Return of the native

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This will probably be the final entry in this blog.

I'm back in Geneva and as it's mid-February the weather's cold. I've enjoyed about a year of summer, with the exception of a few cool days in the Australian and New Zealand spring, so I'll have to get used to it again. It's good to sleep in my own bed again, not in a dormitory bunk bed with half a dozen others in the room with me. It's nice not to have to repack my backpack every couple of days, or wear dirty clothes, although I got used to the dirt. We're talking soiled, not filthy. It's good to find my family and friends. Part of my family, anway. Another part lives in Canada and I need to go and see them soon.

Despite this return to familiarity and comfort, I will miss the the endless change of new places and new faces. It is very stimulating to be on the road with new things and the unknown lying ahead of you. Instead of shuffling through the routine of your day your senses remain very alert to what's new and you're constantly thinking about it. What am I seeing? is a question I often asked myself. By that I don't mean What is this thing? but rather Can I absorb and retain enough details to remember it clearly in the future? So you focus on sight, sound, smell, feel and hearing (and sometimes taste) to ensure you'll really imprint it in your memory. The camera helps, too.

A few facts about the trip:

- Number of countries visited: 17 (if you count stepping into Bolivia to get the passport stamped).
- Total kilometres travelled: just short of 50 000.
- Total time away: exactly 11 months.
- Total pictures taken: 7 447 amounting to 20 gigabytes. The latter is not a particularly relevant measure as some were in Standard JPEG (about 2MB each), some in Fine JPEG (3 to 4MB) and some in Raw format (about 9.5MB). A good photographer would shoot everything in Raw.
- Total pictures published in the blog: 698.
- Total words written in the blog: 73 468, including this entry.
- Total satisfaction: immeasurable.

My plan is to consolidate the blog, weave in a couple of themes and write a book. We'll see if the Swiss unemployment insurance system is willing to act as patron to the arts on this one. If not, I'll have to work, but I don't feel like getting back into a suit and tie and doing PR for a living. At present I'm looking for a literary agent.

Were I to do this again I'd challenge myself by going further off the beaten track, meeting more locals and fewer voyagers like me, not travelling by airplane, doing it all by motorcycle or by hitchhiking or something similar. In other words, greater challenge and greater adventure. It was a classic first-timer route and it was interesting but I think it could be made more interesting.

Some countries I would visit again, some I wouldn't not because I didn't like them but because there are other places to see. Standout countries are Nepal and Indonesia. Standout places are Longji Rice Terraces, Machu Picchu, Gili T, Perhentian Kecil, Jaisalmer and a few others for various reasons or various people.

All over the world I met people that stand out in my memory for one reason or another. To name a few would be to exclude others unfairly. You know who you are and my voyage wouldn't have been the same if I hadn't met and known you. Thank you to each of you for having helped to make it what it was.

Finally, thank you to all the readers who followed me patiently as I went from place to place and reported on it. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it for you.

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Photos

Geneva
At home with the packages I'd sent back during my voyage, including the two they sew up for you in tissue in India and Nepal.

Geneva
The view from my window. Difference in the weather from the one I took on the day I left (see first blog entry). Difference in the person who took the photo, too.