rare encounters

Meeting new people is the best part of solo travelling. The different people you meet can make or break a place because it gives you different experiences. But one of the hardest parts is leaving the people you meet to venture out alone again. I didn't really understand how difficult it would be until experiencing it. I made such beautiful friends around the world and shared some amazing memories, but there was always a time for me to head off. I didn't realise how emotional I would be leaving each time, knowing they would be a chance I could never see them again. But hey, it's all part of the journey and I'm grateful I got to share the memories with them in the first place!  

The friends I’ve made travelling have given me a better appreciation of life. Proving the kindness of humankind. Showing me how easy it actually is to make a deep connection with someone. It showed me that funnily enough, someone's name is the least interesting thing about them. I could spend hours talking about life and my deepest secrets to someone without even knowing their name, well actually this happens quite often but that’s a shared trait of all travellers. Your name is no longer your name but “the girl from Mauritius or something like that” or “bus boy” and “new zealand guy” and of course “the other German girl” (because there is an insane amount of German people, Wunderbar). And I adore this. 

Where you come from and who you are at home doesn’t mean anything, we are all here to explore and collect lifelong memories. And I’ll probably never see these people again and it doesn’t matter because in that time and place, they were right where they were supposed to be, and that’s what’s magical. 

I believe in these rare encounters, the ones where we experience many different kinds of friendships. On rare occasions, we encounter someone so special that we just know we met for a reason. These are the kinds of friendships that last forever no matter what city you live in or how often you speak, no matter how old you get or what phase of life you are in. It's the type of friendship that has no judgment. It's the kind of friendship that makes you understand unconditional love and happiness. And when we’re all on our own, there is no greater comfort than knowing that there is someone to share the happiness, the sadness, and everything in between. All the different experiences good and bad. And even if I never speak or see them again there will always be these shared experiences that I will never forget. 

Like getting to the top of the stairs in the pouring rain and seeing Macchu Picchu. Seeing snow for the first time. Getting a spontaneous tattoo with Joy and Jaqu. Getting dropped off by FlixBus in the middle of rural France and having to sleep on the floor. Sharing my tiny blanket whilst sleeping on the beach in Sri Lanka. Sharing the weirdest cabanas on the beach with 3 other girls. Falling off scooters (multiple times) on the sandy roads and chasing sunsets and elephants. Or recreating the scenes of Before Sunrise in the streets of Kathmandu.  Live Love Laugh quoi. 

And for that, I will never ever, ever take these rare encounters for granted. 

And looking back on this year (yes, I’ve only got two weeks left), I’ve become a puzzle of all the encounters I’ve had, may they be big or small. From a simple conversation to two weeks shared spending night and day together, I’ve taken something back from all of it. 

And I’ll be forever grateful to all these people for making my life a little better every day. 

Lots of love. 

(some of my favourite encounters of the past few months)