Around the World in 204 Days

In 7 months that has quite literally 'flown by' since leaving home on October 5th 2010, we have travelled around the world. We left home the day after Europe regained the Ryder Cup and since we have been away, England has retained the Ashes, performed poorly at a World Cup, won the 6 nations and beaten Wales in a Euro qualifier. In other news, New Zealand and Japan have suffered devastating earthquakes, Christmas, New Year & Easter have come and gone and the UK has experienced the coldest winter and the warmest April in decades.

What started as a drunken conversation a year ago later turned into a rough worldwide plan. Bar a couple of amendments it is with a great sense of achievement that we have not only completed this plan but also on time and within our allotted budget, which is actually at a lower cost than the average UK wedding! We have seen everything we hoped to see, but in addition so many other amazing places, and surprises that we never expected. We have experienced many unique cultures and met some fantastic people along the way. It has truly been the most amazing once in a lifetime adventure and something we shall never forget!

The Route

England-China & Tibet-Nepal-India- Thailand-Vietnam-Laos-Cambodia-Thailand-Malaysia-Brunei-Malaysian Borneo-Brunei-Malaysia-Singapore-Australia-New Zealand-Chile-Argentina-Chile-Argentina-Chile-Bolivia-Peru-Bolivia-Paraguay-Argentina-Brazil

34,250 Miles by Air (51 hours or 2 Days 3 hrs)

13,000 Miles On Land (295 hours or 12 days 7 hrs)

Making a total of 47,250 miles travelled (346 hours or 14 days 10 hrs)

Around the World in Numbers

• 204 Days Away from Home
• 19 Countries
• 4 Continents
• 24 Flights
• 19 Overland Border Crossings
• 27 Airports
• 7 Airlines
• 14 Capital Cities
• 19 Currencies
• 12 different languages
• 57 Passport Stamps
• 6 Visas (all Asia)
• 5200 Metres Highest Altitude (Everest BC)
• 42 Degrees Celcius Highest Temperature (Sydney)
• -3 Degrees Celcius Lowest Temperature (Night before Everest BC
• 69 Hostel/Hotels
• 77 Hostel/Hotel rooms
• 3 Nights Average Stay in Any One Hostel
• 22 Nights Longest Amount of Time in any One Country (Argentina)
• 2 Nights Shortest Amount of Time in any One Country (Singapore & Australia)
• 20 Long Bus Journeys
• 5 Train Journeys
• 23 Hours Longest Train Journey (Xining to Lhasa)
• 13 Hours Longest Bus Journey (Mendoza to Buenos Aires)
• 13 Hours Longest Flight Time (London-Beijing)
• 20 Hours Spent on a Beach
• 5 Orang Utans Seen in the Wild (Borneo)
• 12 Pence Cheapest Beer (Hue, Vietnam)
• 55 Different Brands of Beer Consumed
• 59 Travel Blogs
• 16 gb of Digital Photographs Taken

Highs and Lows- The Winners Are....

Here are the nominations and winners for highlights, disappointments and surprises we found along the way:

The Best Natural Phenomenon:

The nominations are:

• North Face of Mt Everest (Tibet)
• Lake Namtso (Tibet)
• Lake Yamdrok Tso (Tibet)
• Andes Mountain range (South America)
• Himalayan Mountain range (Asia)
• Torres del Paine National Park (Patagonia, Chile)
• Lagos grey Glacier (Patagonia, Chile)
• Perito Moreno Glacier (Patagonia, Argentina)
• Tierra del Fuego National Park & the Beagle Canal (Patagonia, Argentina)
• Lauca National Park (Chile)
• Phi Phi & 'The Beach' (Thailand)
• 4000 Islands of the Mekong (Laos)
• Kinabatangan River (Malaysian Borneo)
• Iguazu Waterfalls (Brazil)
• The Coromandel Peninsula (New Zealand)
• The Himalayan Mountain Range and Lake Pokhara (Nepal)

The Winner is: Perito Moreno Glacier, Patagonia, Argentina- A mesmerising wall of ice with spectacular consequences when pieces fall off!

The Best Man Made Structure/Building:

The nominations are:

• Petronas Towers (Malaysia)
• Machu Picchu (Peru)
• Great Wall of China (China)
• Terracotta Warriors (China)
• Temples of Angkor (Cambodia)
• Taj Mahal (India)
• Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque (Brunei)
• Christ the Redeemer Statue (Brazil)
• Potala Palace (Tibet)
• Sydney Opera House (Australia)
• Marina Bays Sands Hotel (Singapore)

The Winner is: Machu Picchu, Peru- How did the Incas build it so high up in the Andes?- The ruins and setting are breathtaking!

The Biggest Surprise Along the Way:

The nominations are:

• Perito Moreno Glacier (Patagonia- Argentina)
• Arica & the Northern Chile Desert
• Putre & the Lauca National Park (Chile)
• Si Phan Don & The 4000 islands of the Mekong (Laos)
• The Shire Film Set (New Zealand)
• Pashupatinath in Kathmandu (Nepal)
• The Kinabatangan River (Malaysian Borneo)

The Winner is: Si Phan Don, Laos- A hidden wilderness of 4000 sand islands on the Mekong river with intoxicating sunsets

The Biggest Disappointment:

The nominations are:

• The Reed islands on Lake Titicaca (Peru)- a complete tourist trap rather than experiencing local life
• Phnom Penh (Cambodia)- The Surrounding museums were fascinating but the city itself was largely disappointing
• Sydney (Australia) extortionate costs have taken a shine off this wonderful city. Hostels charging for wifi and water at £3 a bottle!
• Modernisation of the Cu Chi Tunnels (Vietnam) have changed them from a personal visit to a tourist procession
• We got off to a bad start with a taxi ride in Delhi but the characterless, dirty city did little to improve on this during our visit.
• Deforestation that has occurred in the centre of Borneo & large parts of mainland Malaysia- jungle has been replaced by Palm oil Plantations

The Winner is: Delhi, India- We expected an fascinating introduction to Indian culture but instead found a messy city of filth, squalor and tourist scams.

The Best Wildlife Encounter:

The nominations are:

• Male Orang-utan we stumbled upon near the Birds nest caves stripping bark from a tree, Borneo
• Mother, father and baby Orang-utan feeding on fruit in a tree above the Kinabatangan river, Borneo
• Proboscis monkeys playing in trees by the Kinabatangan river, Borneo
• A Vicuña fighting a male fox away from it's young in the Lauca National Park, Chile
• Condors soaring on thermals in Patagonia, Chile
• Large Monitor Lizards roaming freely on an island off Kota Kinabalu, Malaysian Borneo
• A Large snake slithering across the path in front of us in Kathmamdu, Nepal
• A scorpion intruder in our room in Putre, Chile
• Walking amongst a colony of Penguins in the Beagle Canal, Ushuiaia, Argentina

The Winner is: Our Family Orang Utan encounter on the Kinabatangan river in Malaysian Borneo- extremely rare and simply amazing viewing.

Our Favourite City:

The nominations are:

• Beijing, China
• Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia
• Singapore, Singapore
• Sydney, Australia
• Santiago, Chile
• La Paz, Bolivia
• Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Bangkok, Thailand
• Cusco, Peru
• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Siem Reap, Cambodia
• Ushuaia, Argentina

The Winner Is: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil- A relaxed city of beaches, spectacular scenery and tiny bikinis.

Our Favourite Food:

The nominations are:

• Momo-Steamed Dumplings (Nepal & Tibet)
• Spring Rolls (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia)
• Beef or Veg Noodle Soup (Asia)
• Takako's Tempura (Brunei)
• Egg fried rice (Tibet)
• Beef Lomo (Boca, Buenos Aires)
• BBQ Salmon (Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia)
• Empanadas (Argentina & Chile)

The Winner Is: Tibetan Momo- Steamed Dumplings with meat, veg or cheese filling- a must have daily starter!

Our Favourite Drink:

The nominations are:

• Coca Tea (Peru)
• Santa Julia Malbec (Mendoza, Argentina)
• Inca Cola (Peru)
• Singapore Sling (Singapore)
• Mojito Cocktail (Thailand)
• Capirinha Cocktail (Rio, Brazil)
• Fruit Smoothies (Bangkok, Thailand)
• Beers of the World (The World)

The Winner is: Sally just couldn't get enough of the Coca Tea in Peru

The Most Uncomfortable Moment:

The nominations are:

• Walking on the streets of Delhi
• A dodgy stomach incident during a 13hr bus journey from Mendoza-Buenos Aires
• The arrival taxi journey in Delhi, India
• The Border crossing from Tibet-Nepal with an out of date permit
• Arrival in Xining, China- dropped in the city at the wrong place with no English speakers around
• Overheating in Asia- Phi Phi/Brunei/Cu Chi Tunnels
• Getting eaten alive by Sandflies at Machu Picchu, Peru
• Freezing the Night before visiting Everest, Tibet -3 degrees with no heating in our room
• The 3rd day of Inca Trek, Peru- heavy rain & cold
• Prolonged migraine (Sally) due to the first exposure to altitude on the Tibet train
• Hashing (Paul) in the dense jungle, Brunei
• The bus ride in Cambodia sat in Isle and on front steps on overcrowded bus for 3 hrs

The Winner Is: Sally's high altitude migraine required oxygen on the Tibet train and was rather unpleasant for a number of hours.

Some Stupid Moments Along the Way:

The nominations are:

• Being overtaken by a truck driving up Mt Kinabalu, Malaysia in our hire car
• Arriving in Xian,China city centre by bus and not being able to find the bell tower...it was pitch black!
• Nha Trang station, Vietnam watching our train stand on the platform for 30 mins then leave without us
• Asking the hotel for Petrol in the Torres Del Paine National Park, Chile only to find Petrol means Diesel so adding the incorrect fuel

The Winner is: After arriving early at Nha Trang Station in Vietnam we sat in the waiting room looking at the rather old style wooden benches train assuming it wouldn't be ours only to watch it leave...doh!

The End of a Very Long Road

Now that we have finally reached the end of our adventure and returned home, all that remains is to say Thank You for following us along the way. I have really enjoyed trying my hand at travel writing and hearing that you have enjoyed reading about our adventures has made the many hours of typing worthwhile. If we have inspired one of you to go out and see more of the world, we will have achieved something. If that is you, please do let us know!

So this brings us to the end of a fantastic adventure and it is time for us to return to 'normal' life but we find ourselves thinking:

The more of the world we see, the bigger it gets....so where shall we go next?

To Be Continued (One Day)......