Once upon a time in Asia... the end

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So that was it. As I write this, we have been back in London a couple of weeks and have snapped back into our normal lives. But what a truly unforgettable trip this was.

From our very first night in Asia where we held hands and settled into our massage chairs in Ho Chi Minh City, to when we had our first taste of pho sat on tiny stools on the corner of a Ho Chi Minh street and breathed in the smells of Vietnam; when we first encountered the seedy, ridiculously OTT metropolis that is Bangkok, when we rode on the motorbike through Samui, had the best massage of my life (shimmery bum!) and dodged snakes falling from trees; when we saw in the New Year in Phnom Penh and visited the horror that is the Killing Fields; when we drove across Cambodia and encountered a whole different world; when we played with baby monkeys on the steps of the Angkor Wat temples, watched over by a serene, smiling monk; when we tasted out-of-this-world coffee on the banks of the Mekong River in Luang Prabang; when we breathed in the pure, crisp air in the early morning haze on Inle Lake, Burma; when we watched the sun set over the temples in Bagan as dust rose and settled before our eyes; when we saw a city emerging from its dark past in the shape of Yangon; when we came as close as we could to paradise on the white sands and emerald waters of the Andaman Sea in Koh Ngai… for every single second, this has been such a phenomenal journey.

These past few weeks have shown me more about life than you can ever know from the pages of a book or a TV programme. Asia is a place that is like no other and we’ve barely even touched upon so many of the places. If Lonely Planet South East Asia is the benchmark, we’ve visited eight of the 20 must-see places (Angkor Wat, Bagan, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hanoi, Inle Lake, Luang Prabang and Phnom Penh). And the fun isn’t over yet. While the next trip is already (naturally) being planned out, there’s still enough to discover on the streets of London. We may just need to search a little bit harder to find that colour.

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For the trivia fans...

Countries visited: Five Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam

Genocide survivors spoken to: One (that we knew of) Cambodia

Water buffaloes eaten: One Laos

Dogs eaten: One (probably) Vietnam

Hospitals visited: Two Samui, Bangkok

Snakes encountered: Three Burma, Thailand

Temples visited: More than I could ever count

Plane trips taken: Seven (propeller) 16 (jet)

Presents bought: An entire suitcase full

Birthdays celebrated: Two, C's Bangkok, mine Koh Lanta

Boat trips taken: Three Inle Lake, Burma Two Koh Lanta One Koh Ngai

Number of times we have taken our shoes on and off to go into a Buddhist temple: Countless

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Favourite country: Burma (love, love, love)

Best food: Vietnam

Best meal: Chicken and tomato curry, chicken and potato curry and cauliflower with yellow bean sauce in a coffehouse while we watched Arsenal vs Chelsea Nwaungshe, Inle Lake, Burma and eating everything on skewers by the roadside, Hanoi, Vietnam

Friendliest people: Burma

Worst drivers: Cambodia

Cleanest place: Burma

Dirtiest place: Bangkok/Phnom Penh

Best coffee: Laos

Noisiest people: Vietnamese

Most attractive people: Cambodians

Best massage: Thailand

Friendliest people: Burmese

Rudest people: Laotians

Most restricted country: Laos

Most relaxing place: Inle Lake, Burma

Most beautiful sunset: Bagan, Burma

Best breakfast: Luang Prabang, Laos

Best smells: The foot massage salon in Koh Samui or Inle Lake in the early morning

Games played: Chess, Uno

Worst smells: Bangkok. I do love it but it is beyond filthy

Coldest place: Inle Lake

Hottest place: Yangon or Koh Ngai

Most humid place: Bangkok

Most romantic place: Inle Lake, Koh Ngai

Best place to watch football: Teahouse in Nwaungshe, Inle Lake

Best shopping: Bangkok

Best cocktails: Blue Bird Hotel, Bagan, Burma

Best airport: Samui

Number of lilos we got through in our final three weeks: Five

Most Westernised country: Thailand (unquestionably)

Longest time spent in one location: Koh Samui

Shortest time spent in one location: Vientiane

Top five moments: Watching the stars in the night sky at Inle Lake, discovering Bangkok together for the first time, cycling through Bagan around dusty temples with nobody else in sight, the very first time we ate a meal in Asia sat on a street corner in Ho Chi Minh eating pho noodles and sat cuddled on the beach on our first night in Koh Ngai.

Best quotes:

Me (on my 28th birthday): "I wish there were ten years between 28 and 38."

C: "If this country (applies to Thailand, Burma and Laos) took the amount of gold that they spent on Buddhas and spent it on local schools and feeding the population instead, everybody would be a lot better off."

And finally, because I have been asked this a lot...

Times proposed to: None

Times informed that it was a good thing having not been proposed to: One (quote, "it's good because we have more money to travel with instead of spending it on an engagement ring.")

Times informed I was going to be dumped for Jack Wilshere as he is "so dreamy": Two

Times that C is going to get abuse for me writing the past two points: Countless!

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It's only a matter of time before we do it again. Until next time... xxx

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