One Night in Bangkok and The World's Your Oyster

In the summer of 2009, after a seemingly infinite wait, I graduated from high school. Within a week of graduation, despite the swine flu epidemic, despite my mother's not-quite-yes, not-quite-no hesitations of letting me go, and despite the fact that I hadn't even bought my ticket until a mere 12 hours before our flight, my P.I.C (Partner In Crime) - Charlie Pringle - and I set off on our "soul search". 

Thailand: The Land of Smiles (although our smiles were covered by H1N1 busting face masks). Two best friends, two backpacks, two pairs of trainers, eight bikinis, two pairs of sunnies, two packs of Marlboro Lights, and a bottle of hand sanitizer - we were ready. We let time guide us through our days as we arrived in Bangkok with only a roughly jotted down plan. Without anyone's help - except for our Lonely Planet Travel Guide - we faced the world hand-in-hand, completely free and independent from mummy and daddy (although their money did come along with us). With excitement, fear, and hope rushing through our veins, Charlie and I set off as free as we had ever been before. We hadn't booked any form of transportation or accommodation in Thailand nor had we even booked a returning flight back home. To be honest, at the time I was terrified. I felt helpless and out of control against the complete lack of structure or regularity that tried to break off the shackles of my own dispositions. Losing all conceptions of planning, timing, and rules left me feeling like a small child overshadowed by the unknown towering before us; but when I look back on our time "soul searching" in Thailand, it is that feeling of total liberation that I continuously long for. I am forever appreciative of those two weeks in Thailand where I existed without a plan, simply content to be alongside my best friend, where I learnt to let myself be and face the unknown as an enticing jewel of countless dimensions rather than a dark room of intimidations. Trying to figure out how to read a map, taking endless walks around the outskirts of Bangkok, linking arms and feeling comforted in moments of fear, and learning to just lay still, listen to the waves, and feel the sun sensually envelope my skin... Today, overwhelmed by nostalgia, I look back at the memories from those two weeks that went by almost two years ago.  

Late Night Tuk Tuk Rides in Bangkok

The Grand Palace
This is probably my favourite photo of us

The Grand Palace

On the Sleeper Train from Bangkok to Surat Thani
Me with that book I couldn't stop reading:
'The 5 People You Meet In Heaven'

The Sleeper Train
Everyone else had gone to bed

An Out of Service Sleeper Train
Opposite where we sat writing in our journals

Ferry rides where Charlie spent most of her time
devising a survival plan in case of an emergency

Our Boozy Little Friend in Railay

Tonsai at Night
We lay under the night sky,
looking up at this majestic sight as we
listened to the waves crash in the darkness

A Local Fisherman on a Rock

The World Through Sweet Eyes

Photos by Charlie Pringle & Jenny Moon

Editing by Jenny Moon