TRAVELING ALONE HAD BEEN at the top of my bucket list for a long time— partly because I’ve been burned by someone backing out of a trip in the final hour. (We had been planning a birthday adventure to Jamaica for months before my cousin revealed her fear of flying. We ended up on the Jersey Shore—nice, but not Jamaica.) And partly because I am very into the idea of doing vacay my way. No compromises, no seeing sights that don’t interest me, no worrying about slowing people down. I’ve imagined