One of my all-time favourite travel moments is when a sudden downpour catches you off guard and strands you in a random place you didn’t expect to hang around too long at. Chance forces you to come to a standstill, and fate brings you to that place, to savour in stillness. 

There was one such time last year when I was in Bangkok with my wife. It was at an old-school Thai-Teochew bakery hidden away in a Chinatown alleyway. The sudden downpour meant we were stuck there. Initially, we just stood around just outside the shop like lost children seeking shelter from the rain. The kind grandmother offered us seats. We bought pastries from them to munch on while we waited. Watching the rain pound down on the alleyway. Mesmerized by the locals and their lives on the street. Sweet delicious cakes in hand, like popcorn for a movie of life on the streets.

And there we are, complete. Food. Shelter. Warmth. Even if just for a brief moment in time, it’s enough.

Ironically, the best travel moments are when I’m not rushing to go anywhere at all. By not desiring to be elsewhere, we truly arrive at wherever we are. 

? Day 30 of the #200wad challenge.