Hi all, I am now back in the UK….I guess I owe you all an explanation of why I decided to cut short my trip and come home after only 6 weeks like some form of lightweight.The simple answer is that I am following my heart and decided to come back to the North East and start a new life with Faye.Whilst on holiday I was in touch with her on and off and it got to the point I had to make a decision.I know many of you will think I am mad cutting short such a brilliant trip, but a man has to do what a man has to do, and the world can wait.I had a fantastic 6 weeks with Ant travelling across Russia, Mongolia, China and Laos - it was the trip of a lifetime and I have some amazing memories - he is a great travel buddy and deserves a medal for putting up with me for 24 hours a day through the good, bad and the ugly!

My favourite times were in Mongolia and Laos.I would encourage anyone to go and visit these countries - whilst being so basic, they have an incredible natural beauty about them and the people are so friendly.

It took about 2 days to get home via Bangkok and Dubai - even managed to catch a few more temples and an elephant ride!Funnily enough despite covering around 8,000 miles (mostly by train, camel, horse, bike & elephant) the first time I saw the sea was yesterday… and it was the North Sea!

Well I now need to get back to some sort of normality and decide how I am going to make a living.Before signing off, I would like to thank everyone for your support throughout the trip and our preparations.And finally a special thanks to Ant and an apology for messing up your travel plans - I hope you have the time of your life mate.

James…