Content Warning: This section contains descriptions of death by suicide, gore, and drug use.

“Everybody wants to do something different. But we all do the same thing.”

Richard goes to Thailand in search of something novel and is disappointed to find it is much like his own home, slowly being destroyed by tourism and human activity, riddled with crime and drug issues, and having its character gradually stripped away. It is this disappointment that leads Richard to take the risk of trying to find the beach; the beach presents an opportunity to do something truly unique and escape Humanity’s Slow Destruction of Nature.

“Etienne, I imagined, was hearing the sound of the surf on this hidden beach, or hiding from the Marine park warden as made his way to the island […]. Abstract thoughts suddenly flipped into thoughts about reality. Following the path of the map had become something that could happen.”

When Richard first hears about the map, he hopes it is real but knows there is a chance it is entirely mythological. He describes the feeling of anticipation, of seeing ahead to how one might feel in an entirely new situation. Etienne hears about the beach and can instantly see himself there, and Richard feels inspired by Etienne’s sense of hope.

“Sometimes it feels to me that I walked into the glade and lit the cigarette, and someone else came along and finished it.”

When Richard and the others reach the island nearest the one with the beach, Richard goes for a walk on his own and stops to sit in a glade. He reflects on this moment as the point where everything changed, as many of the things he does from this point on do not, according to him, reflect his true character.