So this is it....I am writing this from 40000 feet high in the air with approximately 2221 miles to go until I land back into London Heathrow, where it all began in January. Just a couple of days ago, I was sat in a Vietnamese coffee shop in Singapore writing my journal and had a brief moment where I stopped everything and just thought "what the flip has just happened...?!" - It still all feels so surreal, especially looking back over photos from months ago and I think it's going to be pretty tough leaving it all behind. So, after spending my last night with a friend up KL tower and then soaking up my last bit of street food (and cheap beer) on Jalan Alor, I couldn't believe that the time had come to actually go home. I think one of the hardest bits about traveling was saying goodbye to people that I've met and shared wonderful memories with and the time had come to do it one last time. The following day, I took the tube and bus to the airport. I can tell you now, I definitely won't miss avoiding rats under my feet in broad daylight....the only place I want to see rats is on a BBQ thank you very much. I had some dinner at the airport and wasted some time by taking a stroll along the jungle Boardwalk (yes, there is a jungle Boardwalk in the airport...). I later found out that they fed me on the plane anyway - oops, what a shame...! That same evening, I landed in Guanzghou, China with an absolutely incredible view of the city lit up. It was all so clear, I even spotted what was definitely an elephant on a football pitch (OK, maybe it wasn't THAT clear)....I just wish I had left with that memory in my head rather than going into the city to see something that was far from incredible...I particularly enjoyed the stench of sewage and how the Chinese refuse to catch their sneezes but instead power them away from themselves...lovely. The airline kindly provided me with a free hotel for my layover however, after landing at 11:30pm, I did not get to the hotel until 2:30am as I was spending that time going through the visa process in order to go to the hotel for what would now be about 4 hours...what made the process more enjoyable was definitely the non-queuing Asian people who seemed to think that I was just waiting at the border control for fun and didn't actually want to get out of the airport that night. But I made it and fingers crossed I make it to London too!
I want to thank you all so so much for all the lovely comments about my blog - and putting the sarcasm and jokes aside, I have had the craziest time and have loved sharing it with you. Also a huge shoutout to my wonderful Uncle Dave and Auntie Tracey who I cannot thank enough for taking me under their wings for a couple of weeks in Vietnam. And Ella for joining me in Borneo and sharing some wild experiences with me.