You can venture to every corner of the planet.
Eat weird and wacky cuisines.
Experience cultures that blow your mind.
Feel extreme climates – from being so cold your eyes freeze shut to being so hot you have to lie in the freezer in 7-11 (true story).
You can see landscapes, temples and numerous other things that take your breath away.

You can do all of these things when you travel. But in reality, what really makes the experience, what really creates the memories of your adventures are the people you meet. The people are key. Because in the shittest hostels, on the worst tours, on the long journeys, on the homesick, lonely days it’s the people that get you through.

You can be in paradise and it will be amazing.
You can be in paradise with fantastic people and it will be beyond amazing.

You can be on that boring tour in torrential rain and it will be dire.
You can be on that boring tour in torrential rain with people full of bants and it will be dire but it may become a memory you treasure.

You can be on a farm in the blistering heat picking mouldy eggplants with severe back ache and zero tolerance for life. But throw your fellow co workers in there and you can find the energy to laugh. Find the desire to smile and make it through the next 7 hours. Find the energy to thank your lucky stars that you were given your fellow eggplant girls to make emotional but ever lasting memories with. You can find the energy to appreciate that in your 4 months of farm work you have created a bond with these people that will last a lifetime. A bond that no one else can ever understand.

I’ve been lucky, I’ve had one of my favourite people by my side but it’s been the ‘other’ people we’ve met that have made our travels. We’ve met people who’ve become friends for life, people who we’ve travelled with for months, people who have come back a year later and travelled with us again (and hopefully will continue to meet us in various locations). We’ve met people we still speak to regularly, people we’ve visited months later in other countries and we’ve met people who we will never see again. People who’s names we can’t remember and people who’s names we never even knew.

But to all of these people, thank you.
All of these people have made our travels.

For example the Mexican man in Udaipur who we met at the coffee shop. We never knew his name. But we liked him a lot. He told us all about the beautiful bitches (aka beaches) in Mexico. We still remember him. This was 2 years and 4 months ago. He was in our lives for a grand total of 2 hours.

And the Indian family we met on the train on the very first month of our travels. The family who fed and watered us, played cards with us and gave Lyvette a gift of earrings because she’d mentioned she wanted to buy some. The family who gave us their number and offered us help in the floods that swept through Mumbai. We remember them still, Pria and her family.

Or the non judgement crew that saved Lyvette when she was bitten by a snake (aka fell down the toilet). They cleaned her severed achilles with hand sanitiser, fed her Kingfisher beer and carried her until she got motion sickness. In fact to the entire camp site that aided her during those initial stages- post- toilet -incident. Our fellow island dwellers made these times bearable. Helped Lyvette laugh when she was in agony. Made her bamboo crutches. And created memories that made us laugh like never before in a time during which we could have been weeping.

Our crew on our East Coast Australia travels. The crew which named us the Crazy Aunts because we were old, and they were about twelve. The crew which witnessed Lyvette face planting because she was so drunk she forgot to put her hands out. The crew that witnessed me waking up wearing a completely different outift…that wasn’t mine. ‘Heather…why are you wearing my clothes? I was looking for that t shirt all morning’. I don’t know Ed, I really don’t know.

Or the Canadian girls we met on a bumpy bus journey across the Thai/Laos boarder. These girls became our friends, we met up in various countries, surfed in nappy infested waters together and drank out of buckets together. These girls will always be treasured.

Or moustache Matt. The guy we spent one day with, squatting in tunnels in Vietnam. We will never forget him, mainly because he did great seal impressions and superglued his moustache. He was part of our lives for less than 8 hours, 2 years ago, but we still talk about him. He is still a memory we treasure.

Or our friend Nitin who gave up his managerial role in India to set up a school for the children and women of the slums. Who puts all of his spare time, money and effort into these schools. Who gives back to those who are less fortunate. Who gave us a taste of the caring nature of most Indian people and who welcomed us back to his home city a year and half after we had first met him.

Or our posh mate who stalked us across Asia and joined in a riot in Malasia and bought tiny baby shoes that were so small his mother had to cut them off after his final plane journey back home. We still can’t shake this guy off. He’s like an annoying but lovable little brother who will stay with us for eternity.

Or hot Tom from north Thailand. We literally know nothing about him, except he was French. In fact, we didn’t even speak to him. But we remember him. Because he was hot. Obviously.

Or the Islanders who let us DJ when we accidently gate crashed their Xmas party at a train station in Sydney. The group of large black men who fed us pizza, let us choose their tunes and steal their vodka. The group of men who let us abandon our original plans and join in their night with no other motives than to have fun. We knew them for 1 night. And it was one of the most random and fun nights we had in Sydney.

Or my Indian family who I worked for at the Indian restaurant in Australia. They took me in, treated me like their own daughter, invited me to sleep on the restaurant floor with the other Indians during our breaks. My Indian mum and dad. They were my rocks, my guaranteed cuddles when I needed them and they quickly stole a permanent place in my heart.

Or the people we’ve worked with. The people who have welcomed us into their workplace and lives. The people who’ve made dreary days bearable. The workmates we’ve visited nudist beaches with or instigated a full on investigation into who the hell Winston from the accounts team is. The workmates who’ve bought us bedding and pj’s. Just because. These people we will never forget.

 

Or the Israeli guy we met in Rishikesh, India. We asked him for directions. He replied, ‘Well. I don’t know how to answer this but if you were a bird you’d just go straight’. Righto. But. I’m not a bird, so I can’t just go straight. Mainly because of the numerous buildings and a large river that are situated in the way. This guy entered our lives for approximately 20 seconds. And he still brings a smile to our faces.

Or the girls we bonded with over a fart in Varkala. The girls we stayed up with till all hours of the morning laughing, laughing and just laughing. Laughing about shits, vile farts, breeding mosquitos and the guy who followed us on the train. Laughing about the mistaken identity of Snoop Dogg driving a tuk tuk. Laughing at anything we could find to laugh at. Just good old belly laughs.

So you see, all of these people, and believe me there are A LOT MORE, these people have made our travels. They’ve provided us with memories that will last a lifetime. Even the bad memories we have of people have shaped our travels. We’ve met people who have become important to us, who we hope will remain part of our lives, not just our memories. We’ve met people we wished we’d spent longer with. People we regretted leaving. People who’s numbers and Facebook details we never got but wished we had. We’ve met people who didn’t pass Lyvette’s 48 hour test and had to go, people we wished didn’t have our numbers or Facebook details. But my point is this, every single one of these people added to our experience. These people have helped shape the past 2 and half years of our lives. English, Indian, Philippino, Kiwi’s, Cambodian, Aussies, French and people from so many more countries. Males and females, young and old, rich and poor. People from so many different backgrounds and cultures. People on so many different journeys. People with so many incredible experiences and stories. People who crossed our paths for varying amounts of time. People we look back on with nothing but fondness. People we met at school or uni who re-entered our lives and gave us a place to stay and welcomed us back into their lives.

To all of these people. Thank you.

You showed us what it is to travel. You showed us what it is to experience life. And you educated us in more ways than you can ever know.

You showed us that the people you meet, wherever you are in the world shape your feelings, views and experiences. You showed us that people can make lonely, dull moments bright again. You showed us that in a world full of history, dark times and tragedy people can give you faith and people can get you through difficult situations.
You showed us that people are essential. You showed us that one of the most exciting and important things about travelling is the people you meet.

And so this blog is a tribute to all of the people we’ve met. Every single one of you.

So to all those people; thank you.