Sara Koh
The heart has a funny way of behaving when you’re in a foreign land. Suddenly everything is an untouched opportunity, a fresh possibility. Absolutely anything can happen. You’ll find yourself constantly awed and moved by the people and you will be floored by the breathtaking sights. Also, at some point, you will find yourself falling in love.
You will find him tucked in the corner of some obscure coffeeshop you randomly chanced upon down the road. He’ll be reading a book so intensely, you’ll wonder what kind of books require such concentration. You will feel your breath catch when he looks up to see you standing there with a cup of coffee in your hand, his coloured eyes burning into yours.
He will take a moment, as if deciding if he should, before he invites you to sit with him. The initial part of the conversation will leave you feeling slightly nervous, but will soon wear away as the conversation gets deeper. He will talk about his life in this place and how everybody in the neighbourhood has become like family.
You will fall in love with the way his eyes light up when he talks about travelling the world one day, feeling that same notion of desire reverberate within your own heart. You’ll have a heart-warming awareness of how conversations with him seem to ebb and flow so easily, as if you’ve known each other for years. As if the both of you haven’t spent your entire lives living in different continents.
And somehow the minutes turn to hours and the sun is setting before you know it. You’ll notice when his face shadows over with disappointment at the realisation that this might be goodbye. He will insist on being a gentleman, and walk you back to your hotel. You’ll know for sure you’ve fallen in love with this man, who was no more than a stranger a few hours earlier, when he makes no airs about pretending he’ll call you the next day or that you’ll see each other again soon. He makes no promises he knows he can’t keep because he knows you deserve better than that.
Your heart will ache in the absence of him and the cognizance that you might never meet him again will leave a yearning in your chest for something you never possessed in the first place.
But you carry on.
Also read: Read This If You Are Scared To Travel Alone
You’ll continue in your exploration of the city. You’ll walk through the streets, and can’t help but close your eyes as you take in the smell of morning coffee permeating the air. You’ll savour the local flavours that will burst in your mouth and visit all the places you planned the entire trip for. And since you’ve always wanted to, you’ll choose to sit at the al fresco areas and people-watch.
But you’ll fail horribly at deceiving yourself that it’s not just another excuse for you to daydream about those coloured eyes.
Somehow, you’ll find a way to push back those intrusive thoughts. You will fall in love again, but this time with the city. You’ll fall for the rhythmic hustle and bustle, as if punctuated by the hearts of all of its inhabitants.
Finally and most importantly, you will fall in love with yourself. Travelling alone forces you to nurture a strong sense of self. Every obstacle you overcome is by sheer will and because you only have yourself to rely on. You will start to think about how much you’ve changed since you’ve embarked on this trip and how you’ve grown in more ways than one. You’ve become much stronger and braver. You will have a deeper appreciation for your entire make up as a person. You’ll fall in love with your own quirks and strengths but you’ll also learn how to embrace your imperfections.
You’ll realize that falling in love was just a part of the entire journey. But you might find yourself wondering if this dull ache, although subsiding, will ever completely go away.
You’ll get over it though. Sometimes it happens in a heartbeat, and sometimes it takes a cup of coffee or two. Sometimes it happens when you least expect it and sometimes it takes far too long.
The crux of life, you’ll realize, isn’t just to fall in love. It’s about self discovery and learning how to be a better person for the people around you. It’s about finding purpose and unbridled joy in life and about discovering what makes your soul sing. It’s also about finding joy in routine, knowing that steady progress will bring you places.
This is how you’ll fall in love when you travel.
Also read: 5 Reasons to Travel the World in Your Twenties
