Return to Blighty

The last two days of our stay on Rarotonga have seen the sun reappear, like some kind of tease and have also led to the discovery of a goat that has a center hair parting, in fact, exactly like Jamie used to have, many moons ago :)
We went to 'Island Night' at a local bar and were surprised to discover that unlike the many huge Polynesian specimens on display around the island, this night featured some of the more lithe, younger Cook Islanders who danced away to the furious drumming of their elders like it was some kind of Pacific rave. The drumming was so good, I bought the CD and intend to sample it to death and then sell it to the highest bidder, Mwah ha ha!
We've just returned our faithful moped to its owners and are about to settle down for a final bout of suntanning at the pool before we get on the plane tonight. The moped was great, I love riding them, especially not having to wear a helmet, it's one of life's simple pleasures. It of course brought back memories of riding about Vietnam and the rest of South East Asia, brilliant days!

That's it. That's really it. The final blog of our year away, it seems like it's been, ooh, a year long and at the same time, like no time at all since we left. What a year it's been for us, quite simply the best year of our lives. It's pretty hard sitting here trying to articulate the words to sum up all the different experiences we've had that have made this year so incredible. The highlights of the trip for me have been many, but the standouts, never-to-be-forgotten moments would include:
Getting engaged: You don't forget that kind of thing in a hurry and I think I found the most perfect spot in New Zealand for it.
Japan: I'm still blown away by that place, except for it being a bit cold at times, I couldn't fault anything about it. Tokyo is a city of dizzying contrasts and excitement that I'm really looking forward to exploring again, I could bang on and on about everywhere we went and how good it all was, but I spent a month doing that last January, I even enjoyed hanging out with Alex, Eremi and Ant!
Borneo: Another amazing country. The wildlife there is something else, seeing Orang Utans in the wild and walking through the jungle was superb.
Sipadan: The best diving of my life, jaw-dropping, breath-taking underwater experiences that will live with me forever.
The Gibbon Experience: Being terrified as a storm raged around us in a tree house 50 meters off the ground may not sound fun, but something I would recommend anyone to do, absolutely mental :)
Western Australia: What a surprise, that Oz would be such a great place. Especially Western Oz, outstanding scenery and wildlife made for an unforgettable time.
Angkor Wat: 40 degree temperatures were pretty hard to take, but we sweated our way round the worlds biggest temple for 3 days and it was awesome.

In fact almost every day was outstanding, some days we actually rowed (I know that's hard to believe), some days we just spent washing, interneting, at the post office, but even then it was good, because we weren't at work and we were doing and seeing things that the majority of people will never do. Travelling, how I hate that term, but travelling none the less, is probably something that I should have done years ago when I was just a lad, I'd have probably spent the next decade continuing to travel about, but I feel that being a cynical, wizened 30 something year old has made me really appreciate even more everything we've done. It's a year that when I'm on my death bed (if I'm in bed), thinking about my life and what I've done with it and hopefully they'll be a lot more time yet to fill with family, friends and other amazing experiences, but it'll be one of those things that I'll look back on and be satisfied that I really lived my life in that period.
Well that's it folks, we hope you've enjoyed our blog as much as we've enjoyed writing it, I know its tough, but you'll all have to get back on with your lives now. If it's any consolation we'll be back in your lives in good old England come Monday morning.
A massive thanks to everyone who put Comments on our blog and who sent us emails, we love you guys :)


We're coming home :)