Home again, home again, home again...

And how to end a blog that has lasted six months?

Try a few stats: 

I travelled through  11 countries and all the world time zones.

45,000 kilometers journeyed.

£12000 spent. 3549 photographs.

I learned how to say please and thank you in nine languages; and have already forgotten eight of them.

I have two full exercise books of almost-daily hand written diary.

I walked a total of 720 kilometers (but set myself a target of 1000).

16 flights in six months.

Four long train journeys:

Trans Siberian from St Petersburg to Beijing; San Francisco to Seattle; Seattle to St Pauls/Minneapolis; Copenhagen to Stockholm.

Four ferries: Helsinki to St Petersburg; Busan to Shimoniseki and two to the Orknies.

And how did it all end?  Paul and Sophie were at Heathrow to greet me holding a

Mr Man picture with Round the World Strongie boldly written on it.  And had organised me a buffet and party when I got home…bless!   So, home again, home again, home again.

And what did I learn?

Several things struck me: 

On the big train...  The sudden change from the lack of energy and antipathy of Mongolia to that of China.  Within a few miles of desert and barrenness of the Mongolian side of the Gobi there was Chinese industry, farming, housing… bustling and productive. 

The wonderful sweet, politeness, charm and pleasantness of the Far Eastern people.  Especially Korea.  It was very noticeable.

I did not see loads of amazing, wonderful, totally-different flora and fauna.  Sadly.

Even everyday clover, blackberries, hogweed… sparrows, starlings…squirrels… spruce, birch… were just everywhere.

I was surprised how the major world-renowned icons were not how I really expected them to be. 
Tianamen Square, Forbidden City,  the Great Wall,  Kremlin, the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley.  They looked incredibly familiar… but they were not. 

The obvious social decay in California was shocking.  It was not just the homelessness but it was a pervading atmosphere.  Ok, I know I was not poshing it up in 5* hotels but I did not expect such hopelessness.

But there is such beauty everywhere.  And I know that on my little travel I did not even scratch the surface.  It’s a big wonderful world out there.