The Adventure continues!

---

Dubai July 2 2015



So this it. We are returning to the UK for the first time since June 21, 2014. Having given up my job to go it was always going to be a life changing trip. We know we have been so lucky to have this opportunity.



There are numbers of readers who have read many of the blogs from this trip and I hope in some way they have amused and enlighten anyone who has taken the time. Thank you. It has helped me keep my brain ticking.



I hope you have got a picture of the many interesting people, both locals and fellow travellers, we have met along the way. We are very grateful to them and the relatives and many old and new friends who have supported us throughout the journey. Their generosity of spirit to broaden our experience has been universal.



We now know that outside conflict zones it is not difficult to travel anywhere in the world. It is a cliche but the world is undoubtably getting flatter by the day. You are never lost with GPS. You need patience, an open mind, a visa or two, and negotiation skills. In our travels we have seen people from across the economic spectrum and what the vast majority have had in common is a positive outlook and a desire to smile whatever their situation.



You can spend as much or as little as you want on travel. When we embarked on this journey we had no idea how much it would cost. By choosing buses over taxis and hostels over hotels and minimising the number of 'tours' we have done we have kept our costs down. We have no alway chosen the cheapest room and have only stayed in dorm rooms or a few occasions. We have often had basic ensuite facilities. We have tracked every single expenditure we have made over the year and calculated daily costs by country. This can be misleading as accommodation costs can be drastically reduced when we have stayed with friends. Often we have splurged on food tours and cookery courses.



People have asked which of the twenty seven countries you have been to do you like best? This is not easy to answer because we had fantastic experiences in each and did not feel unsafe in any. It is easiest to answer a question with the opposite sense: which countries would we not return to? There is only one, Turkmenistan. This is not just because it is so expensive to visit (visas, guides, tourist rates) as you can see from the financial data. Whilst we travelled through many countries with dubious and corrupt political infrastructure Turkmenistan was the only place where it impinged on the normal people to the degree that they did not want visitors. It remains in the top four of least visited countries in 2014 (we were 2 out of a total of 7,000). As my blog on Turkmenistan suggests, it was like another planet and we will stick to Earth in future.



This return to the UK could be considered an end. For these blogs it is certainly is a hiatus until our next significant trip whenever that will be. Fundamentally though it is a continuum. The adventure of lives goes on and we look forward to what comes next where ever that might be.

---

Photos

The Burj Khalifa
Lit up from Ramadan

Comments

[Lucy Wallis]

amazing journey
Hi Jane and Jem I have regularly read your blog throughout the year - what an amazing trip - love to you both and hope to see you soon, Lucy

[Home and Away]

I've enjoyed following your travels...
hope to hear more from you someday.

[Imogen from Berlin]

Wanderlust
Dear Jane and Jeremy, I loved reading your blog and am glad to see you continued having a great time after we met in Kyrgyzstan. Your texts and pictures gave me itchy feet, thank you very much ;-) By now I guess you will be completely settled in and all your time on the road will start to feel unreal and distant. Good luck with your next adventure - every day life - which I find so much tougher than travelling! It was great to meet you and share a small part of your big trip with you, hoping to meet you again somewhere some day, big hug from Berlin, Imogen