Where It All Began — First Thailand Trip

2001 · Film Photography · Koh Samet, Thailand

This was the first time I ever traveled abroad with a partner.

I was twenty-one.

I didn’t really know what I was doing.
I didn’t know how trips worked.
I didn’t know what could go right, or wrong.

But Pat did.

This was also our first self-guided trip together.

No tour group.
No schedule printed on glossy paper.
No one holding a flag at the airport.

Just the two of us.

And a lot of trust.

Back then, the internet wasn’t what it is now.

It was still the dial-up era.
No smart phone or mobile data.
Limited connections.
Limited information.
Lonely Planet was our bible.

Travel wasn’t something you “googled.”

It was something you prepared for carefully,
and then stepped into, hoping for the best.

Pat planned everything.

From transportation,
to timing,
to where we would stay.

I followed.

Not because I couldn’t plan —
but because I didn’t yet know how.

We went to Koh Samet.

The closest island to Bangkok, people said.

But “close” didn’t mean easy.

Three hours by bus.
Forty minutes by boat.

At that time, Koh Samet was still largely undeveloped.

Very little infrastructure.
Few shops.

Even drinking water for the next three days
had to be purchased before getting on the boat.

Once you arrived,
you lived with what you brought.

For me, it was unforgettable.

Not because everything was perfect —
but because everything was unknown.

We didn’t know what would happen.

We didn’t know how things would unfold.

We simply let the days happen,
enjoy the sun, beach and each other’s company.
One after another.

Looking back now,
I realize how much that trip shaped us.

From that point on,
almost all our travels became self-guided.

No tours.
No fixed paths.

Just maps, conversations, mistakes, and discoveries.

That rhythm started here.

At the time, we also didn’t know something else.

We didn’t know that Koh Samet would become a place we’d return to again and again.

That in the years to come,
we would revisit this island so often
that even the guesthouse owner would recognize us.

Back then, it was just a destination.

Later, it became a familiar place.

When I look at this photograph now,
I don’t see a man resting in the boat.

I see the beginning of a pattern.

One person learning.
One person guiding.
Both moving forward together.

We didn’t know where life would take us.

But somehow,
we were already walking in the same direction.