conclusion

trust me, it's paradise. this is where the hungry come to feed. for mine is a generation that circles the globe and searches for something we haven't tried before. so never refuse an invitation, never resist the unfamiliar, never fail to be polite and never outstay the welcome. just keep your mind open and suck in the experience. and if it hurts, you know what? it's probably worth it.
- richard

where there is a monkey there is a lizard. i hope richard and hunter would be proud. for the last seven months i have been on the other side of the world. my ceiling was your floor. these notes are my testament. the notebook my aunt peggy gave me is completely filled up. its pages are frayed and marked, a little like its owner. i have travelled by plane, train, boat, motorcycle, tuk-tuck, truck, camel, elephant. you name it. 17 flights alone. i have travelled to australia, burma, china, hong kong, japan, loas, new zealand, and thailand. i have survived cold showers and shaves, nights in airports and train stations, ants, bed bugs, cock roaches, mozzies, sharks and spiders.

and i've loved every minute of it. i've had a great travel companion. this world is a beautiful place, and its smaller than you think. see enough of it, and any place on a map can start to feel like home.

thanks for reading, thanks for the emails, and thanks to the people who travelled and blogged before me and inspired me. this trip has long been a dream for me, and now that it is over, i am lost as to what the next one will be. i'd like to think that on our same flight home maybe a guy from hong kong is just starting his trip in canada. maybe it's his dream. i'd like that.

last helicopter out of the embassy. yes, i have scars.

i'm spinning and you're spinning
the world's spinning and we're laughing
and i'm charming, the devil's charming
and we're ruined but we're still building
and i'm selling and you're counting
the world's stopping but we keep going
and we're ruthless and we're cunning
and i'm heir to it all
- matthew good