Nicola and I arrived at LAX airport on Friday the 17th August. The flight from Mexico City was just a few hours and before we knew it we were here. Our big round the world trip together has come to an end, like all good things must! We said our sad farewells, and I was feeling really quite emotional. It is all starting to sink in now, how lucky we are and what an amazing trip we have had. All the adventures and all the places we have been. The good times and the bad. When you are living it, especially for such a long time, it doesn't really register, it kind of just starts to feel normal being on another bus, entering another country, seeing another city, the views, the landscapes, the people, the sights, smells, tastes and sounds. And then you stop!!
I was actually starting to look forward to this trip ending! I feel like I have been away forever and just want to see everyone I care about and settle for a while. As an older traveller, for me this was more than just a trip, I was expecting to find answers to life, love and happiness. At times it was an emotional roller coaster, with highs and lows. Sometimes I would end up just feeling more confused now then I was before about where my life was headed. I had begun to feel for a while now that I had had enough of hostels, bunk beds, sharing dorm rooms, cold showers, living out of a bag, sleeping on buses and trains, having crap hair, crap clothes, wearing no make up, well, actually that was quite nice not having to scrape that off every day, but I did miss getting dolled up occasionally. But as you stop, and as it is all coming to a close you start to try and absorb everything. Every sight, smell, sound, lest you ever forget….you try and remember everything and take it all in and make the most of those last few moments, wishing you had done so more throughout the whole time you were travelling, because you know that before long you are going to wish these times were not over and you were back there. But as you get weary a few months or even weeks in some cases, into your trip, you start to forget, you don't see clearly, you are tired, and another temple becomes the same as the last! Same, same but different! Every colonial city is the same, but different. The plaza, the cathedral, the churches, the architecture. You start to take it all for granted. Stop seeing the uniqueness of everything. Even coming to the point where making the effort to meet people and go through the whole scenario of where you have been, what you have seen etc etc becomes a chore….you are never going to see them again, and you just can't be bothered to go through it again for the 100th time!!! I do think a lot of these feelings are due to the fact we moved so fast from place to place, never really stopping for long enough to get to know a place and the people, and get a feel for it. Visiting around 25 countries in 12 months is an average of one country every 2 weeks, and we never stayed in one place when we were there. We were running around from city to city and trying to see the main sights that each place had to offer. It was crazy! To start with we were both sick quite a bit with colds etc from just being run down and trying to acclimatise. I remember Nicola had a cough that went on for what seemed like months, and could not shift it! Our bodies way of telling us to slow down! We got vitamins, and carried on regardless. However every now and then we did crash and burn. This was when we stopped for a few days and holed up in a hotel room somewhere, and did absolutely nothing but watch Fox movies and eat and sleep until we were ready to face it all again. The first time this happened was Chennai in India, only a month into our trip!!
However, that said, I feel so lucky and very privileged to have been to so many places and to have seen so much of the world in such a small space of time. Next time, if I am lucky enough for there to be a next time, and you make your own luck, so I am sure there will be, I would rather choose a few very special places I would like to see and get to know, and stay there for a while, getting to know the people and place in more depth. My favourite countries I have visited and would like one day to return to include, Peru and Bolivia, Guatemala and Mexico, Cambodia and Thailand of course, always a favourite, especially Chang Mai. My wish list includes New Zealand, Fiji and the pacific islands, Indonesia, the Phillipines and Africa.
So, although our trip has ended, I did not find all the answers to life handed to me on a plate, or receive any divine intervention. I definitely feel more grounded now. I have learnt what is really important to me in my life, my friends and family who have always supported me, and been there through the good and the bad. I miss these people so much I can't even begin to express it. The people who have accepted me over the years through all my faults, and there have been many, and at times whom I have taken for granted, and still they stand by me regardless. I feel rich beyond my wildest dreams. I can't wait to get home to see them all and spend some quality time together. I have learnt that wherever you go and whatever you do, happiness can only come from within, and you make your own happiness. You can be in the most beautiful place on earth and still be unhappy if that is what you are creating for yourself, and I say this from experience. However this is not as bad as being in a lousy, cold rainy miserable place and being unhappy :)) I am also trying to just live day by day, without trying to have my whole life mapped out for me, which I do find hard as I am such a planner. Things just never work out the way you think though. I would never have believed it if someone told me a few years ago that I would leave the UK for a life in the middle east, quit my job and then take 2 years off to travel the world and whatever else the next year will bring!! So bring it on and I will try and be patient and stop wishing for things I think I should have, like a relationship, kids, a home etc, just because that is what we are led to believe life is all about. I just have a different kind of life to most people and I just have to accept that and try to make my mark in this world in other ways. I just don't want my life to end up selfish and meaningless. I want to make a difference, somewhere to someone, and that is what I will invest my energy in over the next year, finding out how I can do this and giving something back! However, I am no Mother Theresa, although I am named after her, I hope to derive from this experience, pleasure, happiness and fulfilment, meeting some amazing people along the way who will probably be a lot more like her than me!
In the meantime LA, first stop in the US of A. My friend Nick collects me from LAX and we head to Redondo Beach to drop my things before making our way downtown to Hollywood Boulevard, to see the walk of fame and the prints of the stars. We decide to do a tour of the Chinese theatre which was interesting and where a lot of Premieres are launched. We walked around for a while before heading back. I needed an early night as I had been up since 4am and was struggling now.
The following day I slept in until lunchtime. After some food Nick took me shopping to get some clothes that were more suitable for the LA scene as we were going downtown tonight with some friends of his. We started the evening in a burlesque bar before heading to a roof top bar with nice views over the city!
By about 3am we made our way home. I slept in again until lunchtime and then packed ready to leave for San Diego to spend some girlie time with Ashley. I was so excited to see her again.
I was actually starting to look forward to this trip ending! I feel like I have been away forever and just want to see everyone I care about and settle for a while. As an older traveller, for me this was more than just a trip, I was expecting to find answers to life, love and happiness. At times it was an emotional roller coaster, with highs and lows. Sometimes I would end up just feeling more confused now then I was before about where my life was headed. I had begun to feel for a while now that I had had enough of hostels, bunk beds, sharing dorm rooms, cold showers, living out of a bag, sleeping on buses and trains, having crap hair, crap clothes, wearing no make up, well, actually that was quite nice not having to scrape that off every day, but I did miss getting dolled up occasionally. But as you stop, and as it is all coming to a close you start to try and absorb everything. Every sight, smell, sound, lest you ever forget….you try and remember everything and take it all in and make the most of those last few moments, wishing you had done so more throughout the whole time you were travelling, because you know that before long you are going to wish these times were not over and you were back there. But as you get weary a few months or even weeks in some cases, into your trip, you start to forget, you don't see clearly, you are tired, and another temple becomes the same as the last! Same, same but different! Every colonial city is the same, but different. The plaza, the cathedral, the churches, the architecture. You start to take it all for granted. Stop seeing the uniqueness of everything. Even coming to the point where making the effort to meet people and go through the whole scenario of where you have been, what you have seen etc etc becomes a chore….you are never going to see them again, and you just can't be bothered to go through it again for the 100th time!!! I do think a lot of these feelings are due to the fact we moved so fast from place to place, never really stopping for long enough to get to know a place and the people, and get a feel for it. Visiting around 25 countries in 12 months is an average of one country every 2 weeks, and we never stayed in one place when we were there. We were running around from city to city and trying to see the main sights that each place had to offer. It was crazy! To start with we were both sick quite a bit with colds etc from just being run down and trying to acclimatise. I remember Nicola had a cough that went on for what seemed like months, and could not shift it! Our bodies way of telling us to slow down! We got vitamins, and carried on regardless. However every now and then we did crash and burn. This was when we stopped for a few days and holed up in a hotel room somewhere, and did absolutely nothing but watch Fox movies and eat and sleep until we were ready to face it all again. The first time this happened was Chennai in India, only a month into our trip!!
However, that said, I feel so lucky and very privileged to have been to so many places and to have seen so much of the world in such a small space of time. Next time, if I am lucky enough for there to be a next time, and you make your own luck, so I am sure there will be, I would rather choose a few very special places I would like to see and get to know, and stay there for a while, getting to know the people and place in more depth. My favourite countries I have visited and would like one day to return to include, Peru and Bolivia, Guatemala and Mexico, Cambodia and Thailand of course, always a favourite, especially Chang Mai. My wish list includes New Zealand, Fiji and the pacific islands, Indonesia, the Phillipines and Africa.
So, although our trip has ended, I did not find all the answers to life handed to me on a plate, or receive any divine intervention. I definitely feel more grounded now. I have learnt what is really important to me in my life, my friends and family who have always supported me, and been there through the good and the bad. I miss these people so much I can't even begin to express it. The people who have accepted me over the years through all my faults, and there have been many, and at times whom I have taken for granted, and still they stand by me regardless. I feel rich beyond my wildest dreams. I can't wait to get home to see them all and spend some quality time together. I have learnt that wherever you go and whatever you do, happiness can only come from within, and you make your own happiness. You can be in the most beautiful place on earth and still be unhappy if that is what you are creating for yourself, and I say this from experience. However this is not as bad as being in a lousy, cold rainy miserable place and being unhappy :)) I am also trying to just live day by day, without trying to have my whole life mapped out for me, which I do find hard as I am such a planner. Things just never work out the way you think though. I would never have believed it if someone told me a few years ago that I would leave the UK for a life in the middle east, quit my job and then take 2 years off to travel the world and whatever else the next year will bring!! So bring it on and I will try and be patient and stop wishing for things I think I should have, like a relationship, kids, a home etc, just because that is what we are led to believe life is all about. I just have a different kind of life to most people and I just have to accept that and try to make my mark in this world in other ways. I just don't want my life to end up selfish and meaningless. I want to make a difference, somewhere to someone, and that is what I will invest my energy in over the next year, finding out how I can do this and giving something back! However, I am no Mother Theresa, although I am named after her, I hope to derive from this experience, pleasure, happiness and fulfilment, meeting some amazing people along the way who will probably be a lot more like her than me!
In the meantime LA, first stop in the US of A. My friend Nick collects me from LAX and we head to Redondo Beach to drop my things before making our way downtown to Hollywood Boulevard, to see the walk of fame and the prints of the stars. We decide to do a tour of the Chinese theatre which was interesting and where a lot of Premieres are launched. We walked around for a while before heading back. I needed an early night as I had been up since 4am and was struggling now.
The following day I slept in until lunchtime. After some food Nick took me shopping to get some clothes that were more suitable for the LA scene as we were going downtown tonight with some friends of his. We started the evening in a burlesque bar before heading to a roof top bar with nice views over the city!
By about 3am we made our way home. I slept in again until lunchtime and then packed ready to leave for San Diego to spend some girlie time with Ashley. I was so excited to see her again.
