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Well, this is it. The end is nigh. No more wanderings. In fact, the end has come and gone as I’m now back in good Ol’ Blighty, a hefty £5200 lighter (and that’s not including pre-trip and flight costs), where the only noticeable difference is the badgers that visit our garden have had a baby, and our bathroom is now painted white. Joy. Tony Blair is still in power, Mum is still watching Emmerdale five nights a week, and ‘going for a curry’ and wearing a hoodie is still all the rage amongst the teenage population. Indeed, sitting at the same computer that I wrote my first blog on, it sometimes feels like I haven’t actually gone anywhere, as, like Will predicted, it’s gone by shockingly quickly. But then I turn round and see all the postcards I’ve sent to my folks, messily arrange like a rugby scrum on the mantelpiece - at least one for each of the 16 countries - and it all comes flooding back.

From Arabian Nights to British Pub Nights

Simon Wadsworth
2006-09-04 10:12:56

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Well, this is it. The end is nigh. No more wanderings. In fact, the end has come and gone as I’m now back in good Ol’ Blighty, a hefty £5200 lighter (and that’s not including pre-trip and flight costs), where the only noticeable difference is the badgers that visit our garden have had a baby, and our bathroom is now painted white. Joy. Tony Blair is still in power, Mum is still watching Emmerdale five nights a week, and ‘going for a curry’ and wearing a hoodie is still all the rage amongst the teenage population. Indeed, sitting at the same computer that I wrote my first blog on, it sometimes feels like I haven’t actually gone anywhere, as, like Will predicted, it’s gone by shockingly quickly. But then I turn round and see all the postcards I’ve sent to my folks, messily arrange like a rugby scrum on the mantelpiece - at least one for each of the 16 countries - and it all comes flooding back.

The mind boggles. It’s been an epic trip. An incredible trip. A harrowing and educational trip. At times a stressful and others a tiring trip, but always varied, intense and magical. So many religions and cultures. So many strange types of food and white-knuckle-ride modes of transport, and so so many types of landscapes that even one with the faintest inkling of an interest in physical geography (come on, you can admit it…), would get down on their knees in thanks at our beautiful world - deserts, rainforests, mountains and snow, savannas, volcanoes, tropical islands and rivers, and of course the bustling, manic cities of Manila, Auckland, Bangkok, Delhi, Kathmandu, New York, Nairobi, Phnom Penh etc.

Travelling solo, there’s been some lonely moments (cue very small violin), but it’s allowed me to learn a lot about myself and the world, more so, you could say, that at University, and it’s given me the opportunity to meet so many wonderful, kind and downright crazy people! It’s going to take a while to sink in and digest all ...