A Trip of a Lifetime

Hi everyone,

I wanted to write a final entry to this blog to try and sum up in a few paragraphs my overall experience of this once in a lifetime trip. To say that it’s been amazing is an understatement. I feel so lucky and blessed to have been able to take this opportunity to see the world, an experience that has really opened my senses and my mind to so many unbelievable things.

In 9 months I have visited 17 countries, 101+ places, taken 25 flights, traveled by plane, coach, bus, mini bus, car, taxi, train, boat (large, small, tiny!), rickshaw, motorbike, push bike, tuc tuc, horse and cart and foot! I reckon I’ve spent at least 6 weeks (probably a lot more) of this trip just getting from one place to the next!

I’ve seen sunsets, sunrises, beautiful beaches, amazing jungle, mountains, volcanoes, desert, cities, sky scrapers, towns, villages, slums. I’ve experienced blistering heat, freezing conditions, rain, hail, fog, wind and snow. I’ve loved the amazing wildlife I’ve been lucky enough to see in the wild such as elephants, tigers, iguanas, sharks, dolphins, whales, seals, orcas, armadillos, anteaters, monkeys, crocodiles, kangaroos, koalas, dingos, wombats, toucans, flamingos, piranhas, so many varieties of birds and fish I don’t know their names, donkeys, horses, lamas, alpacas, capybaras, turtles, penguins...the list goes on.

It was definitely challenging at times living out of a rucksack with limited clothes, toiletries and other personal belongings but it was also a refreshing feeling being stripped back bare (not literally of course!). Some of the things I wouldn't have done without are: compression bags, great for saving space and keeping my rucksack tidy! A little bit of make-up, even though I didn't wear it very often it was nice to have on the odd occasion when I did fancy getting glammed up! A fan...such a simple invention but great for keeping cool in the blistering heat. A couple of things I'd wish I'd taken...laptop, so many people had them and even though I managed to get online pretty regularly it would have been nice having my own computer. A head torch, no I haven't taken up mining but believe it or not this would have come in extremely handy!

I really have had so many amazing experiences it’s hard to narrow them down but here is what springs to mind....

My Top 10 Overall Experiences:
1. Planning and undertaking this trip by myself - a scary, liberating and exciting feeling
2. Doing the 2 week Gap Adventures tour at the start of my trip
3. Learning to dive and diving in many amazing places around the world - Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, Fiji and Colombia
4. Taking a week out to volunteer in Bandung, Java, Indonesia
5. A week long yoga retreat and detox in Bali
6. Hiring a campervan and driving down the east coast of Australia
7. Sky Diving in New Zealand
8. Swimming with dolphins in New Zealand
9. Four day tour of the Salt Flats in Bolivia
10. Seeing iconic world sites: Angkor Wat Cambodia, Halong Bay Vietnam, Christ the Redeemer Brazil and Machu Picchu Peru

On top of all of these mind blowing experiences/sights I have to mention all of the amazing people I have met along the way, some for just a few hours, some for a few days/weeks and some truly special people that will be in my life forever (you know who you are!)

Has this trip changed me I asked myself, well I’m still the same Nicci but this enriching year has altered my viewpoint on life, myself and my part to play in the world. I feel in some way I have grown into myself more and I know I’m one very lucky lady and am excited about what the future holds.

You definitely learn a lot about your country by leaving it. We’re born with advantages most people will never even know, even the poorest amongst us. I have seen almost unimaginable poverty endured by people who have no choice and in the majority of those cases they are still happy grateful souls who just get on with their lives.

I am lucky and I know it, for 9 months I woke each day with the sole mission exploring the world and planning my next destination. Postcards are lovely but there is no substitute for laying your eyes on natures wonders in person. I had no idea that parts of the world are so staggeringly beautiful.

Nothing bad happened, no injuries, muggings or theft from my room. It’s easy to feel vulnerable in foreign lands, especially when you don’t speak the language, have never been there before and don’t really know where you’re going but I have been amazed by mankind's generosity and kindness.

I won’t lie it has been challenging fitting everything in and it has been very tiring, I came away being told I didn’t look my 30 years of age and now I’m coming home closer to 31 thinking I look every one of my years!

I’m excited about so many things about being home... seeing all of my amazing friends and family, playing with my niece and nephews, going back to my flat and being in one place, seeing my cuddly cat Daisy, eating what I want, showering in a nice shower with proper towels and hot water, not having to deal with mosquitoes and other nasty bugs on a regular basis, proper cups of tea, clean toilets with loo roll, not packing and unpacking my rucksack every couple of days, wearing clothes I haven’t worn for 9 months, calling friends and family whenever I want, cheesy TV and sharing a bottle of wine with the girlies to name but a few.

'At the moment I feel caught between a dream world that was the experience of a lifetime and a real world that I have yet to redefine. There are some years when so much life happens you can’t live it all at the time it occurs, and this was one of them. I’m sure that years from now I will flash back on profound and poignant moments that I’m still to realise from this trip. It will take a while to grasp the lessons I’ve learnt and the changes I’ve experiences. And although I may not know the meaning of it all yet I can look back with great delight’

For me now, a new journey begins in an unfamiliar place called home.

Thank You World

xxx

PS. Life moves pretty fast, if you don’t stop and look around once in a while you could miss it.