So where next...?
Trip Start
Aug 01, 2009
1
Trip End
Aug 02, 2009
Cambridge, England, United Kingdom
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Twelve months ago we set out on what has been the most amazing of journeys, passing through numerous continents and enjoying many different countries, meeting old friends and making new ones, growing a little older and a little wiser along the way and now we are saying a goodbye to this part of our life. It may all sound a little sentimental, but this year has become more than just a holiday, it has been normal life for us for so long and we have so many memories (and a zillion photos) from all the things we have done, seen and experienced. Normal life becons and we probably fall back into the routine of home and work alarmingly quickly, but somewhere in the back of our grey matter will be a huge amount of affection for every part of our trip, and of course the constant urge to head off again somewhere else...
We have traveled through parts of Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, America, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile. We have sunbathed on white sandy beaches and cooled down in the crystal clear waters; we have climbed mountains covered in snow, blanketed in clouds and choked in volcanic fumes; we have trekked through jungles, over deserts and through canyons and gorges; we have dived in many of the world best dive spots and explored sunken ships; we have skiied and canyoned, sandboarded and skinny dipped; we have travelled by planes, local buses and motorbikes; scooters, 4x4s and dump trucks; trains, long distance coahes and cars; campervans, tuktuks and boats; and even scored the odd friendly local lift. We have slept in 5star hotels, backpacker dorms and a lot of sleeper buses - enjoyed having our bed turned down and a chocolate on the pillow through to trying to find the spot without the spring in your back and not getting out of your clothes because the bed was alive with bugs and grime. We have camped at 5000m and walked at 200m below sea level, we have tanned in the warmth of 40oC, slept in the ice of -17oC and baked in the heat of 50oC. We have seen Ankor Wot, Machu Pichu and Mount Taronga; we have climbed the Patronas Towers, sailed a junk through Halong Bay and gazed at the remote islands of Phi Phi; admired the architecture of the Sydney Opera House, the glitz and glam around Hollywood Boulevard, the shear noise and volume of water at Igazu Falls and the remoteness of Solar de Uyuni. We have had shrimps on the bbq for Christmas, oohed and ahhed at the fireworks in Sydney Harbour for new year, blasted along the open roads of California on Harley Davidsons, driven a camper van to all ends of New Zealand and even managed to suprise each other for our birthdays. We have also been stopped at boarders, had our passports cited, had blazing arguments, been fined, been tailed, been ripped off, got debilitating back ache and blistering sunburn, had our banks stop access to our accounts and just about stayed on budget. We have met with friends from home and made countless new ones, exchanged stories and swapped emails, missed our families and planned new trips.
At the end of it all we are (almost) ready for home and we have missed our friends and familes and can't wait to see them. We have be granted a year sabatical from work so (hopefully) have our jobs to return to for which we are greatful for the time and the reduced stress of what to do when we get back. We owe so much to our friends who have given us their hospitality and a place to stay - for which we say an almighty thank you, you have all, and we really do mean this, made a massive difference to our trip. Our familes back home have been there for us from the very begining and through out, redirecting mail, sorting bank accounts, updating us with news from home and reminding us they are still there - we love you all and wouldn't want to do it without you.
So enough of the sentimental hindsight - it's an emotional time for us but we actually really mean all our thank yous to everyone - where next!? Well we have plenty of ideas - for every place we have been to and every storey we have heard we seem to add another 12 places to our 'must go there' list. We have been very lucky and would recommend it to anyone. Would we go back to anywhere - given the time and the money, of course we would, but there are sooo many other places out there to visit. Where has been our most favourite place, we can't say, each place has been fantastic for different reasons.
But for now, we are packing our bags for the final leg of this journey, however, still planning trips to Barbados, Mexico, the Red Sea, Siberia, the Antarctic, Mongolia, Japan, China, India, Africa...
