'I was excited to travel alone. Then I almost died alone.'

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When Anna Sherchand set off to travel alone for the first time, she wasn't just trying to escape the country, she was escaping her life.

"I felt suffocated by my life back home," she told Mamamia. "In the beginning, it was less about seeing the world and more about escaping myself and finding my own voice."

For a while, solo travel delivered exactly what she hoped it would: independence, adventure and a sense of control.

Watch: Your must-pack travel essentials. Post continues after video.

"I felt invincible. Like a character in a movie," she said.

But then, things took a turn. It was 2020, and COVID had just begun to spread across the world.

Following a long hike in Peru, Anna became violently ill. Alone in a remote hostel, she lost her voice, was unable to eat, and was confined to bed for weeks. Sixteen hours away from the nearest proper hospital, Anna felt herself fading.

Anna hiking in Peru. Image: Supplied.

Anna had COVID, but the most terrifying part wasn't the virus itself, it was the fact that she was completely alone.

"It wasn't just a sore throat and fever, it was a paralysing fear. I felt like I was dying alone."

Anna's only lifeline was technology. She used Google Translate to tell the hostel owner that she feared for her life. He returned with an unlabelled pill, but Anna felt she had no other choice but to take it.

"It broke the illusion of control," Anna said. "Before that, I thought my planning, my budget, and my insurance made me safe. When I realised I could die right there, completely alone, with no one to call for help, I was forced to face my own mortality.

"It was the deepest, darkest fear — the fear of my life ending without anyone knowing or caring."

On top of the physical and emotional pain, Anna took a huge financial hit, thanks to non-refundable flights, enforced hotel quarantine, and unplanned medical expenses.

After her recovery, Anna continued on her travels until she reached India. Following weeks of non-stop travel, she boarded an eight-hour bus tour. Leaning against the rattling window, she tried to rest. But by the time the bus pulled into their destination, her body was failing her.

"I couldn't stand up straight," Anna recalled. "The pain was so intense I felt like I was 100 years old, forced to lean on the back of chairs just to stay upright."

Anna was rushed to a hospital in the middle of the night and spent hours waiting to see a doctor.

"I received a sudden injection. I still have no idea what it was, and a bizarre instruction to sleep on a hard, flat surface."

These experiences cost Anna all her savings. But Anna was more concerned about her worst fear becoming a reality.

"It is the ultimate fear of the solo traveller," she said, recalling how afraid she was that she would die alone, far away from her loved ones.

"It wasn't just the fear of physical death, it was the fear of being forgotten or dismissed. That my life would end in a dorm room thousands of miles away, and the people who love me wouldn't find out until days later or maybe never."

She believes the idea of solo travel as an act of empowerment is fraught with danger, especially for women.

"There's a massive pressure, especially on social media, for women to present solo travel as this flawless, empowering, 'Eat, Pray, Love' experience," she said.

"I often felt like I couldn't share the terror or the tears because it would make me look weak, or worse, discourage other women."

What she lost, though, Anna says she gained in resilience.

"Isolation forced me to become my own doctor, my own advocate, and my own comfort," she said. "The resilience came from the absolute guarantee that if I didn't save myself, no one else would.

"I was so proud of being self-sufficient, but these crises taught me that my life literally depended on accepting the kindness of strangers."

Want to learn more about solo travelling as a female? Read these next:

• 'I'm calling it: This is the perfect destination for women travelling alone.'

• 'I'm a serial solo female traveller. Here are 7 things you should know before heading off alone.'

• 'I design women's holidays for a living. Here's my advice for women travelling solo.'

Feature image: Supplied.