This blog post was originally published on Madeleine Larmour Blog on 3rd January 2016. Whilst the blog still exists as an archive, I no longer chose to post there and thus have decided to move some of the content here to share with all of you.
This summer I was very fortune to be able to spend six whole weeks (and then a bit extra) in Thailand, more specifically Koh Tao with my dad. For 11 months of the year, he lives in Saudi Arabia where he works whilst I still reside in the UK. Six weeks is also the longest piece of time we have spent together in over 10 years.
Thailand for me had always been a far-flung pipe dream because I had it in my head that there was no way I'd be able to fly out that far. I'm not the best flyer. The idea of flying doesn't bother me, neither does take off or landing, it's the 'what ifs' that set me off. As being a writer and creating fiction is what I do, I come up with the most ridiculous 'what ifs' you've ever heard. I've also had to learn to internalise them as I used to verbalise them when I was younger but it used to peeve everyone around me, especially when I sat next to someone who was terrified of flying. Yet this year I managed my first long haul flight, my first non-budget airline travel and my first solo long haul flight. I got sick during the trip and left Thailand several days after dad, but that's another blog post. I had to fly back by myself and I've only ever flown once by myself - a 45-minute flight to and from Belfast - so 17 hours flying without the time I spent waiting for connections in Bangkok and Dubai was a bit of a shock to the system.
Overall, I enjoyed my trip to Thailand. I was able to learn to dive which I didn't think I would be able to do with my chronic illnesses. Yet here I am as an open water diver - I started my advance but then got too ill to continue.
Be warned, this post is picture heavy!
So yet again, we have somehow stumbled into a New Year. Sure, we’re a little battered and bruised from 2016 but we’ve gotten through to the light at the end of the tunnel. That light is another new year and with it, it brings the renewed promise of change. Change that doesn’t usually stick, but it’s always nice to be reminded that we have the ability to change even if it’s unlikely to last.