After the three days hike in Myanmar, wearing my destroyed converses and sleep on the floor, freezing to the bones, I thought that the hardest part of my trip was done.
I was not imagining one second that a way more intense experience was waiting for me in Java and that I would admire a sunset in Hell…
In the end, the only landscapes I saw of Java was when I arrived by plane and behind the mini van’s window who drove me from Jogja to Bromo and from Bromo to Ijen. I don’t feel like I’ve been able to experience the real countryside lifestyle but when we came back from the first hike of the tour, I start speaking with the guys working at the hotel we were staying at.
Luisa was my dorm mate in Yogyakarta, the last night.
Her blond curly hair and soft blue eyes must have been really appreciated during her exchange semester in Bali. She knew people around and knew some word in Bahasa which is really nice when you don’twant to look like a total tourist ready to be scammed.
It took me twenty minutes to guess that Vento was from Mongolia. If I’ve learned something during my trip is that you always can be surprised by the nationality of people. An accent or the color of the skin, the shape of the face or the way people dress themself up doesn’t mean anything and most of the time travelers have influences from everywhere.
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First, I’ve heard her voice. The accent transported me straight back in London.
Then I saw her. A little ray of sunshine, a little jumpy fresh girl with a smile big as the ocean. She looked like a great human.
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On my last night in Phi Phi, as I was wandering in the streets, colored with drunk old teenagers and careless young adults, I asked myself if the places you decide to go while traveling could influence the person you are…
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What I instantly liked about Alexia is her little “I don’t give a fuck” attitude about details, her positives thoughts all the time and the fact she was sooo easy going. I mean, should I remind you that we shared the tiniest bed ever for New Year’s Eve in the smallest bungalow on earth, about to collapse, and that we have just met few hours ago? Even if traveling sometimes is about messing up the degrees of intimacy your are sharing with total strangers, I think you need to have guts to trust each other’s like we did, straight away.
At sunset, on the rooftop, I interviewed Nophar. An Israeli young lady who planned to leave her country and explore others for an unknown amount of time.
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Marion told me that the sunset had to be viewed at the sky bar, on the rooftop of the King Hotel. While I stayed there, drinking my passion fruit soda, I had this incredible feeling of gratefulness… Who turned quickly into deep sadness.
I was a waitress in Paris for few weeks already, in this sweet little café in the center of the city when my boss introduced me to this cute little lady who was going to be my colleague for the summer. At the end of the day I realized that “cute little lady” was not the term to employ if you want to talk about Marion. It would be more like “tiger”, “strong”, “French class” or “amazing character”. She has been my partner in crimes, my confident and my support. I was her island of peace, her no-judgmental friend. A strong relationship linked us since then and when I moved in England, she was the kind of friend I would call if I was coming back to Paris for a week end, for a coffee or a mint tea at the Parisian Mosque.
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The Wanderlust Queens Project 