Sunderland, England, United Kingdom
November 06, 2014
From Delft it was only a short hour on a train to Utrecht. It was dark when we arrived but thankfully the place we were staying in was easy enough to find and in a really good location. Right near the main canal in the old town. The apartment itself was great. A huge living room and kitchen. Again as opposed to a hotel or guesthouse it was a home from home which is exactly what we wanted.
We had three days in Utrecht in total. It was going to be two days but we decided to knock any further traveling on the head as it was starting to feel as if we would have just wasted a day moving on to another place and we may as well park up somewhere and relax as much as possible, and that’s exactly what we did.
Utrecht has a lot of character and charm similar to Amsterdam just on a smaller scale. We spent our days ambling around. Getting lost in the small winding lanes off the main canal. Parking up in the local coffeeshops and small bars that are dotted all over and enjoying our last few days before my adventure finally drew to an end. I like Holland it’s a place I need to go back to for a longer period of time. It has a nice pace about it and compared to how I feel at home in England at times it really feels as if it has lost none of it’s identity over the years. The old streets and canal areas are beautifully preserved and from what I have seen from the train the countryside although flat looks beautiful. I’ll return at some point, preferably in the summer with a tent and camp my way through the country.
Before we knew it three days of lazing around in quaint little bars had quickly passed and it was time to head back up to Amsterdam and onto a plane back to England. This is the point I had been dreading and playing over in the back of my mind. Who really wants to come back home after 13 months of adventure? I braced myself for a culture shock when I returned and it certainly was just that, a big shock. As much as it is nice to return and see friends and loved ones that freedom and sense of free spirit suddenly deserts you once you are back in the cold winter gloom of the North East of England. I love my home but I know where I would rather be. On the road looking forward and never back.
There is probably too much that has happened to myself and my way of thinking this past year to sum up how I feel and how it has changed me but safe to say it has opened me up a lot to the opportunities that are out there in this world and what is important to me. Traveling is something unique that you can’t quite put your finger on and pin down to one thing. It is many things to many people and everyone’s adventure is different and special in it’s own way.
It’s nice that I have been able to share this trip with a few others. Dani for 6 months which was an amazing part of the trip. The animal shelter in Langkawi and the staff there that I enjoyed so much. Gary and Bhavik from the states who I met in China, then Hong Kong then Malaysia. George and Vasso from Greece whom I lived in Ger camps with in Mongolia (don’t worry guys, what happened in the camp stays in the camp!) and then also met up with in Beijing and Sebastian from Chile who I met on the train from Mongolia who I also stayed with in China and then Hong Kong. So many people I have met along the way.
I love to apply the ‘Yes Man’ theory in my life now but I do it when appropriate and when I feel it is right. Be open to everything and everyone around you but also look after yourself and don’t be a soft touch or too trusting as you can easily get your fingers burned. Above all of this though you need to remember one thing, and that is to respect the locals wherever you are. It’s their country you are in, their culture, their paradise. If you don’t like something move on but don’t try and assert yourself on people in their own backyard. There is a lot of that around Asia these days particularly with the Russians. Don’t be that person though, please be respectful of all cultures and traditions.
I don’t really know what else to say now. This is it, the end of my travels. Sat here in my mam and dads front room in Sunderland looking out the window and wondering when I will return to the open road of the world. I hope you have all enjoyed sharing some of my adventures through this blog. I know I have certainly enjoyed writing it and even more so the adventures and senses that lay behind the writing. My blog says I have covered over 26,000 miles in the last year and I reckon I can add on a good 5,000 more as the blog just looks at my check in points and works it as the crow flies so 30,000 miles or so is pretty good going. Hopefully over the next few years I can get a few more miles under my belt and visit some of the places I didn’t manage to get to this time.
