So here I find myself, spread out on one of southern Thailand's many beautiful beaches, basking in the tranquility of the sun and sea, the calm after the storm that was the full moon party, enjoying the last couple of weeks I have away before returning home - the final segment of my journey. My diary, as many have no doubt noticed, has experienced a substantial elipsis - a gap in time which I will try to fill in in the next few entries. Finally reaching the beaches has afforded me time to collect my thoughts and I feel ready to get the blog moving again.

There are a number of reasons why my writing ceased during the tour, the main one being due to the busy, and at times tiring, schedule that we were subjected to during the period, a constant flurry of activity that, whilst enjoyable throughout, didn't allow for prolonged periods of contemplation and reflection in front of a computer screen. Another reason can be found in the nature of the activities of the tour. Wheras in India and Nepal I would get up early and walk the streets, absorbing the inspiring sensual delights and exciting myself to the point where I felt I needed to convey my thoughts via the blog, the tour was much more focussed around the group, the personalities within it and, well, having fun, which obviously involved a lot of alcohol and 'mornings after', which generally don't permit inspiring early morning walks or frenzied blogging sessions. The vibe changed during that part of our journey, and the group on the whole felt less inclined to bury themselves in their diaries and more eager to enjoy each other's company, to cherish our shared experiences. It was without a doubt a welcome change, but blogging was, I'm afraid, pushed out of the equation, my routine naturally readjusting to the group dynamic.

I've loved writing this blog and have put a lot of energy into it, so feel an obligation to myself to keep my entries inspired and reasonably interesting. It is partly due to this fact that I decided to write about my experiences on the tour when I really had the time to reflect on the journey. Although the entries will lose the day-to-day breakdown my earlier ones had, I think it is probably the best way to do it, aided, ofcourse, by a greater sense of time, context and hindsight. Essentially, I plan to sum up each country in one large entry, covering my main experiences, memories and enduring sentiments. Watch this space.