The Five Random People I've met on the Road

Here's something I want to share and also because I would like to keep some memories of the past. Then as usual I'd like to write it again on my blog.

I remember a book I read before - Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom and I'd like to make my own version of it as "Five Random People I've met on the Road". I've picked them randomly based on the funny and strange memory they have left me during the encounters with them during my travels. In some ways, these people has left me something that I will always remember.

There will always be interesting people you will meet on the road

1. The lady I sat next to during my 3rd flight to Sydney - not sure if I remember her name right but my braincells tell me the lady's name is Ms. Agnes. It was my first time to fly with Philippine Airlines. And because of that, it was cool to see a lot of Pinoys on the same flight. My first two flights to Sydney was with Cathay. She was a quiet lady at first. Being the shy type that I am too, I waited for her to stir up the conversation. It was her first time to travel to Australia.

She's actually bound for Melbourne to meet her fiance. Yes they were already engaged. She's been an employee in Duty Free and I believe that is where she met her fiance. She looks to be as fine lady. I liked her because she started to tell me how she felt so nervous with this first time to travel and leaving her family behind to finally marry her fiance.

When we are about to land in Melbourne, I think I saw a tear shy from her eyes. It's probably tears of joy and excitement.

2. The lola I helped to find her daughter - So when I arrived in Melbourne, waiting for our connecting flight to Sydney I was with a group of Pinoys again. One of them is a nice old lady which I forgot the name again. Sorry! We had some chit-chat and then it's time to board. Arriving in Sydney we are all in one group and after exiting immigration we bid each others goodbye. Since I didn't have anyone waiting for me, I told her I'll take her first to her relatives. She realised then that her mobile just got out of battery. So I took the initiative to text her daughter to let them know that she's arrived. It was also her first time in Sydney and she looks nervous too. I then texted the number she gave me. We waited for around 15 mins and there we saw her daughter! It felt nice to see families reuniting!

Parang naiyak pa siya when she met them and hugged them tightly. She thanked me and they offered me a ride. But I was kind of out of way so I resisted and just grabbed a taxi to my apartment.

3. The old man who wouldn't let me choose my egg plant - This is one of the funny encounters I will always remember. It was a weekend, probably Saturday and as usual I go to the city to shop and get groceries. I usually go to Woolworths at George Street because it's got everything and is just next to the train station so very accessible for me. I was going around the vegetable section, thinking what I wanted to cook for the coming week.

So, I got into the eggplants and tried choosing a couple of good ones. It probably took a while until I finally decided the egg plants I want until an old man came up to my side. He mumbled something but all I heard is '...chinese. Pinching the egg plants why don't you just get some' something like that and he grabbed some egg plants immediately and left. Ehem, I'm not Chinese and ehem I want to choose the best egg plant for my meal next week! Hahaha I think he got irritated that it seems to him that I was pinching the egg plants but I wasn't. I was only taking my time making sure I get the perfect egg plants! :)

4. The Pinay household helper in Hong Kong - I travelled to HK with my cousin in 2009. When we are awaiting for the bus to take us to the city, there was a lady also standing next to us. Little did we know that she was also a Filipino and we are taking the same bus with her! She told us how she has been working in HK for sometime. The family she's working with has been good to her all those times and even would bring her in all their travels. She seems happy and contented but I would say she was also longing for her own family back in the Philippines. I then realised how hard it would be to be living away from your family.

5. The Thai taxi driver - On our last day in Bangkok we are heading to the Safari. So we hailed a cab right outside our hotel. There was a guy who immediately came up to us and gave us out a map when we told him we wanted to go to Safari world. He seems nice so we went and took his cab. He is actually just on vacation in Thailand while having a stint in his taxi business. He will be back in Amsterdam as he works there as a Muay Thai Trainer! That is so cool! When we said we are from the Philippines he immediately asked if we know Lito Lapid...well of course we knew him. And he told us he trained him before when he went to Thailand. That story was really awesome!

So there goes my five random people. I'm sure I've met more...hopefully I'll get a Part 2! :)

These people actually made my trip interesting and that's why meeting new people has be a great part of travelling around. For me it's not just about the places, it's also about the experiences and the people you encounter along the way that makes it a perfect travel experience!

How about you? Share something about one of your random people on the road...