Manchester return...

...And the bags did arrive. Touchdown in a gloriously drizzly Manchester. Typical. What a welcome home...

Totally bittersweet. Good to see everyone. Nice to be home. Home comforts and all that jazz.
But, where is the adventure? The unknown? Kinda grim and Im writing this 3 weeks after our return and it still feels the same.

The last night was strange. No jokes. The last time we would be sleeping in a dorm together. Thousands of miles away from home. Away. On our own. On our adventure. The past six months have come and gone. In the blink of an eye, it seems we have travelled the world, met some amazing people, seen wonderful places and done once in a lifetime things. But now, it was almost over. The next time I would lie in a bed it would be my own.

On the first page of my diary is my first entry written at London Heathrow on January 16th 2008. We had just met Steve McClaren and I said that "highlight of trip so far is meeting Steve McClaren. No doubt in July it will seen a distant memory and other things are talked about more." Inevitably that is true as we have thousands of memories (not to mention an equal number of pictures just incase we forget!)

- From the cold welcome in Beijing, even colder visits to the Pandas and a fun fun fun filled 48 hour train ride, new years day walking along the Shanghai bund, to the lovely Chungking mansions in wonderful Hong Kong.

- From the sizzling atmosphere of Khaosan Road in Bangkok, the jungle trekking in Chiang Mai, cuddling Tigers in Kanchanaburi, dancing the night and morning away in Ko Phanghan, swimming the emerald waters of Ko Phi Phi to crossing the Thai/Malay boarder.

- From funny stomachs for some in Georgetown, tea and scone eating in Cameron Highlands, trying to lose people in the Taman Negara jungle, drunken nights in Kuala Lumpur and sweating it out in Singapore.

- From the crazy nights in Cairns, sailing the seas of the Whitsundays, breaking jeeps on Fraser island, goat herding in Kroombit, novice surfing in Noosa, binging in Brisbane and sunning it up in Sydney.

- From the Champions of Europe in Christchurch, diving with dolphins in Kaikoura, hiking a the Franz Josef glacier and doing everything imaginable in Queenstown.

- From chilling on a beach in Fiji to diving with sharks.

- From driving through the hood in LA and chasing celebs in Beverly Hills, watching ball in San Diego, rubber ringing in Tahoe and living the dream in San Francisco.

We have travelled approximately 25,000 miles. This has been the time of a lifetime. We went through ups and downs. Mainly ups. Went out friends. Came back brothers. Seen things many will never see. Done things many will never do.

I have seen more than I remember. I remember more than I have seen.

If only the journey could continue. In an ideal world it would...
Unfortunately all good things have to come to an end at some point...


There are certainly some quotes which I now know to be true and will certainly influence my life:

* "When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money."

* "The more I travel, the more I realise that fear makes strangers of people who should be friends."

* "Don’t tell me how educated

Brothers from another mother

you are. Tell me how much you have travelled."

* "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."

* "The trail is the thing, not the end of the trail. Travel too fast and you miss all you are travelling for."

* "Those who wander are not necessarily lost."


Until next time...

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