Milan, you were such a genuine, down to earth and joyful human being. Our first meeting in the Philippines, honestly, we shared some of the best days of my life. You had this amazing sense of humour and the good vibes you spread were infectious. 🇵🇭
A group of travellers passing from Port Barton to El Nido. A 4 hour trip turned into the party bus & that group of friends would become known as the wolfpack & travel together for the rest of the trip on an adventure of a lifetime. 🏝
Vivid memories of us all playing kings cup, dancing to Flume & the dessert song, doing the squid dance, laughing until we cried & not wanting the night to end. Skinny dipping in the ocean surrounded by fluorescent plankton. Coming back to our money & phones stolen. Upset until a new day rises & realising that the material posessions are not whats important, its the experiences that we share with one another that won't be replaced. 🏖
You were more of a brother to me mate, a friendship I hold dear even if distance seperates us. One night you were my wingman at a club on the beach of El Nido, until we regrouped for the ferry at 5am to Coron. Everyone was ready to sleep, not you & I. We found a bottle of tequila off some Canadians & decided to make use of the trip. We sneaked out of the front ferry cabin & re-enacted the Titanic. Having a great laugh until the loud speaker called us back in & we got dirty looks from Nadine, Anja & a talking to by the crew. 🚢
We arrived, traversed Coron for hours fin search of spur of the moment accommodation, sleep depraved & hangover kicking in. We were down in the dumps. You walked away & came back with a banana. Looked at our sad faces pressed the sideways banana to your mouth & turned it from sad to happy face. Something so simple yet I'll never forget it and it's you to a T. Don't let the sad times get you down, 'Hakuna Matata', it means no worries. You'll always be there to brighten the mood. 🍌
I've always cherished that we got to catch up in Australia & I could show you where I grew up. Hiking, tackling Goliath burgers, seeking out waterfalls with a cheeky photo & a sneaky nut or two. You were always up for an adventure & explored more of this world than almost anyone would see in a lifetime. You did the hard yards at the army & off you went spending years traversing through Continents & embracing culture. Truly inspirational to me & I'm sure many others. 🌏
This is so hard to write, too soon, too young, too unfortunate. To say goodbye with tears streaming down my eyes but also knowing you're at peace up there. You're telling me you took a one way ticket to 'destination fucked' but you're having a ball & want Mr to cheer up, flip the banana to a smiley face and crack a beer. Cheers mate. 🍻
I'll leave you with a phrase that I shared with you when we first met.
'We're not here to fuck spiders!'
Translation - we're not here to sit idle and watch the world go by, we're going to jump into it without fear of the unknown and take full grasp of every opportunity to try a new food, drink, culture custom, country, experience, activity and create new & lasting friends/relationships from around the world.
I love you bro, you'll never be forgotten.💚