So here I am, back in sunny, snowy, rainy, windy England. Yes that's right, I've been back a week now and I have already experienced all four seasons!

Weather aside it's nice to be back at home with my family and friends although it has been a bit of a culture shock to say the least! A week on I've had time to adjust my body clock, get all the welcome home partying out of the way and get back to the UK way of living.

This will be my final blog post in relation to this trip, and to summarise it in just a few paragraphs is a near impossible task. Here is an exert from my Facebook page which I posted on the day of my return (for those who don't have Facebook):

"So today I arrived home from a legendary 7 month trip around the world. Having gone through my pics and videos, I've seen some amazing places and met some amazing people.

I'd really like to thank everyone that have contributed to making my trip so special. This includes: Places to stay, Couches, Bed's, Hotel Rooms, Drinks, Meals, Road Trips, Day Trips, Guided Tours, Lifts, Surf lessons, Entries to Theme parks & Zoo's, Presents, Clothes, Thanksgiving, Money, and simply people's time. This trip has truly taught me that the world still has some amazing people and the kindness that has been shown to me has been overwhelming. Unfortunately too many people to list, but I feel this will reach everyone who has contributed.

By far the best decision I've ever made to take this trip and I believe it has changed me as a person (and I don't just mean the hair & skin colour!) x"

That is about as well as I can summarise a trip like this in such few words. I have truly met some amazing people all over the World and experienced a wide variety of cultures.

It doesn't seem like 7 months since I stepped off the plane in Beijing. Back then I was dropped in the deep end in a country where I was the minority and where they didn't speak my language. Looking back on some of the videos, I have even amazed myself of how I managed to navigate my way around China with the power of the international pointing language.

I have been on some magnificent adventures in South East Asia. From trekking the jungle on the back of an elephant, to my new found love of scuba diving which started off in Ko Tao.

Australia is where the home comforts began, and being there in winter reminded me of being back home. In fact, yesterday was warmer here than it was in Sydney in August. However it was a short and sweet stay which enabled me to catch up with friends both old and new. It's also where I began another new love of mine, surfing. Which began on the Sunshine Coast in Brisbane.

It was my lifelong dream to travel to America, and back in August I lived that dream and flew to LA. I was convinced I'd like it in America, however never thought that I would fall in love with it as much as I did. California, in particular San Diego, is by far my favourite place in the US, (if not the whole trip). It was where I was able to enhance my surfing experience and in terms of places that I would like to relocate to, San Diego tops the list.

I loved California so much that I decided to extend my trip by two months and enjoy more surfing and sunshine. This was certainly a better idea than flying home.

Many people have given me abuse for my original statement of "this is an experience, not a holiday", and then calling "beer o'clock" every day! I'd like to clarify that the last two months of my trip was all about surfing, drinking and having a good time. So i guess you could say it began as an experience, but ended as a holiday.

People ask me what I've learned from my trip. I usually reply with the following 3 points:

1. I've realised how much poverty there is in the World and how I will always count myself fortunate to at least have all my limbs.

2. I've travelled the world with just me and the contents of a back pack, people (including myself) have become obsessed by possessions they don't need. I no longer want to be this person.

3. My perspective of travelling has completely changed. I think I can say goodbye to the all inclusive package holidays I used to go on.

I'm not sure how I'm going to cope getting back into the working way of life. While it will be a big shock to the system, I'm looking forward to getting back to some form of normality as I do realise that trips like the one I've just had don't come cheap.

So now I begin to save, think about and plan my next trip. Countries on the list are New Zeland, Canada and South America, with the intention of being out in Brazil where the World Cup is hosted in 2014.

So that concludes my magnificent round the World trip and a memorable chapter of my life. I'd like to thank everyone for reading my blogs and being so supportive in their comments. I must appologise for not being so responsive on the comments, however I have read every one of them. My friends and family are very important to me and the use of technology has helped me keep in touch with them wherever I am.

May the saving begin..