People often say I’m crazy. I’ve always been the type of
person to seek opportunities, always looking for something new to look forward
to and to enhance my routine life. Whilst at college part time and working part
time, my energy was utilised to its fullest. Although I feel like I have pretty
good time management skills, I was feeling as though, I had no time at all left
to manage. Each part of my day would be taken up by sleeping, eating, working
and college work. It was when I received my offer and a scholarship at the
University of Leeds that I believed my hard work had truly paid off. Whilst
apprehensive about the challenges that would lie in the years ahead, the
excitement overrode these. It was sometime within that year, after receiving my
conditional offer that I decided to embark on a new journey.
It had always been a dream of mine to visit Thailand. As a
child, I had often been on holidays to various countries, so adapting to
culture was engraved in me. Whilst I was at a time where I could easily take a
month out of my usual life, with college coming to an end and work commitments
slowing down, none of my friends were. I cannot remember what exactly pushed me
to make such a decision but I remember one day, searching the internet and
within a few hours of weighing up the pros and cons, I had a flight booked. On
my own, yes, this is the part that people always think I’m crazy! But I wasn’t
scared, maybe my fear was masked by excitement but not at one moment did I feel
scared. I purposely arrived with minimal knowledge of the country, I had not
read a travel guide or planned areas of the country that I wanted to visit, I
took more of a ‘learn from the experiences of people I meet’ approach.
Basically, relying on pure strangers to direct my journey.
As the days approached before my trip, I was in contact with
a handful of people arriving on the same date as me. I had booked a 7 day tour
which started in Bangkok and ended in Koh Phangan, from there I was free to
explore whatever took my fancy. To give you a brief description of my most memorable
part of my journey, I will just say ‘every single second’. But, seriously, I still get excited feelings
now thinking back to the memories I made with the wonderful people I met. From
exploring the beautiful tranquil national parks of Khao Sok Lake and the maybe
not so tranquil but categorically beautiful Maya Bay, I knew Thailand had gained
a place in my heart. Although our backpacker style £2/3/4 a night accommodation
was budget and the idea of a ‘warm shower’ was a luxury and air con was just
unheard of, all the menial things seemed irrelevant when waking up to such
beautiful views, culture and beaches. Winding down on a sea front bar watching
the sunset across the beautiful shore of Koh Phi Phi is a moment I could relive
every day and never get bored.
I have to say, I met some wonderful people who really opened
up my eyes. In general, the whole trip opened my eyes and reminded me that
there is a wonderful world out there to enjoy. Whatever take you have on life,
whatever life you wish to lead, no matter how you enjoy your free time, there
is a more to the world than the place you live in, don’t live a stationary
life. From that moment on, I decided that at whatever chance I saw possible
(where I didn’t have commitments and money wasn’t a constraint), I would take
all chances to explore more of the world.
Until the next adventure…
