I'm waiting for a bus in central London while a random stranger looks after my bags in Wandsworth Common, and all because Steve's perpetually at-home neighbour is inexplicably not at home. I'm starting to feel pretty tired as I only ended up with about an hour's sleep on the plane, then suddenly it was 7am. So far it kind of feels like the right time (midday) but that could just be because the sun is out! So anyway I'm off to meet Steve for lunch to get his keys so I can go back and sleep.

Right, this entry wasn't supposed to be describing my day. This is the one entry where I'm going to try to describe my overall feeling about what I've just done for the past eight months and 23 days. This could just be a brain dump or it could actually be quite profound. You decide...

One question Steve asked me at lunch was "how do you think you've changed?" and I guess there are a lot of answers to that. I'm obviously more aware of the world and my place in it. I'm more confident in my convictions and I feel that even on my own I can do almost anything. I have mainly learnt that there is so, so much more to life than work: having money is one thing; being happy is another. I've got an insatiable desire for discovery and I love meeting people. Travel has this uncanny knack of turning previously solid facts into questions. The more you travel and meet new people, the more questions you have and the more possibilities that arise. Travel is addictive. Lone travel is so freeing that you can pretty much do anything you want, whenever you want to. The decisions you make are your own entirely and it tells you a lot about yourself as a person. I think because of that I've been able to consider exactly what I want, not what everyone else wants to do. By the way, if this all sounds a bit w***y you should probably stop reading. It's likely to get worse...

I have actually made a list of lessons that I have taken from travelling over the past nine months. I won't post them here as they're personal to me, but if you want to know privately what I've written I'd be happy to discuss them. Travel has really opened my eyes to how I used to live my life and what changes if any I should be making to improve it. I will be making those changes as best as I can, so hopefully you'll see me smiling and more in control of my own destiny than I was before. If I'm not, then I'm obviously doing it wrong.

I've been wanting to travel the world pretty much since I went for a month with my friend Mark through Europe. I was inspired by the people I met there and when I took a short trip to Poland a couple of years back I knew I could handle it on my own. The nerves I felt when booking all my flights and when taking my first flight seen so far away now! Have I achieved everything I want? Yes, but I didn't really expect anything to begin with. All I wanted was to experience the world and all the options available to me. On the way I met some incredibly nice people, some like-minded and some with differing opinions and it was refreshing to meet and spend time with them. Some people were kind and generous to let me into their homes to eat or to stay with them! I will try to list them here by way of thanks:

Sonam, Babu (thanks for the food and beer!), Dave (sorry about my culinary disasters), Erik, Warren & Amy (love you guys), Amy and all the Rowe family (my warmest ever Christmas!), the Ibbotts and the Pearces (beautiful New Year), Fiona (and the two inflatable beds), Jean-Grègoire & Elise (lovely generous couple), Sean, Pat & Kim (so kind and there for me when I needed it most!), Allison and friends (yoga is now fun), Jen & Ray (thanks for the truck!) and finally Nadine (last minute saviour and lover of Dead Snow). Thank you all. There are more people to thank and so many who have enriched my travels in different ways. I'd love to have a giant, impractical reunion some day. I'd pick New Zealand as the venue. It's beautiful and they have loads of space!

So for all intents and purposes this adventure and hence this blog is over. I hope you've enjoyed it. If you've managed to read them all then I'm flattered and well done you. There were some particularly long and dull entries, I'll admit. I've tried to be honest and include everything of interest, but hey, I have to have some secrets, don't I?

So I'm finally back "at home". Will I go on another giant adventure again? Watch this space...