A Letter to My Travelling Partner(s)
Travelling alone is peaceful. Moments where you are free to think, to soak it in and digest it with a space all to yourself. People are more likely to approach the lone traveller, less intimidating in their vulnerability, alone in a foreign place. You may meet more people, experience kindness and return knowing more about yourself.
But today I want to celebrate the travelling partner. The one who in 15 years will be able to tell you, no, the bus to Shangrila was not the worst, the one to Turpan was. The one who shares your memories, who saw what you saw, who tasted what you tasted, who met the people you will never forget. The witness to your journey.
The only one who will understand what you mean by MBGMH.
So, Dear Travelling Partner,
You Are,
The one who doesn’t flinch when I say, “I think I may have worms.”
The one who still hugs me when I smell of benzine, manure and mould.
The one who forces me to the village doctor with my 42-degree fever and tries to keep a straight face when they offer me an injection immediately, you do not know what for.
The one who shares my samosa thoke from the street, so that we have room to share deep-fried Shan tofu. Then share sweet glutinous rice balls. And another masala dosa and why not grilled pork skewers too?
The one who has tried every brand of cigarette along the way and agrees that the prettiest packaging is from Laos, the scariest one from Thailand.
The one who also has a soft spot for friends we have made on the road, Ehsan from Esfahan, Mukhtor from Khorog, Lia from Amorgos, Burak from Mardin, Dimitri from Astypalea, the list goes on.
The one who knows to chat to the taxi driver when I don’t feel sociable.
The one who runs to the Chinese restaurant in Myanmar with me, excited to have “some meat, some vegetables, some rice” instead of pickled tea leaf salad,ย then commiserates with my busted bowels the day after that dodgy squid in Mandalay.
The one who knows to keep quiet while I stew in my conflicted anger about having to where a hijab for a month in the Iranian summer heat.
The one who laughs off my mosquito-bite covered face and still thinks I’m beautiful (or at least has the decency to pretend).
The one who knows when I say “OK” to something, but definitely mean, “NO”.
The one who laughs then moans at the memory of Toto Cotugno playing over and over again in a 4×4 on the Pamir Highway for 19 hours.
The one who will exchange the faulty bus seat with me, so that we are both equally broken after a 16-hour ride.
The one who cracks up uncontrollably when we mention the “propeller-kayaks” of Luang Namtha, Laos.
The one who knows my happy face, sad face, grumpy face, hungry face, “leave-me-alone” face and definitely the “I’m not digging this” face.
The one who feels my pain about the toilets in Jelandy, Tajikistan.
The one who picked up our bags and decided we were leaving from the “witch” in Konye Urgench, Turkemenistan.
The one who knows to save me the purple Skittles and the butts of baguettes.
The one who remembers the bonfire under the stars with the Bakthiari nomads in the Zagros mountains of Iran.
The one whose jaw dropped open when we all stared speechless at the open plains after hiking through the gorge in Langmusi, China.
The one who knows how to make me happy by collecting toilet paper from every hotel room we stay in.
The one who laughs at the thought of the exploding tap and the Russian babushka in Dashoguz, Turkmenistan.
The one who dragged me to a sand dune during a sand storm in Dunhuang, China.
The one who gave me “the look” when I decided to chew ice cubes from a street-side stall, but still took care of me when I was in an inevitable “shit storm” a few hours later.
The one who had too many drinks with me in that shiny chandeliered club in Kunming, China.
The one who remembers the tire flying off the car and into the river from Khorog to Murghab and then again from Murghab to Osh.
The one who is equally ecstatic to bite into a flaky butter croissant in Vientiane, Laos after months of rice, noodles and boiled potatoes.
The one who feels my pain at having clothes full of holes, and never complains when I wear the same outfit for 5 days in a row.
The one who pushed me up towards Alauddin Pass in the rain of the Fann Mountains when my blistered feet could take no more.
The one who mentally high fives me every time I get a good deal (I know you do!).
The one who wakes up every day and decides to keep on travelling with me, one tuk-tuk ride at a time.
Thank you Nicolas for being my travelling partner and for hopefully remembering the things I will forget.
And to other travellers who have joined us for stretches of time – Marc, Dimitri, Camilla, Tammy, Amelie, Iris, Thien, Romain, Sophie, Nikos, Chryssa, Dan, Roger, Julie and Simon, hopefully we’ll share another Beer Lao, Chang, or Tsingtao again on the road. But then again, by now, you know I don’t like beer that much, so make mine a gin & tonic.
15 Comments
tammy
January 11, 2015So beautiful! Bring tears to my eyes! You two are so lucky to have found each other. Treasure it!
Marc
January 11, 2015You almost made me cry… but than again, I really had to laugh at some points (e.g. the propeller kayaks) ๐
Take care you two, hope you will have many more of these memories in the future
Nico & Gabi
January 30, 2015haha you were the star of the propeller kayaks! Many of our memories somehow include a dude from the “Land of Plenty”! ๐
Kristen
January 11, 2015Love. Love. Love!
Nico & Gabi
January 30, 2015Thanks Kristen, hope you guys are enjoying Cuba and fully recovered from the dengue episode!
Betta
January 15, 2015So cute, so smart, so lovely, so Gabi!
I miss you girl!
Enjoy the travel, and the travel partner ๐
Nico & Gabi
January 30, 2015Miss you too Betta! Baci x
JC
January 16, 2015you are so lucky!
Nico & Gabi
January 30, 2015Thanks JC, go for it!
Chiaretta
January 21, 2015thank you for giving us a piece of your heart! Ti voglio bene
Nico & Gabi
January 30, 2015Ti voglio bene anch’io Salvi!
Lise
January 23, 2015Truly one of the most inspiring and truthful love letters I have ever read. It touched me deeply and reminded me what choosing to be with someone can be all about – both beautiful, ugly, sad, funny. And how the mirror relationship offers us is so wonderfully empowering. Thank you. Write more ๐ xx
Nico & Gabi
April 2, 2015Such lovely words and thoughts Lise, thank you so much. xx
Dominique Doise
March 14, 2015When copying your draft you omitted the line reading ” the one who has such a smart uncle”.
Kiss.
Nico & Gabi
April 2, 2015Oops, let me rectify that. ๐