And What If I Were You

Chapter 1 - Part 18

Thursday, March 31, 2022

Bar Horan

Pandanus

3.35pm. Sitting at the bar...

"How did I end up here?" Niall asks with a chuckle, repeating Louis' question.

"Yeah. I'm curious," Louis says as he sets his ice cold beer back down on the bartop. "You're a long way from the Emerald Isle."

"I could say the same thing about you and the Mother Country."

"For me it's an easy answer. Pandanus Palms Retreat," Louis states simply. "Not a lot of places like that around, it's pretty unique."

"Fair point. Well, I came here on holidays, actually. I was backpacking in my gap year before I started an accounting degree at uni and-"

"Wait, wait, wait a minute. Back the truck up. You were going to be an accountant? You."

"What? I'm good with numbers," Niall defends. "Besides, it's a good, honest career. Easily transferable too. Everyone always needs help with their finances."

"Yeah, alright. Continue," Louis says with a flourish of his hand.

"So, I was backpacking, right? I'd done South America, Asia, and Australia, and I had two weeks left when my mate, Sully, who I'd been travelling with, had to go home because of a family emergency. I could've gone back with him, but I wanted to suck every morsel out of the experience before I dived into uni, so I decided to change my plans. We were supposed to go to New Zealand as our last stop, but the things we had planned were all adventure activities which are better done with two people."

"Oh yeah. Like what?"

"We'd been working bits and pieces while we were travelling and had saved our cash to end the trip with a bang. Heli-skiing, canyoning, rafting, that kind of thing. Anyway, I didn't want to do all of that on my own, so I sat down and over a few beers, randomly landed on this YouTube video of this guy travelling to the least visited country in the world."

Louis quirks a brow. "Pandanus?"

"Yup. Pandanus."

"And the rest is history?"

Niall chuckles. "Not really. I mean, it might seem like that twelve years on, but no. I loved the place, of course, but it was pretty different back then. Not a lot of services, only one flight in and out each week. I stayed for the remaining two weeks of my holiday, had a blast, and then headed home and got back into my life. Uni was fine, and it was great to reconnect with my family and friends, but Pandanus was never far from my mind. It had this pull, you know? So when I had the mid-session break, I came back with a slightly more purposeful agenda. I wanted to see what opportunities there might be for a longer term stay."

"Did you know this is where you wanted to live permanently?"

"I had an inkling, but I didn't know if it was feasible. The first thing I did was get to know the people and the community to determine if an outsider would even be welcomed, and I was blown away by how generous everyone was. I stayed for a month and I don't think I ate a single meal alone. The families really opened their hearts and homes to me and I could see so many opportunities to make positive changes that would enhance life here without detracting from the fundamental things that made the place so special. I assessed the supply chain to gauge the potential for imports and exports, low-impact tourism that could be controlled, and sustainable energy generation."

"You really did come with a plan."

"Yeah, I did. What can I say? I'm a planner. And the community was so open to all of my ideas. That support was what really clinched it for me. You want another beer?"