A traveler shares three stories from adventures with their partner: rescuing a ten-week-old puppy from a river in the Philippines, discovering a street vendor in Zanzibar who makes uncanny animal sounds, and waking up in a Bali jungle to face a giant banana spider. Each moment pushed them further from their London comfort zone.
Chapters
If it wasn't for this amazing woman, I would probably still be stuck at home, tucked away in London, well within my comfort zone. Because of her, I've travelled all around the world and been to some insane places. Today I wanted to share some of the most unconventional but special moments I've had while travelling the world. Let's get into it. Story number 1. We were in the Philippines and me and my partner were enjoying a peaceful paddle down a beautiful river. The sun was setting and we were taking in the views. All of a sudden, we hear a scream coming from a nearby riverbank. In that moment, we both looked at each other a bit confused, thinking, "What the hell is that sound?" My partner, who has the eyes of a hawk, immediately shouted, "Sam! Sam, over there! There's a puppy drowning!" I quickly turned around and I saw this little white head bobbing up and down in the water. A sweet little puppy who couldn't have been any more than 10 weeks old had fallen down the steep riverbank and was struggling to to stay afloat. I remember seeing the puppy's mother barking her head off at the top of the hill in distress, not knowing how to save him. Without a second thought, I started paddling towards the puppy as fast as I could, keeping a close eye on his little white head. As I got closer and closer, I could see the puppy starting to get tired and his yelps starting to get weaker. After what felt like a bloody eternity, I finally reached the puppy and I scooped him up in my arms, and I could feel his little heart pounding with fear. I carefully climbed up the riverbank with the puppy safely in my arms, and I placed him on the path. He looked up at me with these wide eyes and let out a tiny little whimper. And almost immediately, his other little puppy brothers and sisters started jumping all over him, licking his face, and wagging their tails. Puppy saved. Crisis averted. Mission complete. Taxi! Story number 2. It was a peaceful evening in Stone Town, Zanzibar. Me and my partner were walking the streets trying to find a place to eat. Suddenly, we heard the sound of a cat meowing. Meowing right next to us. The meowing got louder and louder. We turned around in every direction, but there was no sign of a cat. Meow! Run! Seconds later, we see a suspicious-looking man walking by with a bag full of plastic bottles and rubbish, and then we realised the meowing was coming from inside the bag. The man had noticed that we were on to him. Annoyed with the meowing, the man smacked the bag, trying to shut the cat up. I ran over to him and shouted, "Mate, what the hell are you doing?" I grabbed the bag and looked inside, attempting to rescue this little cat, but to To my surprise, there was nothing in the bag apart from plastic bottles. I looked up at the man, at this stage completely confused at what was going on. He just stood there and looked at me in complete silence. And then I saw his mouth move. The meow sound was coming from the man. Soon after, we discovered this man had an incredible talent. He could create almost every sound effect under the sun using just his mouth. Sirens, babies, elephants, helicopters, you name it, he could emit an almost like-for-like, realistic imitation of this sound right in front of your eyes. And that whole routine of the cat and smacking the bag— he had probably pulled that trick on hundreds of other tourists. It's an experience I will never forget, and it left me in awe of this man's talent. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Story number 3: Bali was the beginning of a journey that changed my life forever. As someone who had never left Europe before, I was content living in my little bubble. But my partner, who is a fearless traveller, convinced me to take a leap of faith and experience something new. And so, after a 17-hour flight and a midnight taxi ride that felt never-ending, we found ourselves waking up to a breathtaking view of a beautiful, lush jungle. It stretched out as far as the eye could see. The sounds of exotic creatures and birds were everywhere. And I couldn't believe it. When I saw a giant banana spider, which is bigger than my fist, literally hanging from a tree above my head. I felt a sense of wonder and curiosity, and I also remember thinking, bloody hell, Sam, you've been missing out on so much. I knew in that moment that I had to explore more of what this amazing planet had to offer. Bali was just the beginning, and I can honestly say that that trip changed my life forever.
