Home and Away's Guestbook

Thanks everyone for your comments...
I feel very privileged to have the opportunity to travel, and to share on this site.

Sign of things to come...
Yes, I have closed the circle on the need for pilgrimages. Another reason this is so, is that I don't really get into the spirit of a pilgrimage in just a week of walking. The Camino de Santiago was my best pilgrimage, indeed life, experience. Many return to walk the Camino again and again, but I am not the type to recreate experiences. There is so much more to see and do in this world.

Thanks everyone for your comments...
I must admit I felt like a failure, so your comments are an encouragement. Sorry about the length, but it was impossible to separate the blog into two or more coherent blogs as my decisions regarding the Via Francigena was interwoven throughout the whole time, from loosing my walking stick at the beginning to flying over Finisterre at the end.

Thanks for commenting....
Yes, Thailand has changed significantly since I was born there in 1949. The first big change cam in the mid-1960's with the Vietnam War bringing the U.S. military; not only those stationed at the airbases, but also those on R&R from Vietnam. When I returned to Thailand after college, it was still mostly the traditional country I had known. But the massive increase in tourism starting in the 1980s, and the Thai adapting all their traditions to cater to the tourists was so very disappointing. But when I took my children to visit the country in 2007, nothing was the same. My wife refused to go with us as she didn't want her memories of how Thailand used to be to be replaced. But the impact of tourism is being felt all over the world, with huge crowds with their selfie sticks at all the "must see" places.

Retroactive documentation of trips...
thanks for reading some of my blogs and that they inspired you to document some of your past travels.