Day: 467

Bako, National, Park, Photography, Malaysia, Borneo, Kuching

My last day in Borneo, my shoulder is screaming with stiffness even after a day of rest in the hostel (where I took no pictures and sat around and watched movies all day, attempting to recuperate). Unwilling to waste another day to the pain, I drag myself out of bed at 6am to catch the high-tide ferry to Bako National Park to continue this blog where it started off, 700 posts and 5 years ago, on the road.   I spent 6 hours hiking with a Dutch couple through the mangroves, rainforests and beaches, seeing amazing animals and scenery before retiring to a shaded bench for a afternoon siesta before the ferry (and tide) returned for me at 4pm.

Laying on a bench, damp with sweat and crossing that line between sleep and awareness I had a moment of self realization: I am a different man than I was 5 years ago.  Then, it was me against the world and I would spend months alone without a moment’s hesitation, but now, with just 5 days of separation I miss her terribly. I can count a dozen time in the last few days I turned to her to ask a question or point out something cool, only to find her not there.   Sometimes I can romanticize the time I spent traveling alone, and the adventure of it all, but now I know – I am no longer that person.

I have grown up, and my future is intertwined with her.  Traveling, Working, Living, Loving. All of it.

Bako, National, Park, Photography, Malaysia, Borneo, Kuching

Bako, National, Park, Photography, Malaysia, Borneo, Kuching

Bako, National, Park, Photography, Malaysia, Borneo, Kuching

Bako, National, Park, Photography, Malaysia, Borneo, Kuching

Bako, National, Park, Photography, Malaysia, Borneo, Kuching

Bako, National, Park, Photography, Malaysia, Borneo, Kuching

Bako, National, Park, Photography, Malaysia, Borneo, Kuching

Bako, National, Park, Photography, Malaysia, Borneo, Kuching