The Beginning of the End.

Well,its been a long time since I've updated this blog and for that I'm sorry to anyone who was following it (hi Family!).  I'm writing now from London and its a few measly days until I fly home to chilly Canada, where I've heard that its a balmy -20C... great.

There is so much to cover from the last entry to now that I'm going to wait until I'm at home to fill in the blanks and upload some pictures, otherwise it would end up costing me a small fortune in British pounds to sit in an internet cafe for several hours.  Since my last entry (which was based in Budapest, Hungary) I have since been to Turkey- one of my favorite countries, then on to Greece my least favorite, then across to Italy, Switzerland, France, Spain, Portugal, and Morocco.  Switzerland is one the few countries that I could easily/hopefully see myself living in for a while, its just amazingly beautiful. Turkey and Morocco were very similar; both Muslim majority countries and some of the friendliest places I been to yet.  Forget what the 'news' says about fundamentalists and religious extremists, they are so far and few between...and not near as crazy as some of the people in North America.  Spain and Portugal are some two of the cheapest countries in western Europe -Portugal more so- and the food is something to behold.  I was only in Paris for a few days but its an incredible city that is absolutely vibrating with life and culture.  Italy is great but pricey, but compared to Greece its fantastic.  Greece... I was nonplussed by Greece, due to bad weather (not really their fault I know), outrageous pricing due to the sheer amount of British tourists that flood the country, and the overall touristy-ness in general.  Crete was OK, but it seemed that the rest of the country existed solely for the purpose of separating visitors from their money.  As a backpacker that didn't sit well with me.

London is nice in a big-dirty-metropolitan-city-with-lots-of-energy kind of way.  The exchange rate is murder to anyone not fortunate enough to be earning the Pound, and going out at night can be shockingly expensive, but the options for things to see and do are almost unlimited.

I'm still trying to process the fact that in a few short days I will be at home, and not living out of a backpack or wearing the same clothes that I've worn for the last seven months.  I worry about getting bored, and still am not sure what I'm going to do for work (ugh, 9-5 is NOT for me I've learned) until my next trip.  Thats right, I've already got my next trip planned out in my head because "settling down" isn't an option at this point.  Next year around fall I plan to head to New Zealand with a work visa and a ticket on a tallship that sails around the South Pacific.  Now whether or not I get a job on the boat as one of the crew or just end up being a paying passenger is a moot point- one way or another I'm will get on that ship.  After that, who knows? Getting work visas isn't all that difficult from what I've seen from the legions of Aussies and other Canucks working their way around the globe.  I still need to get to Japan, as well as Laos, Malaysia, and possibly China and Tibet.  I also have a promise to a friend to visit South America ( hi Jen!) in the next year and a half.

They don't call it the 'travel bug' for no reason as you can see.  Once a person starts seeing the rest of the world it becomes an addiction almost... each new city and culture is so different.  I started this trip with the idea that I was going to visit all kinds of exotic destinations, and see new and exciting things...and I did, in spades.  But I've since learned that the people I've met along the way: other travelers, locals wanting to chat and learn about my country/culture, they've become some of the highlights for me.  Granted, not all people who travel are enlightened, nonjudgemental, and interesting... I've seen many who while being in a completely different culture than their own still somehow expect the standards of home to apply in this new environment.  These persons get caught up in the superficialities of traveling: less than ideal sleeping conditions, having to wear the same clothes for more than a day because laundry facilities aren't available, bathrooms that aren't clean enough to eat off of, etc.  Once these things can overlooked, the bigger picture can seen.  A person can start to feel like they are a part of a global family... after all, we're all human.