We've chatted to a decent amount of people as we journey around, and we always leave feeling grateful we talked to them, and enriched in some way for the experience of it. Carol & Davida in Khao Sok were no exception and a highlight to our time there!
It all started on the 1-hr boat ride through Cheow Lan Lake to get to the Khao Sok Smiley Lake House. The boat moves at a good clip, and the motor roars in the back. So there's not much chatting happening on the boat ride. But we did notice two young women seated in the front of the boat with an undeniable energy and spunk. We had a brief exchange with them when they kindly took our picture at a picturesque point along the way:
It wasn't until later that evening (after our evening boat safari) that we struck up a conversation with them over dinner. We were seated next to each other at the long communal tables. I don't even recall what kicked off, but conversation came easily and we soon learned that they are close friends who met at camp when they were about Paige's age. Even though they were from different places, they went to the same Summer camp all growing up and then spent a gap year abroad together through the same program. They're both currently college students, studying abroad (Carol just wrapped up her time in NZ and Davida is halfway through her time in Australia), taking a few weeks to travel together in SE Asia leading up to the holidays. Given we'll be spending February/March in ANZ, we were all ears on their recommendations of don't miss spots!
Lifelong Friends
It was really fun to debrief with the girls after we met Carol & Davida that night. We wanted P&S to grasp how cool it was that C&D met when they were about Paige's age, and stayed friends all through growing up - even living in different states - and then planned these amazing international travels together! It was fun to imagine with P&S, what it would be like if they were traveling with a good friend - someone that is a bestie friend of theirs now - when they're in their 20s! And how it's possible to stay close friends with someone, even when you live far apart. We already talk to the girls alot about that, but it was really cool to see that concept brought to live in front of our eyes with Carol & Davida.
Go Cats!
Through the course of conversation that evening we also learned that Carol is currently a student at Northwestern! You can imagine how pumped Doug & I were to hear that . . . Go Cats! We had a fun tangent conversation all about NU campus life, dorms, weather, etc. So awesome to run into a fellow NU (almost) grad in the middle of nowhere Thailand :)
Boat Ride Back
We chit chatted more with Carol & Davida over the course of the next morning, our jungle/cave trek and lunch. On the 1-hour boat ride back through the lake, the girls were seated up front next to Carol & Davida. C&D regaled the girls with one song after another, everything from "Baby Shark" to Taylor Swift. They had Paige & Sadie in stitches, laughing non-stop and having such a fun time. It made my heart smile :)
Special Thanks
Meeting Carol & Davida was a fantastic reminder of the value of something so simple . . . talking to people. Conversations like the ones we had with them in Khao Sok are enriching, interesting and just plain fun. Meeting Carol & Davida energized our time out on the lake and made a memorable overnight trip even more fun, special & memorable. Whether they realized it or not, I think they had an impact on the girls; friendship can go the distance, and the special friends stay with you through it all. Here's hoping our girls have friendships in their lives now & ahead as tight & supportive as Carol & David's friendship!
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