And the award goes to....

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Although we haven't quite finished our trip, we still have a week holiday in Scandinavia to come, we are now home from our epic round the world trip that last lasted a mere six months, but what an amazing experience we had and one we would not hesitate to do again! But for now its eyes down, cracking on with rebuilding the deficit the trip left behind! But with so many people asking what were our favourites we have compiled a wee list to let you know. Some were easy, some felt like answering "daddy or chips?" And others left us perplexed a while longer!



For our sins, we travelled from Lancaster to Heathrow, before enduring a total of 25 flights totalling 93 hours and we travelled on every type of transport available: plane, train, car, boat, bicycle, motorbike, jet plane, camel, elephant, parachute, raft, taxi, campervan, sleeping coach, catamaran, ferry, canoe, pick up truck, roller coaster, tuk tuk, long tail boat, cable car, tram, ski lift, gondola- you name it we rode it in an amazing 76,246 kilometres! In all that, we only lost two dresses along the way, had a total delay of one hour in flights, a bus breakdown of three hours and no forgotten or lost hotel/hostel reservations!

We have written an impressive (if we say so ourselves) 95,301 words (prior to this) and had over 5064 views of our blog, so thank YOU!!!

Our favourites were written along the way updating them as we went along and go a little something like this:



Best beach-

We have both agreed nothing can beat Whitehaven beach of the Whitsundays, East coast Australia, often voted in the top ten beaches in the world it isn't hard to see why!

Best meal-

Ben- Popolo in Brisbane, Australia, the restaurant was famous for sharing dishes which is what we do anyway and it was a stunning place with views over the river as the sun set.

Lauren- Tamarind in Hanoi, Vietnam, a great vegetarian restaurant that we went to twice, the safest thing to do in a country that eat our four legged friends!



Best food find-

Ben- pad Thai in Thailand, Scrummy!

Lauren- pumpkin- from Australia to New Zealand and North America nothing could beat this, from savoury to sweet I had pumpkin pancakes, soufflé, pie, cheesecake, pasta, bread- you name it I'll eat it!



Worst meal-

Ben- Halong Bay, Vietnam, we requested vegetarian as it was seafood that was awful and they forgot us and we got given cabbage. Only cabbage!

Lauren- the food poisoning in Koh Phi Phi, Thailand, we will never forget seeing that a thousand times afterward!



Best alcoholic drink-

Ben- anchor beer, Cambodia, the better of the two local beers, light and tasty but most gorgeous in Asia!

Lauren- Singapore sling! The legend that we tried first hand for a fine fee in Raffles, Singapore, nothing beat its sweetness and perfect amount of alcohol topped with a cherry!



Best non alcoholic drink-

Ben- a fruit shake blitzed fresh with ice on the streets in Laos on a blistering hot day!

Lauren- Max Brenner's hot chocolate, a fine find in cold weather of Melbourne, so good we had it more than twice!



Best excursion-

Ben- Whitsundays islands, what could beat three days on a catamaran steering the boat, watching whales and dolphins, visiting perfect beaches and playing ring of fire!

Lauren- Chiang Mai, Thailand, a day of elephant trekking, jungle trekking and white water and bamboo rafting topped with an evening of Thai food and drink plus karaoke with the group, perfect!



Best accommodation-

Ben- Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia, absolutely freezing outside and welcomed into a home with heaters and comfy beds with an old fashioned stove and couches, and a four bed room just for the two of us, and cheap as chips!

Lauren- Railay Beach, Thailand, the luxury but still cheaper than a night in a two star in England, we had our own bungalow with air conditioning, bbc news, and bug free!



Best city-

Ben- Queenstown, South Island, New Zealand, great buzz to the après ski town with every activity available on offer with fabulous eateries and bars to boot

Lauren- Singapore was awesome, expensive at times but you could do cheap too! So much culture to revel in and enough shops to melt your credit card and luxury at every corner, the jewel of Asia!



Place where we would live-

Ben- toss up between Melbourne and Vancouver and both always switch places in international vote as number one place to live! With so much to do and so much on offer it is hard to choose, cold winters to ski but warm summers to surf, perfect!

Lauren- Washington state, with a family already there it would be sensational! So many holiday places surround it and so similar to the UK it would be home from home



Craziest thing seen-

Ben- Hanoi, Vietnam, how people cross the road through moving traffic, you just close your eyes and go keeping a steady pace!

Lauren- people standing up on planes- all the time! Running to windows on take off and landing etc, mainly in Vietnam!



Best attraction-

Ben- universal studios, Singapore and Orlando, no detail is too small too notice, especially when it came to Harry Potter world, plus meeting icons!

Lauren- Killing fields, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the organisation was amazing, you wore your own headset to go as slow or as fast as you like and the preservation of the memories of lives lost was incredible.



Worst place we stayed-

Ben- Byron Bay backpackers inn, Australia, we stayed here as Lauren's brother had and when we finally fell asleep in a ten bed room after French guys were drinking and smoking they came back and had loud grunting sex! But they redeemed themselves giving us a ten bed room to ourselves the next evening!

Lauren- Tinbilly, Brisbane, Australia, the room was awful, we were the only white people, everyone else was a male Korean who each spent an hour in the one bathroom for thirteen people!



First place go back to-

Ben- Blue mountains, Australia, we could take another hundred walks and still feel there were places untouched and walks untrodden!



Lauren- Colorado, USA, definitely go back and see more of the Rocky Mountains, and ski at Aspen!



Best airport-

We both agree Singapore airport was outstanding for choice of shops, eateries and the awesome free things- foot massages, phone chargers, sleeping chairs, movie theatre, butterfly garden and koi fish pond!



Worst airport-

Again both agree, Krabi, Thailand, you could check in but not pass security! We shared some drink thing that was awful and couldn't eat there!



Best mode of transport-

Ben- Moto in Hanoi, Vietnam, we were expecting a bus collection but instead got motorbikes that road us through the crazy streets of Hanoi and listening to Lauren scream was hilarious!

Lauren- Skydive plane in New Zealand, not knowing what I was gonna feel a few minutes down the road, and the scenery was simply breathtaking!



Most memorable journey-

Ben- Taxi driver Hanoi, Vietnam, yes Hanoi gave a lot of things, the driver almost fell asleep several times and we got seriously worried whether we would make it in one piece!

Lauren- Sleeper bus that drove us from Nha Trang to Saigon, Vietnam, six hours of fun sitting/lying awkwardly and trying not to fall out as we swerved tight corners in the middle of the night being bitten to death, finally sleeping at 2am and being asked to evacuate for thirty minutes ten minutes later!



Best viewpoint-

Ben- Singapore at marina bay sands, the amazing casino and hotel complex a top a giant boat overlooking the harbour, Grand Prix circuit and skyscrapers, both in the day and at night fall.

Lauren- Sydney off Manley ferry as we came in at sunset, I couldn't believe I was finally seeing this thinking it was more than half a world away!



Best sunset/rise-

Ben- Grand Canyon sunset, amidst snow we saw the sun setting over this wonder of the world and again saw the sun rise the next morning in minus 17 degrees, not sure which took the breath away more!

Lauren- Lake Tekapo sunrise, South Island, New Zealand, again sub zero temperatures, but watching the sun burn orange, red, pink and yellow over stunningly blue water was something I felt was very special to see with the eye.



Fav picture-

Ben- Bridge and moon Brisbane, Australia, caught just after dinner on our anniversary, it looks spectacular in the photo but just as to see it with the naked eye.

Lauren- Us and Frankenstein, in Singapore, universal studios, just cracks me up every time I see it!



Best activity to take up-

Ben- Cycling, we did a lot and really enjoyed it and can't wait to get stuck into some this winter and summer!

Lauren- Hard trekking! Casual walks don't cut it for us anymore we need incline and decline and lots of it!



Worst day ever-

We both agree Vang Vieng, Laos, from start to finish, it was a horrible place, full of every insect imaginable and the three hour bus breakdown in sufferable heat topped off our worst destination!



Number one accessory we could not have survived without-

Ben- iPad! For writing the blogs, backing up pictures, playing games, playing music, keeping up with friends and family, everything!

Lauren- My purple and pink scarf, sure it didn't go with everything but it kept me cool and warmed me up, kept me covered for cold journeys on a plane and in temples and was a god send at night in the campervan to warm my feet! Even worn as a sarong on the beach!



Best take breath away moment-

Ben- Swimming with turtles in Great Barrier Reef, we saw a lot snorkelling and Lauren scuba diving, but this was incredible!

Lauren- holding a Koala in Cairns, Australia, I was gutted to have missed this in two other places and seized this opportunity with both hands, and Fred hugged me back!



Best treat-

Ben- Byron Bay ice cream, very yummy, creamy and satisfying!

Lauren- Fro yo- experienced first in Hong Kong, then many times in USA, brilliant as no fat, depending on your toppings!



One thing never thought would do but did-

Ben- See Lauren stand on a snake as it would mean she was close to one!

Lauren- get close enough to a snake then stand on it accidentally!



Best holiday destination-

Ben- Railay, Thailand, brilliant beach resort with stuff to do, including a cave of penis' if that floats your boat!

Lauren- Queenstown in New Zealand, so much to do there as said and a lot of fun doing it!



Friendliest people-

Ben- Cambodians, especially the tuk tuk drivers they couldn't do enough for you at Angkor Wat and in Phnom Penh.

Lauren- New Zealanders were very helpful and couldn't do enough to assist you.



Tour guide-

Ben- Chamlong in Thailand our trek tour guide, he called himself Mike and was up for a laugh!

Lauren- Erica and nick our host and skipper on the Whitsundays, they claim to never drink then got on board with ring of fire!



Best phrase-

Ben- "Oh my Buddha", from Thailand, classic!

Lauren- "How ya goin'" said by every other Australian, turns out "Good'day" has had it's place set!



So that's it, we hope you have enjoyed it! We shall continue our blog for future holidays and trips but that has been our quick stop tour of the world, feel free to post, comment or ask questions. We hope you had fun reading as much as we have had fun, experiencing, writing it and re reading to re live it! Until next time....

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