Hell everyone!
Well, unfortunately, not too much report about my last week in New Zealand. After my last post on Easter weekend, the infected insect bite took hold and spread through my foot and started to make its way up my leg, to the point where I could no longer hobble around on one foot, let alone walk. So I spent East Monday night at the A & E in Wellington. When I first hobbled through the door, the Nurse said they may have to admit me and put me on drip, which scared me quite a bit, I hadn't really realised how serious it was, but in the end they decided to manage it with regular antibiotics, patched me up and sent me home again, asking me to come back the next day for re-assessment. With a total of 4 visits to the doctor over the last week/10 days, and the various tablets, lotions, potions and bandages, I am currently running at a total of $450 in costs, so lets hope my travel insurance will admit the claim on this little episode! I have spent majority of this week watching films and reading books, which all sounds quite nice, but if you've ever stayed in a hostel, you'll know they are not really designed to spend time in during the day and are really just for sleeping in, so it has not been the most enjoyable end to my trip.
So seeing as I don't have much else to report about the week, I've put together a few 'top 5's' about my trip as a whole. So in the words of Davina MaColl, here are my "best bits";
What would I do differently for the trip;
1. Buy single one way tickets when I ready to leave a country and move to the next rather than booking a pre-defined around the world ticket. Qantas and BA have made a mint out of me changing my mind, I have spent about 50% of my ticket price again of changing dates and destinations!
2. Bring a Netbook/laptop - it seems to be the essential travel accessory, I feel very old fashioned writing my journal, to do lists, notes etc in a note book with a pen!
3. Maybe have done the itinerary in a different order, doing SE Asia first was a big culture shock and it took a lot of adjustment to get used to being away from home, travelling and the different culture all at once. It may have been a more gradual introduction if I started in NZ.
4. After working about my budget, TRIPLE it, and then I would be somewhere near how much money I would actually need for the trip! It has pretty much wiped out all my money and then some, but I didn't want to come all this way and leave wishing I had done more.
5. Try not to cover so much ground in such a short time and stay longer in some places. In NZ it has been good to spend several weeks here allowing me to really get to know the country. But there are some parts of Asia that I feel I just travelled through, rather than actually experiencing them.
What have I missed/ looking forward to when I get home;
1. Real towels - I'm fed up of trying to dry myself with a travel towel which can only be likened to a shammy leather
2. Single story beds - no one fidgeting above or below me!
3. Seeing all of you! You meet a lot of people when you travel, which is one of the best parts, but no one ever really knows you. I miss just hanging out with people, who you don't have to make an effort with, because you just know each other, inside and out.
4. New Music - I have bored myself with the selection of music I have on my MP3 player. New Zealand is not really the place to hear new music either, when the Kiwi's get excited on the dance floor about a 'new track' my general response is ' it was new about 3 years ago'. I probably would also download some audio books on my MP3 to help entertain me.
5. Clothes shopping!
What have I learnt;
1. I can make decisions without looking for reassurance that I have made the right choice from family or friends before committing to them. When you are travelling, every day you have to make decisions, some significant, some less so, but ultimately you have to make that decision alone and you are responsible for it. Most of the time this is quite liberating, but at times it can be quite draining.
2. I am a little bit material. Most people finish their travelling experience saying they are not material as they thought they were. Sorry, but I am, I do like some of the finer things in life. Although I haven't put it in the list above (mainly because it would be a boring read), some of things I missed the most are material.
3. I don't get homesick - I really though I would, as usually I can go on holiday for a week and get homesick (but maybe that says something about the holidays I went on previously rather than me!) But I haven't on this trip. There have been times where I haven't enjoyed what I am doing, or the people I am with, but instead of getting homesick, I have just wanted to be moving on to the next thing to get myself out of that situation.
4. It isn't the constant temptation of cakes, sweets and treats we have in the office that make me fat that I normally blame- it is me! Where ever I am in the world I have an ability to continuously eat and display no element of self control(especially in New Zealand, they have really good independent bakeries everywhere here and I have tried the full range of goods on offer, the carrot cake is particularly impressive, of which I am not normally a fan).
5. I have learnt so much about about different cultures, environments and people. I have seen so much, but also been on so many tours etc where I have been given so much information. At the time of hearing it, I always find this information really interesting, as that is what I am here for, to learn. But I think I would be lucky if I could remember one tenth of it all - my brain just doesn't have the capacity to store everything I have heard in the last 4 months.
High-lights
1. Sky Dive - Lake Taupo NZ
2. Kyaking with Suzie - Ao Nang Thailand
3. Junk boat ride - Ha Long Bay - Vietnam
4. Visiting the killing fields - Cambodia
5. Barrytown NZ
Before I left, people told me that I will change as a result of travelling, or have asked ,while I have been away, if I think I have changed.........fundamentally, the answer is no, I haven't really changed at all, I am still me (apologies if you are not that keen on me and you thought a new and improved Katrina may return, prepare yourself for disappointment. I'm still selfish, stubborn and too loud & brash on occasions, although I am a bit more tolerant I think, but just a wee bit, so don't get too excited! :o) ). Before left, I also hoped that somethings would change about me, but I think instead of changing, I just have more self awareness of elements of my personality and perhaps have learnt to accept some of them rather than want to change them. This opportunity for reflection has meant that there are changes I would like to make to my lifestyle in the UK in order to live life to the full. I'm not going to write about these changes on here, as some of them are personal and others are more obvious/practical, but I am really determined to make them work. It is so easy to be out here in this alternate reality and say 'when I get home, I will.....' so I have written them all down each with a date of when I want to achieve it by in the hope this means I actually do it! Ask me in six months how it is going and we'll see how easy it has been to stick to! I'm prepared for the challenge!
Although I have identified things that I would do differently or change during the trip etc, these are not regrets, they are just lessons learned really. But, I do have one regret during my trip. I'm not going to share what it is, but what I will say it is a regret about something I didn't do, not something I did do. The phrase that you "only regret the things you don't do" is sooooooooooooo true, I don't regret anything I have done in the last 4 months, even the things that haven't worked out so well. So if you are considering trying something new, changing something or going somewhere different, just do it! I really hope that this is an attitude that I can bring home and maintain. I think once I get back into the old routine at home, that will be easier said than done, but I am at least going to try, and I am going to try and regularly remind myself of it.
Before I left, a few people said they hoped I would 'find whatever it is you are looking for' on this trip. Well to those that have asked if I have, the answer is a resounding yes! I just hope I can bring 'it' back with me and it isn't something that is exclusively with me while I am away.
So that's it, the big adventure is over. It is with mixed emotions that I head home, but I really am looking forward to seeing you all. Tomorrow I will be heading to Auckland Airport to get on a plane back to Heathrow via LA (I wish I had the time and money to stop there for more than the 10 hours I will be spending in the airport!). I won't quite be heading home just yet though, I'll be extending the travelling by heading to exotic Norfolk for a week to see my family and friends up there before handing back to Southampton for the big wedding (I know, Wills and Kate have already got hitched, I am referring to the big wedding in my social diary, which is way more important to me than the Royals which I couldn't give a monkeys about, it is the Fisher/Baynes wedding).
I have worked out, that without any delays, I should be walking through the front door at my Mum and Dad's house in Broome just a mere 46 hours after leaving my hostel here in Auckland, that is just going to whizz by isn't it?! When I do finally make through the front door, I'm looking forward to having a shower in a bathroom that isn't a breeding ground for athletes foot, with a nice fluffy towel, followed by a jacket potato and beans and big pint glass of .......orange squash. Mum/Dad, I appreciate you are on a water meter, and no it isn't necessary for me to stay in the shower as long as I do, but if I could have an untimed shower on my first day back that would be amazing........you can start reminding me about my excessive water consumption on the second day!! :o)
So by the heading, you can probably guess, the 'final chapter' is my last blog post! You know me, modest to the end, but there has been some suggestion I should continue the blog once I am back in the UK due its pure entertainment value ;o). But I think it is always best for things to end on a high, so this really is the end, sorry blog fans (Mrs R in particular! :o) ). In addition, I do not wish to further fuel the comparisons between myself and Bridget Jones which seem to be becoming more frequent - I cannot think why this comparison is made!!! :o). On a serious note however, thank you to everyone that has taken an interest in what I am doing by reading the blog and/or sending e-mails or facebooking me. When you are this far away from home it really can make your day when you hear from someone at home, like I said above, someone that you knows inside and out.
So for the last time, lots of love to you all, and I'll see you soon. x x x
Take care
Over and Out.
