Returning home

At the risk of sounding clichéd; doesn't time fly!

Since leaving the UK in February we have visited eight countries, stayed in over seventy ho(s)tels, checked in to nineteen flights and travelled on countless buses up, down and around South East Asia.

But as they say, all good things must come to an end. I write this from my parents' kitchen, where I am taking up residence (not solely in the kitchen) until we find somewhere to live again. We're back home, and although thinking back to days spent lazing on Gili T or mud-bathing elephants in Chiang Mai most definitely make me feel more than a little blue, it is good to be home. I really thought I'd have the worst blues, but I feel six months was the perfect time frame for us. We were able to totally submerge ourselves in that lifestyle, forget about the stresses of home and take some time to refocus. And yes it was completely blissful! We had lots of 'is this real?' moments, and I can remember back to the beginning of our trip and being terrified of it moving too quickly and being over too soon. Even at the half way point I was no-where near ready to consider calling it a day, it wasn't until around 5 months when we started to accept impending doom the reality of going home.  But being home is lovely; I've seen so many friends and family in the last week or so which has been the perfect antidote to those pesky home-time blues. Throw in a couple of hen do's and it's like I've never been away!

For those wondering...
Favourite country? Vietnam. Loved it.
Favourite thing to eat out there? Bahn Mi or Tom Kha Gai.
The most unforgettable experience? Mud-bathing elephants or motorbiking North Vietnam.
Best beach? Any in El Nido, Palawan (Philippines).
Best hotel? Reverie Siam in Pai, Thailand. Blissful.
Craziest moment? Songkran in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Recommendations for others? Street food tours and cookery classes!
Best pool day? Jungle Fish, Ubud, Bali.

And what did I miss the most? Sausages (unexpected), good coffee, girl talk, singing in my car (listening to music with headphones on in public transport kills me), fresh milk, feeling cold. And of course my friends and family... although FaceTime makes being away heaps easier!

Now we've got that bit out of the way - I can't tell you how many times I've answered those questions - I'm looking forward to sharing more of our adventure with you. I started documenting the different places we visited whilst I was out there, but quickly grew tired of the snails-pace wifi. I'm hoping the process will me cathartic for me, rather than opening a can of oh-my-god-why-did-i-leave-paradise worms. That, and I've got over five thousand photos to sift through... I'm trying to convince myself this will be a logical and effective way of condensing them into something more manageable!

As always, drop me an email/comment/tweet if you have any travel-related questions, I'll do my best to help.