Going Home
on Mary In Cambodia (Cambodia), 08/Mar/2012 11:10, 34 days ago
The opinions expressed are the author's own and do not reflect those of VSO.Last Entry.Today, March 8th. is the last day of my travels around Asia. Tomorrow I fly home to Dublin from Delhi. I have been away from home almost 2 years and 5 months.I take this opportunity to thank VSO Ireland and Cambodia for making this possible. A big thank you also to my volunteer colleagues, my VA Joe, my neighbours in Sisophon, teachers and students in the schools and especially my family and friends. Your support and care made this a memorable experience, I could not have done it without you.My journey home has taken 2 months. With my cousin Mairin I set out from Sisophon and travelled via Bangkok, Hanoi,bHa Long bay, Nanning, Guangzhou, Hongkong, Beijing, Xian, Chengdu, Delhi, Agra, Jaipur. We xperienced all methods of transport, boat, bus, coach, train, air, tuc-tuc, minibus, even elephant.We cruised Ha Long Bay in a Junk, crossed Hong kong Bay, walked on the Great Wall of China, saw the Terracotta Warriors, visited the Taj Mhal, to mention just a few of the wonderful places we've seen. Sometimes we travelled in luxury and sometimes in unspeakable conditions.Temperatures ranged from -20 to +40. I thought I would freeze to death on the Great wall, and Mairin melted in Bangkok!Two young Vietnamese students helped us find a hotel and a cash machine when we arrived in China late, without cash, A Chinese gentleman helped us survive an overnight train journey and a chinese lady ran after us to tell us we were going in the wrong direction, Young and old asked us to be photographed with them, Mairin's white hair was definitely the attraction.We have had a lot of fun and many laughs, discovered that with all the tea in China it is difficult to get a'proper cup of tea' and Mairin swears that nobody in Asia knows how to make a dry martini cocktail. I have enjoyed every minute, but now I can't wait to go home.