Ao Nang, Last Full Day 1st February 2023

Right
I only have today to get some thoughts down - tomorrow and the day after will be travel days, and experienced has told me that I probably won't have much opportunity to post anything meaningful whilst 'in transit', on buses, in airports, scrambling for trains during another strike etc.
It's time to reflect on a few things:
Hopefully, this will be a balanced account in hindsight of the trip. Yes, it's not quite over until I set foot inside my door in Brompton, but you know what I mean.
Dislikes/things could have gone better:
The flagrant scamming/ripping off that seemed to be acceptable in a few places (especially Vietnam and at Angkor Wat).
The dual pricing of lots of things - eg. entrance charges to some temples - that hugely hike up the cost for travellers and non-natives of a country.
Constant beeping car horns from taxi drivers, trying to either signal they're available for hire, or just to annoy pedestrians.
No! I don't want a massage, or whatever it is you're offering. I can't afford it, I'm a pensioner and it might hurt.
Airports, bloody airports.
Getting dumped at random places in strange towns at godforsaken hours by rude and unhelpful bus drivers.
Places and things I've been thrilled, delighted, amazed by:
The Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi; Lalitpur in Nepal; Langkawi Island and Malacca in Malaysia; Yogyakarta in Indonesia; Gili Island off Lombok Indonesia; El Nido in the Philippines; Hoi An and Halong Bay in Vietnam; Chiang Mai, Koh Tao and several things whilst in Ao Nang in Thailand.
Which single place would I go back to in a heartbeat? Gili Island.
Favourite food?
Probably Thailand, but Khin Wee's and Jen's cooking in Kuwait takes some beating.
What have I missed doing/seeing/ experiencing?
Honestly, not much. I avoided scuba diving - I've realised that the PADI system has some features of network marketing: they want to get you in and climbing up the qualifications ladder within their organisation. Therefore, a steady stream of either fresh blood or ambitious, well-healed amateurs who like the paraphernalia of it all keeps the PADI organisation thriving.
Am I bored of Southeast Asia? No. not really, but I am a bit tired and jaded by so much travelling on a budget in a relatively short period of time.
Will I do something similar again? Perhaps. South America could be on the cards.
On balance, has it been enjoyable, or a thrill, or culturally enriching, or fascinating? Yes, definitely yes.
Did I glimpse a few instances of paradise? It felt like that a few times.
Yes, I 'ticked off' a few bucket-list places.
Just as importantly though; I escaped winter and the crippling electricity bills back in Northern England. ("Oh England, where my heart lies." ) As Paul Simon sang many years ago, and perhaps still does. I know I do.
And yes, I set off for home tomorrow :)Читать далее