So here we are in Kuala Lumpur Airport on our final leg, awaiting the departure of flight MH2 to take us back to old blighty. We've had the most amazing trip, the most incredible adventures and we are still talking to each other. It's all a bit emotional at the moment and the prospect of re-entering the real world is daunting. Someone emailed me recently to ask, jokingly, whether I felt that I had finally got the bug out of my system. No such luck. In fact we are already planning the next trip...

But we thought we would leave you with a few parting thoughts:

The Indonesia we saw is a beautiful and diverse county. Beautiful in its natural wonders (orangutans, Komodo dragons, jungles, coral reefs), its geography (volcanoes, beaches, mountainous regions), and its culture (Borobudur, Sulawesi, Bali). And diverse in that it spans over 17,000 islands, home to a vast array of peoples, languages, cultures, religions and environments.

It's also undergoing growing pains as it seeks to move from being a corrupt, Third World country to join the likes of Malaysia, Taiwan and South Korea emerging into a more affluent and stable phase. Whilst we were there, a general election was held, and the press observed that Indonesians were at a crossroads, where their country could go one of two ways, each with an Asian precedent. It could become like India, whose recent election saw an orderly transfer of power to a new government; or it risked becoming like Iran, where elections were tarnished with suspicion, and power is seen as an opportunity rather than a responsibility.

Many of Indonesia's strengths are also its weaknesses. In most places, people of different faiths (Muslim, Christian, Hindu, animist) coexist; however, in places rival religious factions battle for supremacy (often claiming lives, and driving out minority faiths), and tales of growing religious conservatism are common in the papers.

Whilst the country opens its arms and welcomes foreign tourists to share in its wonders, these same tourists are targeted by terrorists who don't adopt the majority's vision of an Indonesia that is for everyone to enjoy.

The country's natural treasures that attract tourists in their millions also attract logging (Borneo, Java, Sumatra) and mining (Komodo, Papua) companies, which are rapidly destroying much of its virgin territory (without the majority of the wealth being distributed to local inhabitants, most notably in Papua).

The diverse peoples of Indonesia make the country fascinating to the outsider; but many of those people suffer at the hands of an oppressive, centralist, militaristic regime that clamps down violently on separatist movements seeking greater regional autonomy (East Timor in the past, and Papua now, where even peaceful protest is classified as a crime).

It is to be hoped that the Indonesia that emerges over the next 20 years manages to retain its diversity and natural beauty, without sliding towards greater religious conservatism or more heavy handed government.

The vast majority of people who we met were genuinely friendly, helpful, and caring whilst also being kind beyond the call of duty, and for their sake, as well as millions of foreign visitors, I've got my fingers crossed.

For what its worth, we've also got a Top 5 list of things we've seen over the three months of this trip. In chronological order for Duncan it's:

High altitude Tajik lakes (Karakol, Choktor Kul)

Darvaza Gas Crater (Turkmenistan)

Turkmen archaeological sites (Konye Urgench, Gonur Depe, Merv)

Kratakoa (Java)

Orangutans (Borneo)

And mine (Laura's) is

High altitude lakes

The drive along the Wakhan Corridor on the border with Afghanistan

Turkmenistan's ancient cities of Merv and Gonur Depe

Ashgebat

Three wonderful days on a boat through the Bornean jungle

Thank you for all your messages and thanks for tuning in. Over and out.