A six month self-diagnosis and review!

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A six month self-diagnosis and review!



Well it's been six months since I left the UK to embark on this incredible experience and journey of a lifetime! I don’t know why but I felt like doing an alternative blog, one containing a few facts about my travels to date, a few lessons I've learnt and best of all what I've learnt about myself, or in some cases confirmation of what I thought I already knew.



I hope this isn't to boring for you all, if it is then normal service will resume with the following blogs.





A few random facts..........



Number of countries visited : 12 (But this does include two touch and goes on connecting flights so I guess 10 really.)



Number of cities visited : 53



Approximate air miles : 26,270km



Forms of transport used : Plane, train, ferry, speed boat, swan peddle boat, bamboo raft, tuk tuk, rickshaw, motorbike, scooter, taxi, car, minivan, army lorry, 4x4, sleeper bus, public bus, standard bus, subway, monorail, cable car, 3 wheeled motorbike, sky train, conveyor belt, escalator, elevator, bullet train, maglev train, mountain bike, city bike, slow boat, yak, kayak, inflatable tube, walking.



Longest bus journey : 14 hours



Longest train journey : 16 hours



Craziest city : Beijing, but for all the right reasons.



Strangest food eaten : Dog



Favourite food : Thai food, well apart from the really spicy stuff.



Most friendly people : Koreans



Best Hostel (there are two) : Rock and Wood in Shanghai and BackHome in KL.



Natural Disasters experienced along the way : Floods, Earth Quake, Landslides.









Time for a little reflection.......





All-time lows whilst travelling : The scam in Shanghai, being unwell, missing friends and family.





Things I thought I would miss but haven't: My house/bed, having a car, TV, routine.



Top 3 highs of the trip so far : (please keep in mind I change my mind every couple of weeks on this one) The visit in Malaysia from my Mum and Dad, Tibet and the Everest base camp tour and the friends I've made along the way.



Most ridiculous currency : Vietnam Dong, with every ATM withdrawal I was a millionaire.



The things I regret : I have no real regrets, I’ve made plenty of mistakes along the way but all fairly minor and I'm still here to tell the tale, sometimes I wish I could be a little more care free but I've always been a planner and no matter how hard I try I cannot break this trait. And one final regret, I know this is petty but I should have got an I-pad instead of a lap top, much better and far less weight to carry around.



The places I really wish I had gone to whilst in this direction : Japan, North Korea, Philippines....... But on the positive side it's always good to have a reason to head back to Asia.





All in all.........Plunkett’s round up.



I had been putting off travelling for many years for numerous reasons such as not the right time, lack of money, frightened to do it and all the other what if's and but’s that I’m sure we all have when making a big change in our lives. Having finally taken the leap of faith I have to say it’s been an experience of a lifetime. I've had immense highs and all-time lows. I've been so ill I can't eat, drink or crawl, I've seen some of the world’s most mind blowing natural wonders and I've confirmed what’s truly important in my life. This was never really a voyage of self-discovery because that's not really me, I'm not in a place where I feel the need to find myself because I actually like who I am and how I live, I just wanted to see and experience other cultures and parts of the world and if whilst doing this I leant something new about myself or changed my views on something then that would be brilliant.

From all my travelling to date there is just one thing that stands out as being important to me and it's my friends and family. After all if I had no one to share these amazing times with then it just wouldn't be the same. I, like many of you reading this I’m sure, take a lot of things for granted and never question how lucky we all are, it’s become very apparent to me that I lead a privileged life when compared to so many others around the world, I hope whilst travelling I’ve come across as being aware of this fact and grateful for being fortunate enough to have such opportunities in my life. Seeing and hearing first-hand how much other people long to have the chance to do what I’m doing has made me want to live this experience to the full, its also ensured I’ve kept grounded at all times. There are of course days when I’ve had to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming, some of the people I’ve met and the places I’ve been will remain with me forever.



I hope the rest of my adventure continues in the same way, I certainly don't wish for it all to be easy and hassle free because these minor complications along the way have made the whole experience extra special, although I have to confess I’ve not always said that in the heat of the moment. Having said all that I hope I’ve left the natural disasters behind me now, they are something I (and everyone else) can do without.

Well that’s all from me and my reflection on six months travelling to date. Until the next “normal” blog.



Signing out – Dora the explorer!!!



PS – Please forgive the awful formatting of this blog, Travelblog is a little limited with it’s options and I can assure you this looks a lot better in Microsoft Word than it does on here.

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