The Pleasantest Sensation in the World

According to travel writer and adventuress, Freya Stark, “To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world.” All of my respect to Ms. Stark, but I believe the exact opposite. Maybe it’s because I’ve spent much of my life searching for people like me. People who cannot ignore the itch to wander about some unknown place, to do things they’ve never done, to risk everything for the pleasure of truly living. People who, like me, have realized that there has got to be more to life and have set out on a journey to discover it.

I haven’t spent  a day alone in Thailand. We sit on beaches and around tables, and we share stories and drinks and laughs. We raise our middle fingers to mortgages and marriages, and we raise our glasses to adventure. We’ve left behind the naysayers and the others who could not muster the courage to run after this life. We’ve found each other and we hold on tight. We close our eyes, take a deep breath, and jump off the edge fear and all.

What I’ve learned here in the land of smiles is that the pleasantest sensation in the world is not being alone on an unknown journey. It is finding like-minded people who wander the streets and jungles of foreign places and wonder about the secrets of the world. And after all the years of failed friendships and fruitless searches, I’ve found my people.