So that’s that, then. Almost three years of swanning around Asia living the life of Riley are coming to an end. I had high hopes for this little bit of my life at the beginning and, although things never go to plan, they’ve all been realised.
If I could do it again, I probably wouldn’t have spent quite as much time in India - I only went to four countries in three years - and I might have made a bit more of an effort to set myself up permanently abroad. But these are minor gripes - I was always having too much of a good time to bother with either of these too much.
So I go back to Britain with a bit of a different outlook, really. Before I left, if you’d told me I’d return after three years with funds depleted and no job, I’d've been concerned; worried, even. Now I couldn’t give a shit. Even if I was returning flat broke, it would’ve been worth it. And I’m not even entirely sure I’m going to go back permanently. Cash permitting, I may well be off again in a few months time. There’s talk of a motorbike trip around South America or a long loop through Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and The Philippines. Both of these would be at least six months travelling, I reckon.
But I’m looking forward to going back. Due to the huge generosity of my relatives, I’ve got a great, cheap flat to live in, I’m going to be in Cornwall and, most importantly, my family will be around me. Although I’m one of those people that’s fine with their own company for long periods of time, I’ve missed my family terribly at times, particularly over the last year. It’ll be great to regularly see them all again.
So what do I take back with me? Oh just this little lot …
… the sun rising over a maroon Kanchenjunga; paddling over Dal Lake in Srinagar as the muezzin wails; a near-fatal car-crash at 5200 metres above sea-level; dolphins leaping out of the Arabian Sea; a month riding all over Goa on a motorbike with my mate Han; trying to explain the off-side trap to a Buddhist lama during the World Cup; listening to the geckos in Thailand; Diego at The Dream Catcher’s hangover cure - three Bloody Mary’s and a swim; sitting open-mouthed at the base of Everest and three other 8000m+ peaks in Tibet; being mercilessly mocked by my mate Rabet Ram in Manali (”Jimmy! Why is everything you do is wrong?”); Dhaal Bhaat in Nepal - never the same twice; going over the highest road in the world so befuddled by AMS that I couldn’t even remember my name; numerous riotously debauched nights that I can’t remember at all; the hospitality of the Thai people; searching for fossils at 4000m+ in Langhza in the Spiti Valley; Thai Chicken in Garlic, Pepper, Basil and Chilli as served by The Restaurant That Doesn’t Appear To Have A Name - Soi 2, Samsen, Bangkok; nearly dying from bacillic dysentery in Delhi; trekking around Annapurna and actually enjoying it even if there were hungry-looking vultures overhead; quality hammock-time (about three months of it) in Arambol; the world’s best Chicken Vindaloo (Viva Panjim, Goa); watching the road steam after the monsoon in Trivandrum; Hampi - pretty much everything about Hampi; Ladakh - pretty much everything about Ladakh, too; getting all of my family to visit at one time or another - only wish they could’ve come out more often; the tallest charas plants I’ve ever seen in the Parvati Valley; Sikkim - again, pretty much everything about Sikkim; practically being held prisoner on a houseboat in Kashmir; fruitbats wheeling around at dusk on the Keralan Backwaters; being the only guest on Bangaram in Lakshadweep - an entire tropical island to myself; watching cremations in Pashupatinath - happened months ago and I still haven’t begun to comprehend it …
… I could go on and on and sometimes do.
For the last month I’ve been lying on a beach in Ko Pha Ngan in Thailand and taking stock. I’ve come full circle really. Thailand was my first country outside Europe so it’s been kind of fitting to end it all here, too. I’ve not done much; just lazed on the beach, snorkelled a bit and pootled around the island on my scooter. It’s been great - very relaxing, very quiet, very beautiful.
The last three years have been the best of my life. If you ever get the opportunity to bugger off to a foreign country for an extended period with no particular intention other than to enjoy yourself, do it. For me, it’s just about the best thing you can ever hope to do.
But I’m now ready to go back home.
For a bit at least.
