The Girl Who Borrowed My Toothpaste

 And Never Gave It Back (Thank God)

Some stories don’t start with fireworks.
Or a perfect sunrise.
Or some profound “Eat, Pray, Love” moment.

Some stories — the best kind begin with a shared tube of toothpaste in a creaky dorm room in Thailand.

 A Dorm Room in Bangkok

The room was dim. The fan squeaked. My feet hurt. And I was seriously questioning my solo trip to Thailand.

Then she walked in.

Sarah. 6,545 km from home. From Germany.
A backpacker with freckles, a braided anklet, and the calm energy of someone who’d seen things.

She looked around, dropped her bag, smiled, and said:

“Hey, do you have toothpaste?”

That was it.
The first sentence.
The beginning of everything.

From Toothpaste to Temple Hopping

Over the next few days, we kept finding each other.

In the kitchen at breakfast.
On the hostel rooftop at night.
Sharing SIM card tips, exchanging mosquito repellent, swapping stories about exes and awkward visa runs.

We didn’t plan it but we started doing everything together.
And Bangkok opened up like a lotus flower in bloom.

We visited temples we couldn’t pronounce.
Got lost in Chatuchak Market for hours.
Ate pad thai on plastic chairs while stray cats brushed past our ankles.
We even laughed so hard during a tuk-tuk ride that the driver stopped just to join in.

 From Bangkok to Koh Samui to Koh Tao

Then came the islands.
Ferries, sunburn, snorkeling goggles, sand in our bedsheets.

In Koh Samui, we watched the sun set behind a group of fire dancers on the beach.
In Koh Tao, we cried together after a night of deep talks under the stars about childhood, family pressure, and how sometimes, solo travel isn’t about being alone… but being found.

What Travel Really Gives You

Sarah wasn’t just a hostel roommate anymore.

She was my translator in markets, my emergency contact, my midnight swim partner, my therapist over mango sticky rice.

We never exchanged numbers.
We exchanged trust.
We shared something raw and beautiful something only travel allows:
a stranger becoming home.

And all of it all of it began because she needed toothpaste.

 So, What’s the Point?

People always ask me what solo travel has taught me.

I could say: confidence. Freedom. Adventure.

But here’s the real answer:
Solo travel reminds you that you’re never truly alone.
Not when the world keeps offering you people like Sarah.

So to every traveler out there 
Don’t just chase landscapes. Chase moments.
Smile at strangers.
Say yes to random questions.
Lend your toothpaste.

Because sometimes, that’s how a lifetime story begins.

Sarah and I still talk. We’ve now met in Berlin, Nairobi, and Accra because that’s what real travel friendships do:
They travel, too.

And while she did eventually buy her own toothpaste,
I still carry that empty tube like a relic.

A reminder that in the middle of a messy dorm room in a foreign country, I found family.