The Autobiography of a Nobody Pt. 2

Laying in bed, my mind swam with the events that had led to this moment. Beside me, and annoyingly sleeping peacefully, was Jane.

We were at my mum's house and had been for the past few months. Our cosy two bedroom house on our quiet road was one of the most regrettable things we had to give up. I never realised until then just how sentimental I could be. Strangely, it hit home the most when we were getting rid of our dining table and chairs. I never realised something so insignificant could bring on such a vast set of memories.

Before we moved into that house I lived on my own with a pretty low income. The flat I was renting was dreadful to say the least. I remember once locking myself out and was reluctant to pay for a locksmith. I knew the lock on the door was flimsy, but just how flimsy surprised me; it took little more than a hard push to gain access. Looking back, I was lucky I was never burgled. Not that I had anything worth stealing of course.

The winters were harsh in that flat too. I only had electric heaters. I remember one time in particular after Jane moved in. She woke one morning to make me some eggs. Unfortunately for me, the oil in the cupboard was frozen solid. Needless to say we went out for breakfast that morning.

Regardless, I had some great times living there. It was the first place I had rented independently and it was a proper bachelor's pad to begin with. I even took mushrooms there for the first time with my brother and his friend. What a bizarre night that was. Seeing the stars form to create a wolf's head that wanted to eat me was an experience. Purple roads and multi-coloured houses were interesting to see too. But strangest of it all was an old woman in the middle of the night carrying round a cat. That last one wasn't a hallucination either.

Inevitably these kinds of antics had to come to an end. With Jane living with me it meant we could afford somewhere more comfortable. We moved into our house and turned it into our first real home, collecting furniture along the way. It should have come at no real surprise when selling that furniture proved to be difficult. It was gut-wrenching to stand in that empty house while we waited for the last thing to go; our dining room table and chairs. They had been with me since my first flat and held more memories then I realised. It was moments like these that I had to remind myself it would all be worth it.

When I first told my mum we were going travelling she was elated. She said she would be sad to see me go but was equally excited for me. She wanted to do all she could to help and support us and that's why we ended up moving in with her. It meant we could save more money, but I would be lying if I said that same time period wasn't difficult.

My younger sister lived with my mum also, and she was a mother herself. She was in her teens and was struggling to say the least. To come back from work each day to a screaming child and his teenage mother was taxing, especially after what we had given up to be there. I felt like a child myself again, back to square one. It caused some arguments between me and Jane, but we reminded ourselves that it was only temporary.

My dad, on the other hand, didn't seem as supportive as my mum. He thought we were settled and would stay in our house a long time. He was shocked to hear that we were giving it all up and likened it to running away. It hurt me when he said that. I was hoping he would understand.

Apart from my dad, we received far more support than I expected. I thought I would be called stupid for throwing away our home and a promotion, but I received admiration instead. Even Jane's Grandad who always comes across as quite stern was supportive. Jane was worried about telling him the most, but he was very level headed and even enthusiastic about the idea.

I was taken aback the most when we told Jane's mum. She would later present us with a card and when I opened it, a wad of cash fell into my lap. We felt uncomfortable taking it but she insisted. There was around three hundred pounds there and Jane does not come from a rich family. The generosity meant a great deal.

My colleagues, however, took a more "hands on" approach when it came to seeing me off. Geoff would not let me work the entire day. Apparently, when someone leaves, their last day of work is only a half day. This sounded great to me, but he conveniently failed to mention the rest of the tradition.

As my half day drew to a close, Ben and Mark grabbed me and tied me to a dolly. They wheeled me outside with the rest of the factory in pursuit, each of them carrying a bucket. They laid me on the floor and took it in turns to empty said contents all over me. Now, as mentioned previously, we worked in a factory. Filling those buckets with water alone would have been too nice for these guys. The mixture they poured over me consisted not only of water, but grit, oil, grease, sawdust, washing up liquid, and anything else they could get their hands on. I stunk and still had to drive home yet. To add further insult to injury, they even walked back inside to leave me stewing for a while. Strange that I thought I would miss that place.

I shook myself from my reverie, still wondering if I was making a mistake. I had given up a comfortable life to be here. It was too late now though, it was already done. I had left my job, and I had booked my ticket, and tomorrow morning we would be flying to our first destination. There was no turning back.

For once, my future was uncertain. I couldn't see it playing out before my eyes. It was both an exciting and scary prospect. Whatever was going to happen would have to be dealt with as and when it was presented. It made me feel truly free. Once I had finally accepted the position I had put myself in, I slowly drifted off to sleep.

The next morning my mum drove us to the airport with my sister and her son. She was insistent as she wanted to see us off, and I was more than happy for it. We were flying from Heathrow and met Jane's Grandparents there who also wanted to say goodbye. They stayed for breakfast before leaving and her Nan began to cry.

My mum however stayed, right up until we had to go through security. By this point she was a blubbering mess and the sight of her pulled at my heartstrings. In her typical mother-like fashion, she started taking pictures of us as we walked through. Unfortunately, as anyone who has ever flown before will know, this is massively against the rules.

Two security guards approached her and took her to one side. They forced her to delete the photos in front of them which only upset her further. That was to be the last image I would have of my mum for a whole year. It's funny to look back on now, but was horrible at the time. I would later learn that she tracked our flight online and stayed at the airport to watch us take off. My sister's son had apparently found this incredibly fascinating.

Once through security, Jane and I were now alone. It would be just the two of us relying on each other for the next year. It was a strange thought to digest, but I felt closer to her for it.

The flight was going to be my first ever long haul. Our first stop was Bangkok, and the journey was just shy of twelve hours with a stop over in Dubai.

I don't recall feeling nervous at all. In fact, it only felt like we were going on holiday. Jane had even booked a four-star hotel for our first few nights to "adjust and settle in." After that, we planned to wing it.

The flight, although long, was more pleasant than I had been expecting. Watching films and dozing made the twelve hours feel like nothing. The only part that was stressful was the stop over in Dubai. The airport was so spread out that we needed to get a train between terminals. We had very little time to make our next flight and had to run, trying to work out which way to go all the while.

Eventually, we made it, with little time to spare. Before long, we were in the air again and seven hours later we were landing in Bangkok.

As sad as it was, Jane and I used to watch a show called "Bangkok Airport" as a way to get excited for our trip. Getting off the plane and walking through the airport, we saw the giant golden statues we saw on the show. The three headed dragon was the one that stood out most to me.

I couldn't believe it when I saw that security here really did ride segways around. It was all so different already, and we hadn't even left the building yet. We joked about how hopeful we were to see the characters from the show too, but that was never meant to be.

Somehow, watching that show made the place feel as though it was fiction, but seeing it up close and personal had made it real. We were in fucking Thailand! And we couldn't wait to get our journey started.

Eagerly, we filled out our arrival cards and made our way outside, desperate to see what the country had to offer. There was a bit of confusion between the two of us regarding a taxi, but soon enough we were on our way.

In the back of the taxi, I was like an awestruck child. I watched with intrigue as the many buildings and billboards passed us by. I took in every detail of the road and the vehicles too, noting everything that was different. Even the air had a different smell and feel to it. I felt like I had landed on another world.

I remember pointing out a motorbike to Jane. On it sat five people as well as their shopping. We couldn't believe it and laughed about the surrealism of it all. We hadn't even arrived at our destination yet and were already on a high.

The car journey felt long, although was probably quite short. I knew we were close when we started driving through a mass of people. When we stopped, the driver seemed in a rush to get rid of us and drove off as soon as we collected our things.

The first thing that struck me was the people. It was incredibly busy. For a moment it left me disorientated, feeling as though we had just been dumped in the middle of nowhere and left to get on with it. There were far more tourists than I had expected, and it immediately made me aware of how new and fresh I must have looked to them all.

For a moment we stood there to gain our senses, but there was too much going on to focus. Street vendors were calling out to sell you their noodles. Shop owners cried for you to try on their clothes. Masseurs's called for you to try a massage. There were people offering tattoos, braiding, trips and tours, tuk-tuk rides and anything else they could sell you. In the middle of all this chaos stood Jane and I, well out of our depth, with our huge backpacks on. We were the new kids on the block and everyone there knew it.

This crazy place was supposed to be our new home for the foreseeable future, and was our first experience of the infamous Koh San Road.