Despite traveling to the most exotic and faraway places, without doubt the best holidays I ever had were much closer home and much shorter then what I consider a proper trip. As till today nothing beats the three week summer holidays with my parents and brothers to the dutch seaside, the seemingly endless times of careless frolicking around in the always too cold surf of the North Sea while lost in my own little pirate world, perfectly alone or standing firm with my brother ‘mates’.

Guess it isn’t hard to imagine some people travel extensively to regain the wonder of first time experiences of your younger days. Memory speaks on dull days, and midlife cluelessness asks for simple solutions, so yeah, salvation might as well lie in reliving the pre soul-sucking job free days, of going back for those old vivid moments of being constantly in awe (or so it seems when you image the younger you) by the big wide world, burden free, conquering jumpy fears and doubts with over joyous bravery and contagious shrieky laughter.

Traveling as the ultimate quest to find your inner child, why not eh?

But of course I am not that kinda person. I accept the soul-sucking part reasoning but as I already can’t stand the Love-Eat-Pray serendipity of things, to me it all sounds like utter crap.

See, I am totally convinced my inner child, if I would ever meet him, or he me, would at best (I am really trying to be positive now) nod politely at my older appearance and wonder quietly ‘do I know this guy?’ But more likely he would just (try to) ignore me and great me with a terse shrug and coolish look before dismissing me as some 110% would-be twenty-yet-forty-something tosser, yup, that kinda guy who’s till walking around in baggy trousers and lost Robert Smith whatever haircut while, all too loudly trying to tune in the Lady Gaga and Bieber cool with a eager high five in pocket, always just in case.

Probably a “Just piss off” is all I would get.

Even on a beautiful¹ beach in Thailand.

Nice.

1.In case you skipped the story and just like to know where and what about the picture. Well it’s shot last july at Klong Muang beach, just around the corner of the fancy Nakamanda Resort. And if you wonder if I would like to trade with the kids having fun – well, it was high tide as you see so not a single strip of beach to find to work on my tan, so nah, no thanks.