Half Time Analysis

UK

January 2007

Alright STOP!

Lets just take a breath here and actually look back at the last four and a half months that we've been backpacking and see how we are baring up!

So we decided to jack in our jobs and take to the road, with our favourite clothes, toiletries, and one luxury - our Ipods. This was actually quite an easy decision to make as we were both tired with our jobs and not tied down with kids or a mortgage. Lets go!

Until this point in my life my only experience of travelling had been to go on package holidays, to the usual hangouts in 4 or 5 star hotels, with the only real worry being.... &Quot;did I remember to switch on my OUT OF OFFICE.&Quot;

I was really looking forward to the easy English speaking countries like Canada and New Zealand but to be honest probably due to a lack of knowledge and naivety, was a little scared about checking out South America due to an impression I had in my head about it all being very poor and dangerous. Watching the news on TV each night is a sure way to fill your brain with worries but in reality most people and places are nice, with only the few rotten eggs dotted around. Much like the UK.

Worried or not, we set off weighed down by our rucksacks and were already tired of travelling before we'd even reached Heathrow! We touched down in Vancouver (Canada) and apart from a wobbly start at the crappy Grand Trunk hostel it`s been totally amazing ever since.

For those of you who haven't fully been reading our BLOG (shame on you!) here are just a few of the things we've done in the first half of our round the world tour 2006/2007.

We've....

* seen the panoramic vistas and canoed the great lakes of Canada.
* stood beneath and admired the gigantic Redwood (Sequoya) trees in Yosemite.
* driven over the Golden Gate Bridge and spent a cold evening in Alcatraz.
* watched the shows and rolled the dice in Vegas.
* peeked through the Playboy mansion gates in Bel Air.
* sat in the audience of the Jay Leno show in Hollywood.
* explored ancient Mayan ruins and swam in sinkholes (Senotes) in Mexico.
* skimmed over the crocodile infested waters of the Everglades in Florida.
* spent a day with Mickey, Minnie, Pluto and the Gang in Disneyland.
* endured the famous Inca Trail in Deepest Darkest Peru.
* eaten out over 150 times... yummy!
* slept in over 100 different beds (singles, doubles, kings, bunks and sleeping bags on Terra Firma.)
* boarded and let our ears pop on 14 flights.

So as you can see from this brief list we've been very very lucky already and we're only half way through!

So maybe you are wondering what's its like to up sticks and travel? No, OK we'll tell you anyway...

It sucks! Joking, its the dogs proverbials! We have only missed home for a few brief moments and work.... even less. You obviously have a few thoughts about home at special times like Christmas and when your friends text you saying they are all off out tonight for drinks! :( But the rest of the time you are too busy seeing the world, this amazing planet that we all take for granted in all its glory!

London is a cool place to live in don't get me wrong, but there are so many other cities that are just as cool but cleaner, with nicer friendlier people and with amazing backdrops, rather than Peckham and Crystal Palace. Also it seems from experience that we are truly ripped off to the max in our country... everything is so much cheaper abroad and that takes into account the average wage.

Moving around from place to place can be tiring at times, when you urgently need to book a room or bus to the next town... We are generally only thinking a few days ahead once we are in a country and its nice to not be planning everything in advance but can also be very costly as we've found out a few times when the last hotel room in town is $300 or the only plane seats left are business class.

One thing that has really surprised me about myself is that back home I like everything in its place and own so many things and clothes.... so the thought of living out of one bag for 9 months was daunting, but I actually like it. You have one pair of jeans instead of ten, eight T-shirts instead of fourty (of which in reality you only ever wear about the same ten), so it takes all the hardship out of waking up each day and deciding what to wear... A bit like prison!

Its great to move around where one day you`re wrapped up and its snowing and two days later you`re in your swimmers on the beach. We've been very fortunate to date with the weather and seems that when we have a travel-day or day in the web cafe it rains!

What I like:
* Freedom and lack of responsibility
* Sampling various cultures, foods and lifestyles.
* Meeting other travellers and hearing their stories.
* The Internet is a life saver for keeping you in touch with those back home and for booking rooms, buses, fights etc.

What Grinds my Gears:
* Bunk beds and dorms in hostels (you always sleep with one eye open and there´s not always room for your stuff)
* Dirty toilets or even worse, ones with no seat!
* People who don't speak English! Ha haa only kidding most foreigners speak better English than me...
* Cracked windscreens in taxis... Just get it replaced and we'll all feel safer.
* Slow PCs in web cafes or those where the keyboard and mouse are on their last legs! aarrrgghhhh!

OK so all joking aside I love travelling, way more than I thought and putting the few niggles aside, its the best things I've done in my life.

I'm sure the next four and a half months will fly by faster than the first and although I'm looking forward to getting home I'm also dreading having to stop this adventure.... mixed emotions me thinks when we land in Heathrow!

Also We've found that we really like photography and maybe soon will invest in a bigger more professional camera for our next trip. On this update you can check out some of our favourite shots so far!

You get one life...... live it!!!

SY Wrote:

All my life I have wanted to travel, I have been fortunate with family, friends and opportunity to have seen a little of the world already, but nothing like this. We are truly free spirited now going wherever the wind blows us. It´s almost indescribable the feeling to be living out your dreams, as that doesn`t usually happen.....Jon has already put most of how I feel into words above. I just wanted to add that I do miss my family and friends and am always greatful for the emails of love, support and encouragement. Before I went away as you may know my life was a little in confusion with various family issues.....but things are clearer and sharper now and I know that no matter what, everything will be ok. I feel stronger as a person as have taken on the world...and won!!!

Everything we have done has been fantastic and I don´t regret a single minute. Jon has proved to be the best travelling companion through mountains and plane rides, high rollers and low times.....here´s to another four and a half months....thank you all for sharing it with us....who knows what adventures lie ahead....xxx.