley Prize^[3] and the Geoffrey Dearmer Award.^[1]

Sue Johns originates from Cornwall where she started performing as a punk poet, in the 1980’s. Publications include Hush (Morgan’s Eye Press 2011), Rented, Poems on Prostitution and Dependency (Palewell Press, 2018) and Track Record (Dempsey & Windle, 2021)

About – Sue Johns Poet & Performer

Grace Farren poet - model, singer, poet and fashion stylist; Grace Farren. She seems to rock absolutely every item of Raised in a Circus apparel that we put her in and is amazing at styling the most stunning looks. If you want to get in touch with her you can do so via Instagram @graceelenafarren

Book Launch - Catching the Breeze - Fri 9th May 2025

I'm delighted to invite you to the launch of my brand new poetry collection - Catching the Breeze which is happening tomorrow Friday 9th May at the All Good Bookshop, 35 Turnpike Lane, London, N8 0EP at 7 pm.

What to expect

Live poetry readings, bookshop orders, signed copies, good company and conversation,.

I'll be thrilled to see you there and to celebrate this launch together. Please feel free to bring a friend (or a bottle) there'll be some wine available, but do bring some or whatever you like to drink.

Oh and share this with anyone who loves poetry.

Warm wishes

Anna Meryt

NOT A BAD WORD - POETRY AND MUSIC EVENT - APRIL 15TH 2025

What a night!

Our NOT A BAD WORD poetry event last night in Stroud Green, North London was a beautiful success — full house, warm energy, and powerful voices.

We had 12 great Open Mic-ers including well known poets like Martyn Crucefix, Viv Fogel, David Floyd (always so droll), Christine Vial and others of all levels of experience. It was full of varied and interesting poetry performances and a generations old song from Buddhist friend Sumana.

In the second half ( experienced, booked poets), Maggie Butts opened with her new collection book launch 'Wish', followed by lovely nature poems from Joan Curtis, a short story from Frenchman Bernard Golfier and Stuart Handysides, a former GP, performing an interesting poem called A Memory of Water. Ayfer Orhan, co-host for the event read a lovely poem about a robin, and I did a couple of poems too - one about the day I saw a whale - The Leviathan - soon to be published in my new collection - Catching the Breeze (Tambourine Press) launch day May 9@ The All Good Bookshop Turnpike Lane, 7 pm.

This morning Maggie Butt sent me this lovely comment about the eve -

'This has to be the most lovely and welcoming poetry venue in north London.'

How kind.

Thank you to everyone who came, listened, performed, and supported. Events like these remind us why we write, why we share, and why words matter.

#PoetryEvent #MaggieButt #SpokenWord #EventSuccess #PoetryCommunity #WritersLife