Farewell and goodnight

Thursday, 20/12/2012 - 190 A.D.

So…this is the…end! The end of the world as we know it? Nope, just the end of this blog. I could keep it going and publish details of my mundane English life – what I did at work each day, trips to Morrisons at the weekends, dusting down the surfaces when I have a spare moment. Sadly, that’s not going to happen (I don’t do dusting, as you well know). Instead I’ll sign off and leave the record of this trip eternally preserved online for all to see, providing Google doesn’t decide to pull the plug on it. I’d like to think that one day my great-great grandchildren will tune in to read about where I went and what I did all those years ago, but by then technology will be so far advanced that they won’t be bothered with having to physically read words and use their eyes to look at pictures, no matter how many megapixels they contain.

I have thoroughly enjoyed writing this blog, and I get the impression that some amongst you have gained some pleasure from reading it. Good. Although it was a lot of fun to write every single night, there were points when completing the entries became a little laboured, particularly in the latter stages. How many times can you write about what you had for breakfast, let alone still make it sound interesting? Probably this blog sounded quite self-indulgent at times, for which I apologise, but when it’s just you and one other person for such a long period of time you cannot help but zone into your own little universe. Anyway, I send a thousand thanks to every single person who has tuned in to read about my exploits.

This trip took a lot of planning, a lot of saving up, a lot of sacrificing (not of the human kind) and ultimately a lot of guts…more than I knew I had. If anyone out there is reading this and wanting to do the same thing, then all I can say is do it. Make the leap, take the chance. I won’t go as far as to say if you don’t do it now then you never will, because that’s not true....but just do it. 

And as for those we met along the way, well, it’s a big thank you to the following:

Chaz, Nina, Heidi, Junior, Giselle, Josh, Golden Boy, Roma, Ukranian Office Worker, Kyle and Betsy, Swedish Anna, Hannah and Mike, Joey Florida, Berghaus Girl, Canadian Ghandi, German Anneka, Jack Osborne Lookalike, Greek Girl, Chicago guy with the wife from Scarborough, Mexican Grandma, Grad school guy from Wyoming, the Nashville Kingpin, Little Johnny Vegas, Don, Jonathon the Barman, the Alabama Waitresses, Zoe the Shots Girl, Susan, Bluto and Smiler, The Vietnam Vet, Amazing Grace, Kwan, Grabriele, Bible Mary, Seattle Steve, Tyler, Rhonda, Johnathon the Gangbanger, Swedish Greyhound Girl, Slingshot Mosher, Arthur, Dwight, Rahul, Pankaj, Terry and Bob, Marhsall, Simon, Carsten, Lars, Coco, Dan, Mitch, The Uno Family, Annalise, Happy Camper Rob, Happy Camper Dorothy, Keith and Kay, Malcolm, Senior Techy Steve, Kate from Southport, Chunkz, The Utah Saints, Nice Guy Eddie, Danish Blue, Colorado Kyle, Anthony Darlo, Stoner Mackay, Anni, Elise, Benjamin, Southport Barber, Scouse Jess, Cass, Tim, Two Japanese Girls, Swiss Simon, The Canberra Quiz Master, Svitlana, Chloe, Laura, Sam, Zoe, Cat, Julian, Colinda, Beatrice, Justine, Boonsilly Germans, Thavy, Bohpa, Phi, Ngan, Kendo, Kim The Tailor, Flower Tour Girl, Yoshi, Nina, Chinese Riddler, Sunny, Haven, Neville, Sujan and the Peak Point Family, Bikesh, the Cozy Cafe Lads, every single one of the Greyhound drivers…and anyone else I have left out. 

[Now that was self-indulgent!]

And no thanks to the Shanghai tea scammers and the cow that stepped out in front of our train in Thailand. Well…that’s not strictly fair, as without them we wouldn’t have been able to tell the tales, so it’s a begrudging thanks.

I was going to do a big numeric countdown involving all the things we’ve been through, e.g. 5,202 kilometres travelled in New Zealand, $16 to cross Cambodia, 2 toilets repaired, etc….but I just couldn’t be bothered. So I’ll simply give you the abridged version:

3 pairs of jeans

2 pairs of shorts

1 absolutely amazing experience

0 regrets

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Epilogue

Plane landed fine. Met mum and dad at the airport. Not telling you if there were tears or not. Driven back home across a frozen, but welcoming England. Am now back in the bedroom in which I spent my teenage years. Reflecting. Did it really happen? Yes. Was it really that amazing? Yes. Will I be a different person because of it? Too early to say. All I can say is thank you, but at this point I don’t know who exactly I’m directing those thanks towards. Possibly to everyone in this world, a world that I have spent the last six months circumnavigating. I just luvs you all! 

And for now…

…all is well.