Tomorrow is my final day

Well my long and epic journey is now only a day away from being completely fulfilled, but it is not over and as long as I am in good health and memory it never will be.

In total it was 90 cities in 34 countries and using 39 flights and too many buses, coaches, trains and taxis to count accurately thus it definetly covers both 'around the world' and 'trains, plaines and automobiles'.
Also, as it started off with a ferry to Amsterday so when adding in the few tour cruises that I took I guess that even if I cant claim to have 'sailed the seven seas' I still can say that I did my fair share of water travel.

One of my early ideas which never came to fruition was going up in a hot air balloon, but I was never near one when the price was right, and the other was to cross from China to Europe via the Trans Siberian Express but it was just too cold and too expensive and I would have had to stay in Beijing ages in order to sort out the visa requirements so in the end I decided to head south and go via India instead.

I never did quite get to Morocco, Timbuktu in Mali, Argentina, the Galapagos Islands, Canada, Halifax Island in the U.S.A., Easter Islands, Ayres Rock in Australia, Bali in Indonesia, Philippines, Japan or Petra in Jordan but they are all places that require a lot more patience, money and time than I had to dedicate to them on this trip.

In the end it was only in Egypt that as a whole I was never rained on once, but I did try to never let it get me down too much and to always pick myself up again as soon as the weather cleared and go have another go.

A few people have asked me what my favourite part was, but on a journey such as this this is an almost impossible question to answer as each city and country held its own appeal and merit.

Holland was the first place that I reached, so was good to say that I have officially started and Rome will be the last so it was will be both a relief and a fullfilment to say that I am now was finally on a flight home again. Colombia was the country in which I visited the most cities and Mexico was the country in which I remained the longest.

Well known landmarks like Christo Rey ( Christ the Redeamer ), Manchu Picchu, Chichen Itza, Taj Mahal, Sydney Opera House, Great Wall of China, Ankor Wat, Grand Canyon, Panama Canal and the Vatican City are all places that I passed through and are definite highlights not to be missed.

But then there were the simple things like being the first tourist in the day to walk around Copan Ruinas, getting an authentic Thai massage at the temple where the first school was created, or visiting my first Disneyland theme park in Hong Kong and going on a Winnie the Pooh ride which whisked me back to being a kid all over again and cannot be ignored.

Then too were the many good friends that I met, both those planned long in advance and those I spontaneously just happened to rub shoulders with along the way and soon became on first names basis with, each a memory I will cherish for many a year if not forever.

No man can see or do everything but as a small child I had a dream, a burning desire and a grand idea to travel all around the world and although it took over 20 years from the very first time I thought it just might be possible I never gave up, never lost hope and didn't even speak of it to most people til it was close to coming true.

Some people dare only to have small dreams while others shoot for the moon and never quite make it. My dream was big but was doable and now the only thing worrying me is what does a man do when he has accomplished his lifes one biggest desire, and how will everything else compare to his past achievement?

I hope you have enjoyed my words and photos over the last few months and that maybe my true story will help encourage others to be bold enough to have dreams and not give up or turn back just because things look to be a little rough ahead.