For years，decades in fact，I’ve puzzled over the response most people have when I tell them I mostly travel alone.
"You’re so brave!"
Why is it that a woman travelling alone，as I have often done for months at a time，is perceived to be "brave"，whereas men who travel alone are entirely unremarkable？
You are only brave when you are afraid of something but still do it anyway.I have never been afraid of travelling alone.
The first time I travelled alone was when I was 19.I was due to travel in Europe with a friend at the end of the summer.She announced by letter two days before our departure that she would be leaving me halfway at Vienna.It was too late by then to rope in another friend，so it was either to go home after Vienna，or keep going by myself.I kept going.I got on trains by myself，checked into hostels by myself and found my way around by myself.It was weird at first，but later I stopped worrying about it.
When I got back to Ireland after that trip，I felt proud of myself.I had done something I had assumed would be hard，and it had turned out to be not hard at all.
That was three decades ago，and since then I have travelled all over the world，usually on my own.I still do what I did then，which is to keep a diary.The greatest gift of solo travel has been those I’ve met along the way.I may have set off alone each time but I’ve encountered many people who became important to me.I met my husband in Kathmandu，Nepal.I met lifelong friends in Australia，Poland，Hungary，Turkey，India，Indonesia and many other places.

What makes the author puzzled when she tells people of her experience?（）