My wife and I just got back from a 5D4N trip to Bangkok last week. Standard relaxed chill holiday—eat till drop, go for massages, buy clothes, drink a bit. On our third night, we were wandering around and decided to check out this popular pub/club area. Walked into one of the mainstream bars that was pretty packed, ordered two drinks, and tried to enjoy the music.
After maybe 20 minutes, both of us felt super off. The vibe was just too rowdy. People were already sloshed, pushing around, and the crowd was getting suffocatingly thick. My wife looked at me and whispered, “Babe, very noisy and squishy, let’s go back hotel order GrabFood.” Honestly, I almost wanted to stay for one more beer, but seeing her uncomfortable, I said okay, settled the bill, and we walked out.
Fast forward to the next night: we were chilling in our hotel room watching TikTok when we saw news popping up on our feed. That exact same pub had caught fire. A massive blaze broke out during peak hours, and people were trapped trying to get out. We did not realized it’s the same place we went only until we came back to Singapore days later.
Looking at the video clips on the news, my stomach literally dropped. Cold sweat everywhere. That was us sitting near the back corner just 24 hours ago. If we had picked the next night to go, or if we had stayed longer… I don’t even want to think about “what ifs.”
Honestly, life is so fragile. In Singapore, we get so caught up in the daily rat race, complaining about housing, OT, public transport, and all the micro-stressors. But sitting on that hotel bed with my wife, holding her hand, I realized none of that nonsense matters.
Heng ah, really. Sometimes you just have to trust your gut feeling (or your wife’s gut feeling). Value your loved ones and hug them tighter today. Life can change in a split second.