Orangutans

We’d broken up in May. It was the trigger for me booking this trip. As well as the summer in France I’d have several days in Hong Kong to break up the journey.

Thoughts kept going through my mind “it’s your time, it’s your time”. I knew finally I would do my OE in my way at 38. Truth be told, I’d been too anxious to travel on my own and had waited for the right moment and right partner. “Right person, right time” I’d said to him and him to me. But no, it wasn’t the right partner or the right time. It was just time for me to travel.

I couldn’t wait.

I checked in at the Air New Zealand counter in Auckland. As a treat to myself, I’d upgraded to Premium as I wanted to feel opulent and start my trip in the right frame of mind.

I watched as many movies as I could squeeze in on the flight. And then my hotel room in Hong Kong was darling. It was called Odessa and I felt like I was in a movie as it was so flash.

The next day I waited in the lobby for the tour bus. It arrived promptly and I took a seat near the front of the near empty bus. I was kind of disappointed as I hadn’t really talked to anyone in over 24 hours. People always say that you meet lots of people when you travel on your own. However, so far, I’d sat in restaurants and hotel lobbies solo.

At the next hotel the bus almost entirely filled up. A dapper older gentleman sat next to me wearing a cream fedora and safari style suit. I thought he must have been in his late seventies. He shook my hand and introduced himself as Phil from England.

Our first stop was the orchid garden and after everyone trailed off the bus, Phil told me that he had just finished travelling around Borneo. He told me all about the orangutans and how incredible they were. He kept saying “you have to go and see them. It’ll be one of the highlights of your life”.

The next stop was the University and this time I wandered a little on my own. Phil spied me as we got back on the bus and started telling me about the importance of living your dreams. He’d just been cleared of a type of cancer and decided to sell his B & B to travel and explore. This struck a chord with me and we talked and talked. People must have thought we had known each other for years.

We had lunch together along with an English couple. We all compared our dream holiday destinations and Phil asked “what have been the highlights of your lives”? It is always interesting how easy it is to bare your soul to complete strangers that you know you’ll never see again.

We decided to take the dinner cruise option that evening. By 10 pm I was full of the spirit that I could do anything in my life. Phil had made me and the others promise that we would not delay to achieve our bucket lists. “Don’t wait until you have cancer like me to travel” he said. I felt chills when he said that.

When I got back to the hotel, I started writing my bucket list and packed my bag for Paris.

The next morning, Phil and I caught the shuttle to the airport. He was on his way to London so it was time for goodbye. Phil gave me a big hug, his address in the UK and a book. It was strangely emotional as if he was part of my family. I was excited about Paris but in parallel, I was leaving Asia with a heavy heart.

Once on the plane, I stretched out and alternated between watching movies and useless attempts at sleeping. I opened the book Phil gave me. It was a hard backed journal with exquisite, handmade paper.

I was so amped about arriving in Paris. I wanted a new handbag, to try the latest cafes, go to art galleries and to catch up with Selina a good friend from way back. I started feeling that magical feeling that something was about to happen, something good I mean. You know – when the air is almost pregnant.

I opened the journal to start writing and found that Phil had tucked a 100 Euro note in between the pages. He’d also scribbled “life is short, you must live live live”.

I smiled reflecting on his generous nature and the serendipity of meeting him. He didn’t know it but I had left New Zealand feeling heartbroken and Phil and travel had healed my heart.