Lucy

We arrived in Bangkok last night around 11:30pm. It was then that I woke Lucy Gibson up of her light sleep to answer my knock. Lucy was to be my roommate for this, the first leg of our trip. Although she was groggy and I was disoriented and a tad jet-lagged, we introduced each other and gave each other the highlights of our personal biographies and goals for why we’re on this trip. It was kind of a strange, hazy version of speed-dating. I learned that Lucy was a veterinarian from just north of Liverpool, England. What luck! Of all the people in the world I get to room with, I get an animal lover. She had been saving for 5 years for this trip, recently quit her job, and would begin a trip around the world over the next year. Instantly she made my three week vacation seem paltry. Feeling a hint of inadequacy when my trip has not yet begun, I went to sleep thinking of ways to extend my trip.

Over the next three weeks I discovered that Lucy and I were kindred spirits. Although we had only just met, it seemed like we knew each other forever. She was a great travel-buddy and had grown to become a really great friend. After leaving Lucy in Hoi An some two weeks after we first met, we have exchanged constant emails. She has updated me on the affectionate Italian, the travel snob, the gastronomical nightmares of Sapa, and her most recent adventures through Laos. She has a great sense of adventure and I wish her the best of journeys. "Lou" and I are making plans to meet again in the spring as we continue our search for “cute boys” in the gorgeous country known as New Zealand...

Our guide, JP, and my new pal, Lucy.