Final words from Darren:
So here I am sitting back at home & I crazily set myself the task of summing up my impressions of what I have gained as a person from my experiences of travelling. Where do I start? I already feel so emotional looking back at photos from the beginning of our journey, there's already the dreaded feeling of 'did it happen?, was it just a dream?' but I know I can honestly answer to myself & anyone who asks me those questions that there has been a change in me from travelling & that this was one of the most important years of my life. I feel humbled from everything that I have seen, from the quiet natural awe of the remote outback in Australia to the simple smile & wave of a Cambodian or Vietnamese worker as I passed them by. I have learnt from all the people that I have met along the way that no matter what nationality we are, we still appreciate & laugh at the same things. Even when I couldn't speak the same language as the person I was trying to communicate with, the smallest gesture of a smile or attempt at some of their language meant so much to them. I feel that I have become more focused on what I would like to achieve in life & I have become more confident in character, especially when talking to new people or dealing with difficult situations. I think a part of my heart & thoughts will always remain in Australia & one day I hope to return there whether to do some more travelling or one day to immigrate. For now my path lies in completing some goals at home, I would like to study again & learn something new & I would also like to pass my motorcycle test, then my plan is to do some motorbike touring. Which leaves me to thank any-one who's still reading this blog, or has read some of it, I hope that you have enjoyed reading about our adventures & moreover I hope that it has kindled a desire in you all to get out there & explore the world! To the all the amazing people that we have met we hope you're still out there exploring or planning your next adventure & one day we hope to cross paths with you again. Until our next adventure I leave you with a well known but appropriate poem from a fellow Hobbit on an epic adventure:

The Road goes ever on & on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
& I must follow it, if I can,
Pursuing it with weary feet,
Until it joins some larger way,
Where many paths & errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.

The Road goes ever on & on
Out from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
Let others follow it who can!
Let them a journey new begin,
But I at last with weary feet
Will turn towards the lighted inn,
My evening-rest & sleep to meet.

Final words from Kerry:
I can't believe that 12 whole months came & went so quickly! Yet ironically it's incredible to recall just how much we squeezed into the year! When Darren & I first decided to travel the world I had a bundle of questions zooming around my mind. There's a fine line between being a pessimist & being a realist & I like to think that I am the latter. Thankfully I am sharing my life with an understanding & patient man who managed to gently persuade me to do the right thing, which was taking a chance, much greater than any I've ever taken with anyone before. It meant selling virtually every belonging we had. The neighbours had a field day scooping up bargains from the fridge & freezer, to the clocks & salt & pepper shaker! I also had to hand in my notice at Coast Recruitment, a company I loved working for & a profession that I found fun & challenging. (Thankfully Coast said that they would hold my position open!)So, once we went into STA Travel & booked our initial 7 flight ticket I felt like our idea was more of a reality.

Looking back on every adventure that we've had at the moment is still quite tough, as it literally is a world away from the Monday-Friday of work & the same weekly routine that we've returned to. I am sure though that completing our trip around the world is the single proudest moment of my life.My favourite memories are engraved on my soul. For instance, when we tickled a sea turtle at The Great Barrier Reef, how incredible is that?. Another eye-opening moment was when we spent an hour teaching a boy in Cambodia the meaning of various English words, for course he was studying. I gave him my thesaurus & his gratitude was incredible. It was such a small token gift, & yet to him it meant the world. He had to work five days a week, from 6am until 12am (that's 18 hours a day!) just to pay for his own schooling, which he had to study in his two spare days. On those two spare days he also had to look after his ill father & had to send the majority of his £10 a month salary (yes, that's £10 for 360 hours of work!)back home, as his parents could not work themselves & he had little brothers & sisters still at home to look after. Travelling opened my eyes to how the world turns & made me realise that men, women & all creatures (OK, maybe not march flies or mosquitoes) should be treated with a level of respect that I took for granted beforeh&. I shall NEVER leave litter on a beach, now that I have seen the effect it can have on marine life with my own eyes. I shall NEVER underestimate the power of conversation & interaction. I will NEVER be ungrateful for a gift I receive & I shall always count myself lucky when I look at how wondrous my life has been. I know now that for all the bad things I've endured in my life there are millions of people worldwide who struggle silently with a much bigger burden to bear. I will endeavour to learn & grow within this wonderful life that I've been blessed with & I hope that every one I know gets a chance to feel how I feel right now. I have never felt so at ease with the make-up of my personality. I also want to sieze this opportunity to thank everyone at home, for keeping in touch by email, for reading all about our journey & for picking up the phone & listening to me on those few occasions when I felt overcome by emotion! As for the friends that we made during our adventures I hope that we meet again, hopefully whilst on holiday somewhere spectacular!! If you guys ever want to come to England please feel free to stay with us (once we get our own place!) You will always be welcome at ours & we'd love to catch up & recollect the funny times we've shared.