8th - 26th April 2010
I've thought about the writing of this final post for quite some time and it's always seemed so far off but now - after 360 days, 15 visas, 13 flights (& countless buses, trains & boats), 115 changes of bed through 21 changes of country, a few extra scars and just under £10,000 - it's time. With 2 hours before I head to the airport, I just had my last sushi lunch with a Canadian Kokanee beer and think this would be a perfect time to say bye to sleeping on couches and in beach huts, eating Thai sushi in a temple courtyard or Malaysian curries in 30° evenings heat on plastic pavement furniture, time to swap backpack for wardrobe and laptop for pc, to put whale watching and tiger petting on hold and exchange all the foreign notes for pounds in my Vietnamese fake Chanel wallet. But it's also time to make the most of this fresh outlook, replenish some of those savings, settle back in with friends and family, show off what remains of the tan & a few of the 6500 photos and relax into normal life... until it's time to do it all again.
But, head back a week or so, and I'm just arriving in Vancouver. We had to get up at 3am, after only 2 hours sleep, for these flights and Marty and I said our sleepy goodbyes in the airport before flying off in opposite directions. I arrived around 11am and my first impressions of Canada - easy to understand public transport, even in my state, and absolutely freezing. Fortunately, I have a place to stay here and I caught up with Jen for a girly dinner at her friend's place before a reasonably early night. Next day and I decide to head to Whistler, I know a couple of people up there but never really got that ski bug and don't exactly thrive in the cold, so I'm unsure what this little resort town will hold for me. It's a stunning greyhound trip up there and the last few days have dumped a new load of snow on the hills so coupled with pine trees and huge ice cold lakes, it has that majestic, peaceful scenery that is so like home. It's snowing when I arrive and Mel meets me off the bus in a pair of cut offs, where as I am wearing 2 hoodies and a Jen's winter jacket, but the town is small and they live in a gorgeous hotel equipped with hot tub so it's not so bad! It only takes a few hours to reveal that Whistler is no more a mountain resort than a full blown party town and the week that follows is huge. Parties, catch ups, beer gardens and amazingly even a sunbathing pool session only a few days after the snow comprise of most of the week in this town now famous for the 2010 Olympics but we also took the gondola up and did the peak to peak so I could see the beauty and thrill that really gets the crowds here. It's a beautiful town, clean and fun and with the most amazing scenery but despite its nickname as 'the bubble', the extraordinary hike in prices and unfair drop in wages, for a season or two, I can understand the appeal and for a week or two, it's absolutely amazing. I even got to see a bear!
I returned to Vancouver for my last weekend and Jen organised a girls night out on the Saturday while the boys were watching the Vancouver Canucks in the play offs. Something else about Canada, they are crazy for their hockey! While we're getting ready in the afternoon, I contact British Airways and after an hour on hold (thank god for Skype), I am left with an8 day delay. Volcano related, obviously. Still, the night out was amazing, lots of dancing and laughing and I could obviously be stuck somewhere much worse (like LA) so I settle back into another week of free time. I returned to Whistler for the Telus festival – one of the largest ski and snowboarding festivals in the world apparently - but the town was relatively quiet and the biggest excitement was always due to the Canucks playing, a game I'm definitely into watching now. Quiet or not, it's still a fun place and another 2 nights there certainly didn't fail to entertain. Then back to Vancouver for a night or two before Jen and I head over to Vancouver Island for the weekend to visit her boyfriend, Matty. The Island is a lot bigger than I expected and very pretty, especially as Matty lives in the countryside, a mere 10 minutes from town but it feels like it could be hours. We spent Friday chilling in and Saturday partying out and the Sunday was reserved for sightseeing before we hopped on the ferry back to the mainland. That was yesterday, I'm now an hour and 20 minutes from leaving for the airport and so it's time to sort out that bag and get myself in gear.
This is it. For me, this trip has confirmed that anything is possible, travelling is amazing and the people along the way are easily the best part. My only advice is that if you're considering it then do it. Canada has been superb, as was California, New Zealand, Australia and the whole of South East Asia. This year has been almost impossible to describe, I'm sure I've missed massive chunks but it's been absolutely epic and I am indebted to so many people.
So this is the perfect time to say a massive thanks to everyone everywhere (and all their friends, families & housemates) who have put me up, fed me, taken me out, travelled with me, partied with me, hung out with me or simply put up with me! You know who you are and you're all legends. Much love, keep in touch & cheers for the best year possible!!
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -- Mark Twain
