- My friends and I traveled together through Southeast Asia in our 20s.
- We just took another trip together, this time to Bhutan, nearly two decades later.
- Though much has changed, our friendships are still strong.
I walked around Singapore Changi Airport feeling like a kid at summer camp for the first time. It was my first trip away from my family in a decade.
"Will I be OK?" I wondered. "What if I feel homesick and want to go home to my children and husband?"
I sat down and checked my backpack for the 10th time to make sure my passport and wallet were still inside. Then, I took a deep breath and wondered why I felt so anxious.
An earlier version of me used to travel alone all the time when I was in my 20s, filled with a naïve optimism that everything would work out. Yet there I was, at 39, feeling completely out of my depth.
I connected to WiFi, and my phone lit up with a message. I felt a rush of relief as I remembered I wasn't alone on the other side of the world. Three of my college friends were heading to Bhutan with me.
They had just touched down from Brisbane and wanted to know where to meet up. "See you at the gate," I wrote, and started making my way through the terminal.
Suddenly, I heard my college bestie call out my name. "Millllllls," she yelled. It was like a scene from a bad romcom, as she came sprinting along the travelator and tackled me. We laughed and hugged, then made our way to the other women.
Three of us are moms who ditched our husbands at home with the kids. The fourth friend decided to join us literally a couple of weeks before the trip, much to our delight.
We've all had vastly different life experiences, but we share an enduring bond — the kind that's formed during those early foundational years and lasts the ages. We met at college and traveled through Cambodia and Vietnam together in our early 20s.
Over the next eight nights, we had the time of our lives in Bhutan. It had been almost 20 years since the four of us had traveled together, but somehow, we picked up right where we left off. Another friend also joined along the way, and she fit in perfectly with the group.
During the holiday, I had so many revelations. The main one was how much I love traveling with girlfriends at different life stages.
We laughed more than I thought possible
There were times when we laughed so much that we cried, starting with our layover in Kathmandu on the way to Bhutan. I had woken up to go to the toilet, and when I reappeared in our twin room, my friend thought I was an intruder. She let out a blood-curdling scream that shook the walls. "It's me, Carmen," I said, then we both collapsed in a fit of hysterics, laughing until our stomachs ached.
Another time, we talked about something serious in a restaurant when the only other patron let out an almighty belch. We all looked at each other, then keeled over with laughter.
But the funniest moment of all was when our somewhat conservative Bhutanese guide took us to a hot spring in Gasa and appeared in his very tight undies. Up until that point, he had been wearing his traditional robe, known as a gho.
We were all sitting in the hot springs nearby as he took a 10-minute shower, meticulously scrubbing every inch of his hair and body. My friend piped up something like, "Queue 'Mysterious Girl' by Peter Andre," and we all lost it. It was so immature, but all of us were enjoying ourselves.
We had the best conversations
Another thing I loved was our deep and varied conversations. Nothing had been off limits during our trip together around Southeast Asia, and the same was true during this trip.
We talked about old relationships and current ones; parenting and puberty; religion and life after death. We discussed the merits of early sex education and the importance of teaching our sons about consent.
Sometimes, we chatted about lighter topics like eyelash curlers and brands of face cream, but I enjoyed those conversations, too. Often, we told stories about our earlier trip together, and through shared experiences, we briefly re-lived our youth.
We embraced the comfortable silences
Part of what I found incredible was how easy and familiar it felt to travel with these friends despite such a long gap between holidays.
There were times when we would embrace the comfortable silences while hiking in the mountains, enjoying the silent companionship rather than filling the void with constant chatter.
The silences never felt awkward, but instead offered opportunities for thoughtfulness and reflection, leading to a deeper sense of connection between us.
We rallied together and enjoyed the sisterhood
There's nothing quite like the bond of female friendship, and I really felt the solidarity of sisterhood during our trip. When women come together, they empower one another to be stronger and offer a tremendous well of emotional support.
When one of my friends began her cycle earlier than anticipated on a remote hike, we all rallied together and pooled our sanitary pads to get her through.
When I had a moment of height-induced panic on a hike, my friends reassured me I would be OK and encouraged me to keep going.
When another friend ended up in tears because her daughter had received some bad news, we hugged her and tried to support her through it.
There were so many beautiful moments of connection like these that I will hold in my heart in years to come.
So, what's next for our traveling girl squad? We all lead very busy lives, and most of us live in different areas of Australia and the world (our fifth friend is based in Hong Kong). It's hard to know when exactly we might have the opportunity to connect again for another overseas adventure.
However, one thing's for sure. The memories of our trip will sustain us until we meet again — and there will be a next time, even if it's another decade in the making.