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We are still sitting in Georgia, to be exact we are sitting in the middle of a forest in the Telavi Region, a stream is trickling down from the left of our tents and the birds are doing their thing up in the trees. We have now been on the road for four months and it has flown by with such pace that sometimes you forget to just sit and reflect. I think this may be a bit of a curse for all travellers? Like in life you rush through what you want and don't actually just stop and think - wow, just what exactly have we done so far? When we started this blog it was mainly for family and friends, but also for people like us who were complete travel novices, both stuck in a rut, and both determined to try and branch out and do something different. When I started reading other peoples travel blogs I was in awe, how did people manage years of travel? But having now dipped our toes in this traveling lark, I can see how it changes your whole perception of life.
What have we done so far? What memories have we
collected? How much have we forgotten so far?
We started by leaving Melbourne, packing up the Ford Laser to the point where we had to forgo the coffee machine and board games (hope you're enjoying them Suze!). There was a mixture of fear, excitement and a general 'what have we gotten ourselves into here' feeling? The first moment when you realise that this is the moment you have been counting down to for so long is a surreal one. The saving, the planning, the waiting, it's a process that I have read about in many blogs, and they are all the same. It's nice to know that at the end of the day we are all the same and wish and want the best time possible.
Sydney was the next destination, mainly for a family wedding but also almost a trial run and 'have we forgotten anything' trip. For two weeks we worked out that we had far too
much stuff and at the end of the day it's ok to just have a couple of shirts and a couple of clean undies. Sydney was also a chance to soak up some of the Aussie sun and enjoy
the finals - i.e final good wine, final tasty bbq, final episodes of tv!
Cyprus for a month was a nice way to break us into being away from home. Well, we were staying with my folks so technically I was still at home and having the support of parents
made it very easy. It was a first chance to test out the new walking boots (strange things if you have never worn them) and also test out the gastro pills thanks to some dodgy meatballs at a tourist restaurant. It also gave me a chance to rediscover the island I called home for 13 years. It's funny when you live somewhere for so long you end up resenting it, especially as a moody teenager, but then when you stay away for a period of time you start to realise that it wasn't actually that bad. In fact it's down right great!
Amsterdam and Ireland where new for me and old for Susan but still more chance to discover and branch out by ourselves. Working out that jam sandwiches were ok for breakfast and lunch and that stealing the coffee sachets from petrol stations came in handy. Then
we were real travellers, scrimping and saving etc etc but then we would fall down by treating ourselves to a large bowl of delicious mussels. Oops. During our time in these two countries we also realised that tourists are everywhere, we really are. Dam Square in Amsterdam is like a mosh pit, heaving with people and cameras, guess it's a thing we call progress?
A few days in London before the start of our Silk Road adventure was the end of the easy road and start of the 'this is the real thing'. Sleeping bags and mats acquired we were ready to hit the big time, time to go bush and get under canvas. There we were, backpacks at the ready, quick dry towels and travel pillows, we were finally about to be real explorers. Alas it wasn't really the case. France, Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania...are all, well, almost like home. Maybe we are all guilty of forgetting that the world is actually now quite a small place.
It wasn't until we hit Bulgaria and parts of Turkey that we started to feel like we were off the beaten track. Poverty becomes more apparent, supermarkets aren't
around and no, not everyone speaks English. It was also by then that we worked out how to set the tent up so we don't get wet from condensation, that buying a small thermos will save your life when providing a mid-morning coffee and that baby wipes are the best invention in the world. We now feel like we are in a travelling groove. Putting up and taking down the tent is easy and cleaning clothes in the shower tub is a non-event. It's taken a couple of months but maybe we are there now? The fact that we are also now definately hitting the off the beaten track area has helped.
Georgia has inadvertently become the country where we have started to work it all out and started to remember just what we have done.
Best parts so far? Where we do we begin? Cologne Cathedral, yes I am not really one for religious buildings, but it was stunning. Brown ale in the campsite in Prague, a thick molasses like brew that flowed very easily. Putting together a fitness group out of our fellow travellers in a field in Bulgaria, aptly called the 'MTC' aka Muffin Top
Crew!! (Clearly to get rid of said Muffin Top rather than prevent one!)
Walking through the sidestreets of Istanbul then feasting on fish sandwiches by the Bosphorus. Hot air ballooning in Goreme. Having an impromtu party on the road side for Susan's birthday with a group of local guys loaded with brandy, wine, out of date chocolates and sign language. Ambling through and photographing the old part of Tbilisi. Digging our first poo hole! (A strange highlight to have? Yes, but one that means you can make it through any situation). Too many to list, and too many to remember. What will we be like in another four months?
Worst parts so far, (there always has to be some of those!)? Rainy days in any country. The amount of people crammed in Prague. Being overcharged for a coke in Prague as well. Being harassed by beggar children in Tbilisi. Wet mornings in the tent. Not having a good coffee since being taken to a Kiwi cafe for a flat white. Missing a good steak. Thinking about it now though, most of things that aren't really great are not even that important, it's more missing parts that make our
lives spoilt but being aware that we are spoilt in other areas and other ways. Very few countries have dissapointed, and very few have given us bad experiences.
What are we now looking forward to? Travelling over the Caspian sea from Azerbaijan to Turkmenistan. Visiting Ashgabat just so I can send a postcard from there to my Dad. Camping through the thousands of miles of Kyrgistan countryside. Seeing Everest. Spending a week in Kathmandu and hiking part of the Annapurna. And that's just in the next three months!
People back home might wonder if we have changed yet. Not really, more open minded and definately less stressed than when we started. We still have no idea where we will end up and what we will do. We have definately caught the travel bug and think we now have more of the smarts and courage to do alot more of it. I've already started asking Susan if we have the funds to do Africa! Surely we can muster up a few more dollars, and no,
we won't be doing any of THAT work before anyone makes any wise cracks.
All in all. We are having a blast. To
friends and family we love you and miss you all and we do think and talk about you all the time. For those of you who are strangers reading this, either thank you for giving us inspiration to do this, or if you are like us before we started and are looking for inspiration, in the words of my mother, "Get off your butt and do it for yourself."
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Reflection?
Wow - soul searching, memories, growing up, appreciation of the more important things in life, we think you have covered them all. Now I expect you can see why for me it is a commune with nature and your Dad a commune with history - we all have our escape routes and getting back to roots! We are with you every inch of the way, we d0on't have the memories you will keep from this trip, but we have so many other memories of distant places before they were commercialised. some of which you can't even visit any more, so we are loving your trip - keep up the good work. Love you stakka, Mxx P.S. 2 postcards to day - both posted in Turkey - thought the postman had a bad smell under his nose!!!!!! P.P.S C.J. said in his last blog - 'Mum and Dad you see all that expensive education paid off!' Well I think education and the best from both parents - now I need a larger hat!!xx