Back to where it all started. At my own PC in the spare bedroom at home. Reverse culture shock is almost as shocking as its better-known relative: after a place which bombards the senses as relentlessly as Asia does, the dullness and mundaneness of Britain is overwhelming.

Life in Britain is easy, if expensive (I'm offsetting some of the cost of living in such an outrageously expensive country by working as a temp in a large office). Edible food and alcohol are readily available everywhere, although obesity is clearly a problem. I live in a village with roads, running water, electricity and telephones. I could even have broadband if I wanted. It's all so normal it's abnormal, and my body calendar, if there is such a thing, still seems to think it's not that long after Christmas. It's as if I'd awoken from a very
vivid and hugely enjoyable dream, which, in a sense, is exactly what I have done.

How many of the goals I set myself before leaving have I actually achieved? I certainly have seen much more of human life than before I set off, I'm aware of some limitations that I never knew I had, and I'm pleased I was able to keep up the momentum and keep my blog going to the very end - thanks in no small measure to all the positive feedback I've received. In one respect, though, I've failed completely: my travel addiction is worse than ever - I didn't realistically expect to be able to cure it - and my mood now is every bit as existential as it was when I wrote my first entry. I'll certainly travel again, but I can't say whether I'd travel for such a length of time. But I don't regret putting my life on hold - my only regret is not travelling for longer, going to more places, and
cramming my days with interesting things while I had the chance.

I can't help but feel a certain distance between myself and people in Britain who haven't had the same experiences I've had, and a sense that my view of the world is different to theirs. I don't make a habit of boring people by telling them all about where I've been (that's what this blog is for), partially because any such conversation would inevitably become a monologue, and because I
suspect people wouldn't believe some of the stranger things I've seen. Or perhaps there's another explanation: perhaps I left part of my soul in Asia.

This really is the last entry. I hope you've had as much fun reading it as I've had writing it. But I doubt it.