Reflections - The Last Post!
It’s two weeks since we landed safely at Gatwick and caught a taxi home at the end of our “holiday of a lifetime”. Already things are beginning to fade but, like a good film, every time someone asks “how was it?”, “where did you go?”, “what did you do?”, “what was your favourite place/experience etc?” everything comes flooding back and you remember more things you’d forgotten, bringing new pleasure and plenty of smiles. It also reminds you how much you actually did do and see.
As we start to settle back into our normal lives it’s an appropriate time to look back, reflect on the whole adventure and as ask “was it all worth it?”.
I suppose that one way of addressing this question is to try and distil the trip into various component parts and determine if, in my opinion, the experience added value to my life.
The total cost of the 7 month trip for both of us was £31.6k which included £3.4k of organised trips/experiences (eg Halong Bay, Whitsundays, Skydiving, Everest flights, Milford Sound etc). It also includes £2.6k of “set up/preparation” type costs that people might overlook (eg. Backpacks, walking shoes, malaria tablets, jabs, first aid kits, syringes, etc), visa’s (India £211, Vietnam £222 etc) and flights of £4k. Obviously, some countries are more expensive than others and the trip can either by more or less expensive depending on how you do it. We could have saved money by not doing so many trips/experiences (but that was important to us), by having smaller camper vans in Australia and NZ (took the advice of the flight arranger, Travel Nation, there but could have managed with a smaller van), by staying in hostel dormitories rather than hostel double rooms in South East Asia (wouldn’t have saved much because have to pay for 2 bunks rather than a room – maybe save $2 a night!) and we could have cut out a few of the more expensive hotels we stayed in at the beginning of our trip when we arrived in Singapore and Bangkok and when we returned to Phuket after returning to the UK at Christmas due to MM’s Dads heart attack. It could also have been more expensive if we’d upgraded our accommodation and eating out more often.
In addition to the cost, the other downsides were missing family and friends, unable to participate in or watch sport and difficulty in keeping up with world events.
If that’s the downside, what did we get out of it?
Arriving in strange places with nothing planned and nowhere to stay
Surviving for 7 months with only a handful of clothes
Paddling down a crocodile infested river in a dug out canoe
Tuk-tuk and Rickshaw rides
Skydiving from 16,500ft (3 miles)
Flying in a very small plane
Sleeper trains in India & Vietnam
Sleeper buses in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos
Outdoor “ablutions” with wildlife audience!
2. Experienced several countries new to one or both of us:
3. Learnt a few things about ourselves:
Only limited by your own fear, once that’s under control you can deal with anything
Can live in the moment and not have to plan everything beforehand (although that can make life easier!)
It’s very difficult to live with someone 24/7 in confined spaces, little things can become big things - we certainly exceeded the 80 arguments! However, we survived and learnt we need our own space and interests to keep our relationship strong.
It doesn’t matter how far away you are, or how much you’re enjoying yourself, you can’t stop thinking and worrying about your kids.
Some of best memories come from the most unexpected sources (eg “Singh is Bling” at the cinema in Jaipur, the people of Chitwan NP, the Sapa 2 day trek, the bus ride from Sapa to Dien Bien etc)
4. Saw some absolutely amazing things:
The Homestay celebration at the Chitwan National Park in Nepal
Himalayas, including Everest
Sydney Harbour Bridge & Opera House
Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Yosemite, Zion, Bryce and Antelope canyons
That’s a big list and probably begs a lot of questions that I’ll try and answer below:
Favourite place to visit? – India, without a doubt. It’s completely bonkers but so vibrant and friendly. It’s a bit scary as you are miles out of your comfort zone and it’s so dirty and smelly! However, if you want to experience something completely different to what you’re used to then have a holiday in India, if not, stick to the Costa’s!
Favourite country to live in? – Much as I love India I don’t think I could live there and although I enjoyed Nepal and the South East Asian countries I think I would get fed up with the heat, food and poverty over time. New Zealand is a great country if you enjoy the outdoor life but I really did find the people quite one dimensional and humourless which would drive me mad over time, particularly as the towns are so small and remote, it would be difficult to get away. I really enjoyed Australia, particularly Victoria and southern NSW but, again, everywhere is so remote from everywhere else, similarly in the USA. I have to say that the UK takes a lot of beating. Of course we have our problems and the weather isn’t perfect but there’s beautiful scenery, decent humour, decent standard of living, good sport and the ability to be somewhere completely different in half an hour or to visit different cultures with different languages etc within an hours flight. Consequently, despite everything I’ve seen and done I would still choose to live in the UK – we’re very lucky and you only really appreciate that when you realise how other countries operate.
Favourite city? – Hmmm, Melbourne – just! San Francisco was close but Melbourne just pipped it because it feels a bit more intimate, has more green areas and has the MCG!
Best guided tour? – Red Fort, Agra, unbelievable history and building. More impressive than the Taj Mahal in my opinion, which can be seen across the river – do it!
Best Sunrise? – Ganges at Varanasi. If you’ve followed the blog you’ll remember we got a bit “sunrised out”! Too many very early mornings, but this was special, particularly with the drummer and Sitar player!
Best Sunset? – Chitwan National Park, Nepal. Probably not the most beautiful, but really chilled – sitting in a chair with a cold beer watching the water buffalo taking a drink in the river that wound through the fields and talking to my fellow travellers about paddling the dug out canoe along the same crocodile infested river the following morning. The mausoleums at Orcha were a close second.
Biggest disappointment? – Laos!
Saddest experience? – S21 prison and the Killing Field in Phnom Penh
Most surreal moment? – Crossing the border between India and Nepal, a real wild west moment.
Scariest moment? – Going up in the plane at Motueka (NZ) to skydive from 16,500ft and then sliding towards the door to hang out and go!
Most life changing experience? – You’d think it would be the skydive but on reflection I think it was the paraglide off the mountain in Pokara, Nepal. It was very, very scary running and jumping off the side of the mountain but I think it was that experience that gave me the confidence to do all the other stuff including skydiving, holding snakes, dealing with vertigo on walks and climbs etc. It gave me the “just effing do it” mentality and put smaller worries/fears/concerns into perspective.
Going back to the original question, “was it worth it?”, the answer is a resounding “ABSOLUTELY”. I think that both MM and I have grown as individuals and as a couple. We’ve had so many great experiences and now have fantastic memories that will last a lifetime.
I suppose the next question is “would you do it again”? and the answer is “Probably not”. I’m so glad we did it but now we’ve done it there’s no need to do it again, there are other challenges. I would strongly recommend anyone who has the opportunity to do something like we did and take off for a long unplanned trip to do it. Now we’ve done that and know we can take off at a moment’s notice with little or no luggage, land anywhere and cope. Our next trip might be to a new territory for 6-8 weeks eg South America – who knows.
Finally – am I glad I did a blog? - A good question. I really didn’t want to do one but my daughter Louisa persuaded me and set it all up for me so all I had to do was write! It was tough at first but I got into a routine and enjoyed some of the stories as I was laughing as I typed them out and remembered the moment. As time went on I became really pleased I was doing a blog because as the trip progressed experiences, people and events would get confused or vague. This blog means that we will have a lasting record of our trip, the ups and downs, the people, the laughs and the experiences that have enhanced our lives. If those of you that have followed us have enjoyed it, or it inspires you to do something you might not have done otherwise, then that’s a bonus.
Goodbye………………………………………………until next time!!
