Alls Well That Ends Well

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Hello everyone. My adventure is now over, or at least my Asian adventure. I arrived home in York just over a week ago and have been busy ever since. We got home fine after arising at 4:30 am in Mumbai, getting a taxi to the airport, flying for 2 hours to Dubai, waiting for 2 hours then flying for 8 hours to Manchester where we are picked up by Sam’s mum and I was by 9:30 pm. This blog is by way of a conclusion and look back at the last six months.

Firstly, thank you all for reading (more people seem to have read these than I thought) and I hope you haven’t found them to boring. The last six months have been a hell of an adventure and one that I wouldn’t have missed for the world. We started in squeaky-clean Singapore and moved on the friendly Malaysia before hitting funky Thailand. Then we zipped round Indochina starting with laid back, beautiful Loas, then super beurocratic Vietnam and ancient and tragic Cambodia. A short chill in Bangkok then we were plunged into kaleidoscopic India. We swung though historic Maharastra, bustled around Hindu Tamil Nadu, slowed down in lovely Kerela and danced along Goan beaches before walking Rajasthans dusty roads, marvelling at Agra, Dehli and Amristars buildings then finding peace and stomach upsets in McLeod Ganj before returning to Historic York. And that was our adventure.

The highlights:

Snorkelling off the Perhentian Islands, Malaysia.

Trekking in Chang Mai, Thailand - couldn’t have had a better group of people.

Buddhist retreat, Chang Mai, Thailand.

Laos - just all of it is beautiful but staying with a family in Muang Ngoi stands out.

DMZ zone by motorbike, Vietnam - A great way to learn the tragic history and see the amazing countryside.

Angkor, Cambodia - these ruins are on of the top highlights of the whole six months. Go before while you knees still work!

Getting hugged by Amma, Kerela, India - she is an amazing woman.

Sunrise dolphin spotting, Palolem, India - just beautiful.

Agra, India - the Taj Mahal is as good as people say it is and Agra fort is un-missable.

McLeod Gang, India - the walk around the Dali Lama’s residence is one of the most beautiful I’ve ever done.

But the undisputed highlight was all the amazing and lovely people we have met and encountered in all the countries we’ve visited. True we encountered many horrible, selfish, sexists and racist people too but it is the nice people I will remember most. The woman who gave us a lift to the batik workshop in Malaysia, Charles the philosopher in Chang Rai, the noodle soup shop man in Chang Rai who tried out his English with the help of a dictionary, all the people on our trek, the whole gang who we met in Laos (David, Liel, Sharminy etc), the ex-pats in Cambodia, the spice plantation guide in Kerela, the Australian Dentist and American couple in Rajasthan and the Tibetan refugee monk who had been a political prisoner in china, to name but a few.
I’m glad to say my travelling days are far from over. There are vast unexplored areas of the world waiting for me to discover. So thank you again and lets all sty in touch.

Jen
p.s. previous blogs have been updated a bit and some new picks are up.

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