I think the moment I finally realized that this trip was going to happen for real was when Al and I booked our very first accommodation. The booking was for a two night stay at a place called The White Lion in Crewe, Cheshire. It was for the dates of October 14th and 15th, so when you think about it, it was probably kind of weird that we booked our very first place for a date in the middle of our trip, but it made perfect sense to me. I knew no matter what happened or where we went, we would be in Crewe for two days in October for my friend David’s wedding. I refused to miss it.

The plan was to leave straight from Dublin, and take the ferry to Hollyhead, Wales, where I would meet my friend Beth and her husband Ben, and stay in her town for one night before making the 3 hour drive to Crewe for David’s wedding. After the wedding, Al and I had tickets to hop straight on a train for the 3 1/2 hour ride to London, to spend a few days with my friend Brent. I had been anticipating this part of the trip for months (or really, years if I think about it), because it meant that I was finally able to spend time with some of my favorite people in the world, who I never get to see.

Back in 2009, I moved to Thailand to teach English and travel. At the time, I had created a poetic vision in my mind of what this experience would be like; me laughing with my students as we played ring around the rosy, speaking fluent Thai to vendors as I ate spicy curries with locals discussing important world issues, running alongside elephants with the wind in my hair out in the isolated northern hills. I’m being sarcastic, but you get the point. I had an expectation, and it was completely shattered.

Instead, I taught large groups of unruly and hormonal teenagers, got constantly scolded by my co-teachers, suffered constantly from homesickness, all while living in Bangkok, one of the most intense cities I have ever been in. Even with all of that, it was still one of the best times of my life, and I owe that to David and Beth.

I met them both during my time in Thailand. We spent 8 months teaching, living, and basically surviving Bangkok together. After our contracts were up, we spent the next 7 weeks backpacking together through Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore, Laos (can we really count that one, guys?) Indonesia, and Malaysia. We spent every single waking moment together, laughing, drinking and exploring our way through Southeast Asia. We saw each other at our ultimate worst, and (very occasionally) saw each other at our relative best.

Travel has the ability to bring people extremely close, but then inevitably, you return to separate lives, and the time you spent together is abruptly over. We hadn’t all been in the same room together for over 7 years, and a lot had changed. For example, we had all somehow managed to convince three separate people to marry us in that time span, something we never thought possible when we first met. So when I heard David was getting married around the time Al and I were planning to travel, I knew the stars had finally aligned for us.

When you don’t see people for a long time, you always feel a little bit nervous (what if they changed? What if I changed? What if it’s awkward?) and the fear is that the reality isn’t as good as the memory, or that things will be different. But, as soon as we saw each other, I felt like almost no time had passed, and we might as well have been standing on the side of some random dirt road waiting for a bus, laughing about absolutely nothing again.

I feel like you know a friendship is genuine when you don’t spend all your time together reminiscing about the good old days, or talking just about the past. We did of course talk about our memories in Southeast Asia (how could we not?) but most of the time was spent making new ones; reveling in finally being together, talking about things like Harry Potter, and of course, celebrating. David and Daniel’s wedding was one of the most fun and beautiful weddings I have ever been to. It was so fun, that I pretty much forgot to take any pictures.

 

 

 

After a really rough hangover and reluctant goodbyes (which I only survived by pretending they weren’t happening), Al and I headed off to London to meet Brent for another reunion.

 

Brent and I met way back in 2008, when I spent a summer traveling and volunteering in South Africa. Brent was traveling in the gap post university, pre-real-world job, on a trip around the world. We had both just turned 22. Our paths crossed when we were put on the same overland tour across Africa. We bonded over our love for travel and our ability to constantly make fun of each other without any hurt feelings on either side.

Over the years, we’ve met up with each other all over the world. He came to Thailand to spend New Years with me, David, and some of our friends. He’s visited us in Chicago, we met in Paris for Rebecca’s wedding, saw each other in New York to visit friends, and even Vegas to celebrate his 30th birthday. Brent is one of my favorite people in the world, and has lived in London for the past 4 years, so I knew it was the perfect time to finally visit him after David’s wedding.

 

 

 

 

Brent showed us around London for three days, and we got to experience this huge historic city through the eyes of a local.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After we left London, I was sad to say goodbye again, but so thankful we were able to spend time together. I am so glad I had the time (no matter how short) to spend with these people who have meant so much to me.  I am now convinced that travel friends can make some the best friends you’ll ever have. As an added bonus, we now have a built in excuse to go to places we normally wouldn’t, to spend time with each other, and to keep making memories all over the world.