Frustrated with his job and contrary to the naysayers telling him to stay, Aren Manoukian (Առէն Մանուկեան) Ren Manoukian, the son of immigrant parents living in England, planned to spend a year in Southeast Asia, China, and Japan in search of life, love, and meaning. So, he ditched his two-hour commute from his soot stained sublet in South London and flew, instead, to Bangkok.
Set in the 80s and 90s, against a backdrop of great societal change this coming of age story paints the reasons we travel and includes elements of conflict, tragedy, hope, and romcom as our protagonist descends from fulfilling his dreams with the purest motives, into a hedonistic decline.
Like the cormorant used by the Ukai fishermen, will he be destined to catch the fish but not eat it or can he find redemption?
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William M Christie Mel Christie
March 25, 2025
Header photo of Ukai cormorant fishing by Rod Waddington via Flickr under the Creative Commons license, cropped to fit.
Photo of blossoms by Brett Sayles under the Pexels license, saturated for effect.
Photo of Jeepney by Shankar S via Flickr under the Creative Commons license, cropped to fit.
All other photos, unless otherwise stated, were taken by me.
Copyright © 2025. All rights reserved.
All content was inspired by real events and people, in that all were real, but some were more real than others. Names and characteristics have been changed to preserve privacy, experiences have been compressed, some have been rearranged, and some have been somewhat tweaked. Any further resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
Although every effort to maintain accuracy of circumstances and information, the author does not assume and hereby disclaims any liability to any party for any loss or damage caused by errors, omissions, or fuzzy memory. After all, these travels took place thirty or more years ago and are the product of a person who did not always speak the local language despite his best attempts.