Farewell South East Asia, Coming Home
We are still drying from the wettest boat journey either of us had the pleasure of experiencing. In order to eek out the last few hours of sunshine before returning to an overcast mainland Bali we choose to sit up on the roof of the fastboat. The wind was calm and the sea gently lapping on the golden sand as we left the beautiful Gili Trawangan. The sun and blue skies remained throughout the crossing, but the wind was quickly blowing a gale and whipping up the spray so that we got a thorough 90 minute sea-water-jet-wash. My hands and feet were so soaked they looked like I had been in the bath for hours!
We have just finished three lovely days and nights on Gili Trawangan. It was the perfect place to end our travels. The weather has been faultless and it was the ideal opportunity to max-out the suntan before returning home. I don't usually last long in the sun before heading for shade, but the slightly cooler temperature and a gentle sea breeze allowed us to bask for most of the day.
When it was time to cool down just strap on a pair of fins and mask and head out for a snorkle. All the diving we have done recently has certainly improved my ability of spotting marine life. I have swam with two fairly large turtles, as well as spotting a huge batfish, massive pufferfish (not sure which type) and a small seal-faced pufferfish. Not bad considering the spartan coral.
For our last few nights we spent a bit more cash and opted for a beautiful bungalow in Gili Hideaway. This place is hidden away from the noise and set in lovely gardens with super friendly lads looking after you. I had read on TripAdvisor that the banana and cinnamon pancakes were delicious, they were so good I had them for every breakfast! I will be attempting to recreate these when I get home...
Speaking of which we will be home soon. We have one more night ahead of us, in Ubud - yes, we really are retracing out steps from our last visit. A brief visit to grab some last minute shopping before tomorrow morning's flight to Bangkok, then on to London. But, it's now fair to say our adventure is at it's end. We count ourselves very fortunate for having the opportunity to travel across the world, see so many beautiful things and be able to get a taste of life in some of the craziest places on earth.
Inevitably there were destinations that we had to miss out and would have liked to have seen. But, after 8 months, it's time to go home and see family and friends - something we are both very excited about. And frankly, we have run out of money and the credit cards have had a pounding in the last few weeks. It's certainly time to return to the real world. However, it's suffice to say that I have had the best 8 months, traveling the world with my best friend, I have experiences and memories I will cherish forever.
Our trip in numbers:
| Days | 243 |
|---|---|
| Countries | 16 |
| Flights | 27 |
| Overnight bus/train trips | 13 |
| Lost Phones | 1 |
| Lost/broken Kindles | 2 |
| Blog Posts | 75 |
| Photos | 16,000+ |
| Hospital Visits | 2 |
| Worn out flip flops | 4 pairs |
| Sunglasses lost/broken | too many to count! |
