Edinburgh (18th April 2009) - two weeks later..............

Well after 17 countries (USA, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Chile, Tahiti, New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia (Bali), Singapore, Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Hong Kong, India, Bahrain and Dubai), 84 different beds (89 if you include overnight trips), 4 train journeys over 3 continents, 21 boat trips (22 if you include the pedalo in BA) and god knows how many buses, coaches, restaurants and cafes we arrived back in one piece two weeks ago and it's time to attempt a summary of the trip. A few people have asked what were the highlights or what was our favourite city or country. That is a difficult question to answer. There were plenty of highlights and lots of places we enjoyed visiting (and some we didn't) but narrowing it down to one or two events or places would be impossible.

Gwen and I didn't always share the same highlights but one thing we both agreed on was that staying with hospitable friends has been one of the best things about the trip. We were very lucky in that respect and would like to thank again Simon and Michele in Auckland, Bob and Lorraine in Newcastle (Oz), Dave in Melbourne and Yvonne and Kees in Bahrain for all their hospitality. Hope we meet up with you all again sooner rather than later.

However in chronological order here are some of the more memorable occasions

·Cycling round Central Park on a Sunday afternoon

·Driving round the Amish Community in Lancaster, Pennsylvania

·Staying 4 days at the beautiful old Write Inn hotel in Oak Park, Chicago for $75 per night

·Happy hour tapas at the Mediteranean Restaurant, Boulder, Colorado

·The incredible structures at Bryce Canyon, Utah

·Reaching the Californian coast after driving across America

·Machu Picchu, Peru

·Our Hostel in Copacabana, Lake Titicaca

·The amazing Salt flats of Uyuni in Southern Bolivia

·Everything about Buenos Aires

·Watching Boca Juniors play local derby with Velez in BA

·Iguazu Falls, border of Argentina and Brazil

·Watching locals play football on the beach at Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro

·Our day tour of Corcovado and Sugar Loaf Mountain, Rio

·Day trip to from Santiago to the coast at Valparaiso, Chile

·The luxury hotel in Tahiti

·Sailing on Auckland Harbour and staying with Simon and Michele

·Mauri evening, Rotorua, NZ

·Walking on Fox Glacier, South Island, NZ

·Gwen paragliding in Queenstown, NZ

·Christchurch even though it rained non-stop for 3 days.

·New Year's Eve at Sydney Harbour and being some of the first people to climb the bridge in 2009

·Re-visiting old friends Bob and Lorraine, Newcastle, NSW

·20/20 Australia v South Africa cricket match, The Gabba, Brisbane

·Australia Zoo, Queensland,

·Sailing on the Whitsunday Isles, Queensland

·Australian Tennis Open, Melbourne

·Cheesy Neighbours Tour !, Melbourne

·Gwen horse-riding along the beach , Great Ocean Road

·Wine tasting in the Barossa Valley, SA

·The Ghan overnight train to Alice Springs

.Gwen's helicopter trip around Uluru

·Perth and Rottnest Island, WA

·Luxurious Bali Mandira Hotel, Bali + Ayurveda Massage

·White Water Rafting, Bali

·Singapore slings at Raffles Hotel, Singapore

·Petronas Towers and KL Tower, Kuala Lumpur

·Star Ferry and Peak Tram, Hong Kong

·Afternoon Tea, Peninsula Hotel, HK

·Rod Stewart concert, HK

·Taj Mahal

·Looking for tigers in Ranthambhore National Park

·Slum Tour, Dharavi, Mumbai

·Gwen re-visiting her old haunts and staying with Yvonne and Kees in Bahrain

Thanks to everyone who read the blog and sent encouraging messages. 7 months was a long time to be on the move and any news from home was always welcome. At the last count there had been over 46,000 hits to the blog (68,000 as at 22/7/09) not sure who all these people were but I hope you/they enjoyed reading it and got some useful info. from it all. Here's to the next time

Neil