Missing Swiss Miss
Chiang Mai to Bangkok, Thailand
People enter and exit your life. That is to be expected. Some enter and make a profound difference by the words they may say or by the kindness they may show. Then they exit. Sometimes they reappear, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes people re-enter your life that you’d rather not ever see again. There is that possibility. Some enter only once and you wish it could have happened just one more time. Maybe there were words left unsaid or intentions left unknown. And then, they too exit.
Such is the life of a human being and, more so, as a traveler.
We met them all in Vietnam; the French, the Swedes, and the Englishman, all on different tours going in different directions. The French on the Mekong, the Swedes on the Cambodia/Vietnam border, and the Englishman at the Cu Chi tunnels. Days or weeks later we bumped into the French in Angkor Wat, Cambodia, the Swedes were walking down the Khao San road in Bangkok, and the Englishman was staying at our guesthouse also in Bangkok.
The roads of travelers often intersect.
But I don’t think it will be the case for her, for Swiss Miss. For some reason, unknown to us, Brad and I were given VIP lounge vouchers in the Chiang Mai airport on our way to Bangkok. Inside were two computers with complimentary internet service. I was checking my email as she was also. She commented on how the ‘z’ and the ‘y’ were switched on the keyboard. I remembered being in Interlaken, Switzerland and having the reverse problem. I asked where she was from and she confirmed my remembrance. A Swiss Miss.
Our boarding time was approaching and we found out that we were on the same flight as her and her friend. Separately, we went through the passport checkpoints and metal detectors, and found seats waiting at the departure gate. We loaded onto a bus that would take us to the prop plane on the tarmac. Maybe it was in my mind, but I thought she snuck a few glances at me and I know I stole a few peaks at her. They were seated several rows behind us on the two-hour flight.
The moment of truth would come when we would gather our luggage from the conveyor belt. I had the conversation in my head. I was going to ask where they were staying. Then I would suggest we all stay at the same place so we could hang out.
Off the plane we boarded another bus to the terminal. Then the oddest thing happened. She walked in my direction, but about three feet before she got to me she just turned around and went back where she had come. My mouth couldn’t form the words that were present only moments later in my mind.
That was the last chance.
With the commotion of deplaning and baggage claim, I didn’t see them walk away to their connecting flight. Brad informed me that he saw them looking at a Ko Samui map and were headed in the direction of the flight to that island.
A day later, I thought it was too many Changs that had put me in a somber disposition. My mind was elsewhere as we walked the Chatachuck Market. My focus was gone and I felt sad. It wasn’t until I figured it out that I felt better. For some reason I had attached myself to Swiss Miss and the realization that I was not going to see her on the streets of Bangkok, sunk in. Once I recognized that, the moment was mourned and I moved on.
How is that possible? How can someone with such little contact make such an impact? The travelers road is incessantly intersecting. There’s always Hong Kong, China, and Japan.
The corner of my eye awaits her surreptitious glance. But my mind has already dismissed it.
Posted in travel - international, love, travel
