so i fly to bangkok later today after a mad, fun-filled week in sydney. i am all packed, pretty pleased with my improved lighter packing skills these days. i've already had many tearful goodbyes to other friends and today i am prepared that leaving matt, fi, abigail and isabella is going to be very sad. on the plus side i have had the loveliest times with the girls in particular this week, i guess either they know i'm going or they missed me when i was in new zealand, either way they have never been more lovely to me! lots of extra kisses and long cuddles - result. its been more tricky getting quality time in with matt and fi as life in the mansion continues to be pretty hectic but i am certainly taking away some amazing memories of being welcomed into a family household and given a space to play my small part in it all for a while. i can only hope that i get to see them all again before too long.
so from here it is bangkok for a few days with a friend called jim from youth group days back in my teens! he is very kindly meeting me at the airport so my journey continues to be ridiculously easy. then after some faffing there sorting out onward flight to india and a couple of visas, its a journey to my friend liz in laos via chiang mai in northern thailand and maybe a boat trip on the mekong river. then its a journey, back via bangkok, to tim, catherine, forrest and eden in cambodia where i will be enjoying a very different christmas. and then its onward to a relaxing beach either in vietnam where i could get a new wardrobe tailored or back to a thai island to recover my senses before hitting calcutta on around jan 10th to meet the very lovely miss becky crow for a few weeks travelling in rajasthan. then i head to kerala without her but to meet other friends - andy and kirsty, a surprise added bonus, where we have one week together and i carry on alone for a couple of weeks, then its back to calcutta, maybe try and fit in a quick trip up to darjeeling before flying out from calcutta on february 28th to come HOME!!
i am starting to think about coming home and am of course very excited about seeing everyone. no concrete plans for future employment yet but beginning to get more ideas. it was so fantastic to meet such a diversity of interesting people along my way in new zealand with all sorts of different life stories that made me think the options for my future really are endless. i guess to be honest, i realise i have probably put off making a specific plan for my next few years because i have always imagined getting married and starting a family round about nowish. so i am trying to move away from that fixed idea and learning to start imagining a different future where i make my own plans by myself for now or maybe always. it requires a lot more courage for me to consider making those kind of plans but its also exciting to begin thinking about all the many possibilities.
this year travelling alone is definitely shaping up to be the best year of my life so far and although it is lonely at times and of course i often wish i could share it with someone else, it has been a very special time for realising stepping out on adventures by myself can be very rewarding. i now know for sure that i am very comfortable in my own company, i very happily enjoy chatting to new people and i do love the freedom to make my own decisions. for those of you who have been wondering but too polite to ask, no there hasn't been even the slightest hint of any romance yet by the way, i wouldn't keep back news like that believe me!
so, there you have some of the more honest picture of things. overall i cannot emphasise enough how fantastic the month in new zealand was in particular, but this whole journey so far as well, and how excited i am about my next steps. you will hear more here soon.
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