The Travelling Companion

There is this golden rule which travellers across the world abide.Be it backpacking, holidaying or perhaps a walk across the country side. 'Travellers share everything during their travels except a lady'.

At the youthful age of 22, Dzul wanted to venture beyond his country of origin. He wanted to explore a culture which was close yet alien to him. It was his first time out of Singapore and his mother was so worried she wanted to follow. That was never going to happen. Dzul listens to Led Zeppelin while his mother listens to Nancy Sinatra. Dzul likes his steak rare while his mother likes it well done. There will always be conflicting interests....and to top that list, his mother is a slow walker and there's nothing that's going to hold him back.

With very little money and an abundance of enthusiasm, Dzul left for Thailand. It was indeed the land of all smiles. The warmth of its people was similar to its weather. Communication was always going to be a thorn in the leg but it's the joy of overcoming these difficulties that makes life rewarding.

Dzul settled in the cheap streets near Khao San. A reknowed strip to backpackers worldwide. All the cheap essentials could be found along the 400m stretch of road. And when night falls, the trendy bars open its doors to a world of vice. But nevertheless, it was a good place to meet people from all over the world. People who came from faraway lands with little or no money. People who viewed life differently. People who are not into the rat race. Free spirited people.

Dzul made plenty of friends by the 3rd day. By the 5th, Julian agreed to venture the poorer states of the north together with Dzul. The long bus journey was like a rewinding timeline. The fast paced life of Bangkok gave way to the humble paddy fields of Udon Thani. The companions alighted. Where they were going, there were no roads.

On the right, lush green lands spread across the countryside and met the blue horizon that was the sky. On the left was a path that led to the mountains. There are the odd settlements around the mountains that made it look somewhat like small LEGo pieces from afar. They took the path on the right.

It was 12 noon and the sun was belching out on the two with full force. The path they were on were filled with the occasional litter. Probably by past travellers. Probably by local village boys. There was a crushed Pepsi can in the middle of the track. Secretly, both Dzul and Julian longed for one. But they remained silent. Dzul kicked the can into the bushes as he cursed to himself. They were tired and Julian has already drained out his water supply.

After 4 hrs of walking, they rested under a rambutan tree. The shade it provided was comforting. Like snuggling under a thick blanket in a cold air-con room. Julian extended his hand and begged Dzul for some water. Dzul willingly obliged. After all they were travelling companions. National Service in Singapore sure did help Dzul thought. Those endless route marches actually did help after all. Maybe the UK should have National Service too...to toughen up blokes like Julian.

Both Dzul and Julian grabbed the juicy rambutans from the lower branches. It was like kampong days for Dzul...for Julian it was a first time eating rambutans. By 6pm the only rambutans left were a huge bunch that was too high to reach. That was spared for the time being. Night was approaching and Dzul went around searching for firewood. Julian stayed back to guard their belongings.

That night, they talked about their homelands and about their cultures and it was a very eventful day. Julian could go on and on like a train. Dzul was happy that he had someone like Julian around.

The next morning they were woken up by children from the village nearby. They must have seen the fire that the travellers built the night before. The children were naturally funny. They were laughing at Julian's golden hair. They were running around kicking a football and Dzul and Julian joined in the game.

Football is truely an international langguage. They did not know what the kids are shouting about and yet they enjoyed the game like as if they were back home. One of the kids then took his bicycle and raced down the road. He came back 15 mins later with a big bag. Inside were bottles of water. Some of which were cold....some of which were of room temperature.

Dzul then took one of the boys by the hand and walked toward the rambutan tree. Julian was already there rummaging through his belongings. Dzul wanted the Thai boy to climb the tree to get that huge bunch of ripe rambutans. As they reached the tree Julian must have gotten a shock for he dropped his bag. Spilling all its contents. Tens of juicy red ripe rambutans rolled on the floor.

There was silence and guilt on Julian's face. Dzul looked up and the rambutan tree was as barren as the surrounding green fields. The Thai boy of course did not know what was going on. He ran back towards his friends. Dzul followed behind...disgusted with the selfishness of his companion. The Thai boy took a cold bottle of water and gave it to Dzul while he took the room temperature bottle for himself. Such was the warmth of Asian hospitality that beats western influences hands down....anytime...anyplace.