Nil:

This is the last blog entry we´re going to make. We fly home tonight, it´s all come to an end. We´re incredibly sad to be leaving, but it´s about time we came home now. Living out of a bag and not being able to flush paper down the toilet has taken its toll! I don´t want to gush on the internet, but a little gushing is bound to come out. We´ve had such an unforgettable time. I´ve always wanted to do some backpacking, and now that I finally have I feel that the next 40 years + of a working life is going to be a little bit more bearable! We will be uploading the final lot of our photos from our trip for those of our family and friends who aren´t in the UK. Lots of love, be seeing you soon. xxx

Tom:

A few final facts or superlatives for you guys, basically to avoid the gushing trap Nil´s talking about.

Hours spent on a bus in South America: 214 hours.
Countries visited: 14
Capital cities: 10
Flights: 11
Biggest country: Brazil
Best food: Pad Thai, Thailand
Worst food: Tuna mayonnaise sandwhich, Laos
Hottest place: Gili Meno, Indonesia, something like 35 degrees.
Coldest: Bolivia salt pans (no idea but a long way into the minus figures).
Highest altitude: Again the salt pans (about 4500m)
Distance travelled: Not a clue, but it´s a greater distance than the equator (4075.16 kilometres/24,901.5 miles according to wikipedia).
Longest single journey: Balikpapan to Sidney, over 30 hours.
Worst toilet: Vietnam (pick a toilet, any toilet).
Best hostel: Hotel Mulia, Jakarta beyond a shadow of a doubt (cheers Uncle Steve)!
Worst hostel: Siam Huts, Koh Chang island, Thailand (I´m not prepared to explain why on the internet!).

Now for a top ten list of the sights we´ve seen:
1) Machu Picchu, Peru
2) Borobudur, Indonesia (Nil puts this as her number one)
3) Angkor Wat, Cambodia
4) Uyuni Salt Pans, Bolivia
5) Sydney Opera House, Australia
6) Lake Titicaca, Bolivia
7) Christ the Redeemer, Brazil
8) Abel Tasman, New Zealand
9) Blue Mountains, Australia
10) The waterfall at Luang Prabang, Laos

And a final all-time top ten locations we´ve been to:
1) Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
2) Sydney, Australia
3) Buenos Aires, Argentina
4) Ubud, Indonesia (Bali)
5) Bangkok, Thailand
6) Luang Prabang, Laos
7) Nelson or Blenheim, New Zealand (can´t decide between the two)
8) Koh Chang, Thailand
9) Kerikeri, New Zealand
10) Montevideo, Uruguay

So there you have it. Five months of unforgettable experiences, great times, stomach bugs, bus rides, awesome people, dodgy streets, beautiful vistas, street food, ruins, statues, settlements, cities, mountains, beaches, waterfalls, monkeys, elephants, LLAMAS, flamingos, art, music, awful toilets, dirty hostels, cockroaches, sunburn, anti-malarials, vomiting, hand gesturing, sun, snow, rain, storms, humidity, culture, mosquitos and oh so much fun! That´s all folks, thank you world!!!!!!!!!