Travelling Friendships: They’re Shooting Stars

There are few times in my life where I have felt sure of the decisions I was making. In fact, there have been many where the decisions seemed glaringly wrong almost immediately after they were made. Learning curve.

The decision to quit my job and go travelling is unmistakably one of the best I have made to date. I am 16 days into my four months of travel and I can’t even begin to explain the things I have seen and done and the people who I have been lucky enough to meet and befriend. Never for a moment have I doubted my decision. So many times I have all but pinched myself in disbelief that this is my life. Around every bend another beautiful scene, an image ingrained in my mind for a lifetime. Every new hostel room, tour group, bus ride, pub, is full of new people to meet, to touch my life even if for just a few days.

To date, I have visited eight different locations, spent three days on a boat and three days camping on an island, snorkeled three different locations, stayed in ten different hostels. I have laid on the top of a boat beneath the stars in the Whitsundays and swam in a crystal clear freshwater lake in Fraser Island. I drank on the beach underneath a bright white moon and watched a sunset from a giant sand dune. I kayaked in a UNESCO world heritage sight and hot air ballooned over green limestone mountains.

While my experiences have been innumerable and their importance immeasurable, one of the best things I have enjoyed while travelling is connecting with people. No matter our age, we are one in the same – travelling, seeing, exploring. Our stories are different, but we bond over where we’ve been or where we’re going. When you travel a popular route, in my case the East Coast of Australia and Southeast Asia, you meet countless people doing and seeing the same things as you. You trade stories, good and bad, about every step of your journey. You get on the bus or have a pint at the hostel bar and see familiar faces time and time again. I have loved getting to know my new friends. While some will remain in my life, most will be like shooting stars – twinkling momentary flashes, there and gone, but beautiful and special all the same.