Wongdering back home (excuse me while I get all reflective and stuff).

After six months (May-October) and six countries (Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar) I decided to call it quits and go home.

And what an insane six months its been.

Week to week (sometimes day to day) not knowing what I'll be doing, seeing, who I'll be meeting or travelling with.

The decision to head home came surprisingly organically and unforced. I'd actually been thinking about it for a while. As far as I can pinpoint, the thought was in its embryonic stage somewhere in the middle of Sri Lanka (geographically and in terms of our time there). I think I'd hit a wall and had lost the enthusiasm and eagerness I had when I first started. That's not to say I wasn't enjoying myself anymore - moreso that I was waking up every day still exhausted and the oppressive heat would drain my energy quicker and quicker every single day. I'm much more of a cold weather kind of guy.

I didn't actually book a flight home until halfway through the Myanmar/Burma leg at the peaceful Inle Lake. And then it was an exercise in strategic time-wasting. See, the second after I entered my credit card details to book those flights, things changed. No longer was it about how much longer I could last without going home, it was how long until I get to go home. All I could think about was how I would be back in New Zealand in less than two weeks and that's pretty much all I thought about - obviously with each passing the day the number of days getting smaller.

I don't think that particular attitude was fair for the rest of Myanmar (and it didn't help that the friends I'd made had all left the country by then). Mostly because this was the country I'd been looking forward to the most. I suppose this is one of the downsides of leaving the best until last?

If you remember (or if you particularly care) I had also planned to go to Malaysia for a while after Myanmar, but I decided to leave it for another day. My rationale at the time I booked flights (and still now) was that if I was going to go I should do it properly and not just be pining for home. Also, six countries in six months sounds a bit better than seven countries in six months.    

So what awaits me back in New Zealand and what was it that made me want to go back?

Good question, dear reader.

The answer to the former is not much, aside from a wedding (not mine), a family reunion and the possibly not-so-easy task of rebuilding a life - new job, new flat, new vegetable garden. (Anyone want to help me out with that?)

The answer to the latter is a bit more difficult to put my finger on. I think its mostly a mixture of missing friends and family and a growing realisation that I quite enjoy living in New Zealand. Though balanced with that however, is the fact there is so much more of the world to see.

I think I've figured out that around four-and-a-half to five months is the perfect amount of time for me to be away from New Zealand without missing it too much.

I suppose part of travelling for me is trying to find a place where I could build a life in the future. I now know Asia is not a likely choice and that, so far, New Zealand still comes up trumps when compared to the places I've been so far (except maybe Canada).

In the post-flight-booked-home era I couldn't help but lay in bed at night and think about all the extraordinary things I'd done since leaving New Zealand and how I'd probably gradually taken them all for granted as "just those things that everyone does". But of course, not many people get to climb mountains, trek and zip-line through jungles, go through a mountain in a boat and explore historically, culturally and religiously significant temples and ruins. Not to mention see more than their fair share of Buddha statues, monks and golden-gilded things. It only seemed that way because everyone I met was experiencing the same things I was.

Even more extraordinary though are the people that I had the privilege of sharing those experiences with. Because, at the end of the day, most things are meaningless without people. And I don't just mean other travellers. The smiling and happy local people and guides who want nothing more than to help their fellow man and share what they have despite how little it may be. These people make me believe in the inherent goodness of human beings.

So I guess this is that part where I say thanks and seeya later - because "goodbye" doesn't seem to exist in the travelling world. Thanks for coming wongdering with me. Hopefully I've been able to show a little bit of what my life has been like over the past six months. And hopefully you enjoyed the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.

And also if I've inspired you to check out at least some of South East Asia, well I guess that'd be alright. (Let me know if you need some advice or help!)

Well, until next we go wongdering.

Seeya!

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