Epilogue

Well, its been a couple of weeks since we left off in Beijing. I believe a lot of people can guess where we are now...yes, we finally made it home to Calgary.

Unbelievable. 360 days after we left for Seoul we arrived home. We've been to 10 countries, countless temples, beaches, reefs, mountains, valleys, rivers and lakes. Small towns, big cities, the middle of nowhere and back. What a year! We've been home now for 3 weeks adjusting to Calgary life and the sub zero temperatures. We've met with family, friends and several freezing snow falls, Welcome Home!

Our trip is over and one phrase comes to mind, "Bitter Sweet". Its sad to know the adventure is over but great to have our own home again. We're drinking water out of a tap, putting food in a fridge, flickin through the channels, and meeting people for drinks.

So, what's left, how about some parting thoughts from each of us,

Mike:
In the few weeks that we've been home, usually the first thing I say to people when they ask about the trip is, "Amazing (obviously)...I could not have seriously imagined all the places we saw, or all the things we did". That is the absolute truth. Sure we had a list of what we thought we'd do, but once you actually find yourself in these places, there's always 5 other things to see and do that you didn't expect. Right there is the beauty of having such an open ended schedule, we were almost always able to see and do those extra things. For example, China. You may agree, if you kept up with the blog, that we saw a lot of that country. We left Canada with no idea that we would go there, and even once we made it, kept adding places when we heard about them from other travellers or on guesthouse walls. Same goes for our 6 weeks in Koh Tao, or our trip to Kakadu in Australia. But travelling isn't just about seeing places, its also about meeting people. We met plenty of good people a few of whom who we hope to keep in touch with and see many more times in the future. Of course there are also the strange situations one finds themselves in along the way; arguing over 50 cents for 1/2 a kilo of pistachios, being stuck in the middle of nowhere because the driver forgot to gas up, pointing out ingredients in someone's restaurant kitchen because we couldn't speak the language, and the list goes on. It wasn't always easy, we didn't always like where we were, but we always loved the journey and I assure you, never once, took it for granted.

The second thing I say is, how..."Kendra blew me away...". How quickly she adapted to tough situations, how enthusiastic she was at seeing new places, and how I watched her discover a true love of travelling. This past year was only made better because she was with me the entire way. I can only say that I am looking forward to our life together and more great memories with her by my side.

Kendra:

How can I express my year away? Life altering? Inspiring? Educational? Transcending? Adventurous and courageous? Of course, it’s all of the above and so much more.

As I think back to a year ago, wondering how I was ever going to survive a backpacking trip and how I was to pack my whole closet into my 22 L backpack, I was filled with anticipation and a sense of panic. Except for the resort beach trips I had never traveled and was not very geographically inclined. So little, that I believed Africa to be one country and had no idea where “SE Asia” was. Like I said not geographically inclined.

Although I still believe that backpacking isn’t for everyone – such as my sister Alana, I love you, but you would never survive the toilets in China; it became a lifestyle that I adapted to and prevailed. Perhaps adaptability is the key word for traveling for a year. You had to be ready to deal with any situation that hits you. There were times when I would want to cry – and sometimes when I did cry… no one forgets the leeches do they?… but I sucked it up and kept on going because what else could I do?.

The gratitude I feel towards Mike for opening my eyes to our world will never be properly expressed. Without his dream to travel for a year, I never would have saw a sun rise on Angkor Wat, gaze at the formidable Mount Everest, trek 52 km, abseil 30m into a cave, or log 49 dives and touch a shark. Throughout our journey, he was my rock – except when he was dealing with Chinese admission prices that is. His ability to pick up languages, read maps and shop at markets was truly admirable. I am so thrilled to be spending the rest of my life with this amazing man.

It’s crazy to think that our 6-8 month trip turned into a 360 day adventure. I never expected to be away from home that long, but everywhere we stayed became our home away from home surprisingly quickly. The people we met along the way really made the trip and hopefully will stay lifelong friends. Mike always said that nothing ever changes in a year – but this year was the exception with all of my family members moving, my youngest sister getting pregnant, not to mention all of the engagement announcements

Now that we’re home, it feels so surreal to have been away for a year. It’s surprising how quickly you fall into your old routine and the memories start to fade. It’s also amazing what will trigger a travel memory – a commercial on TV, a question on jeopardy – and the smell, sound and imagery is suddenly right before you and you are back in that special moment..

However happy I am to be home and seeing my friends and family; I am also eager to plan our future trips – our first one being a honeymoon to Egypt and the Red Sea. Another being a 6 month sabbatical within the next 5 years to do not for profit work. Something I promised myself to do after seeing some of the atrocities in developing nations. Without this year away, I would never have had these dreams.

So that wraps up our blog and our travels. Hope everyone enjoyed reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it. We're going to print this out in colour, bind it, and put it on the shelf at the house, memories for life. To all the travellers we met along the way, thanks for the memories. To all the family and friends in Calgary, its great to see you again.

Deep Regards,
Mike and Kendra

PS. THE END