All Good Things Come to an End

So now we are here, the final blog! It feels like only yesterday we were just setting off. At the very beginning we shared the motto 'slow and steady wins the race'. It's something we've held in our thoughts throughout the trip, mindful not to go too crazy too often and pace ourselves in many aspects. Now we reach the end of the road we can admit we're tired, moving on every few days, experiencing new cultures, customs, new everything, but we can certainly say we've won the race, we've reached the end intact with huge beaming smiles on our faces.

Our last couple of nights were spent in Melaka, Malaysia, where we assembled in the evening for a slideshow reminder of the trip, 6 months flashed by in 25 minutes. There followed a night out to begin the celebrations and reminiscing. The merriment involved buckets of ice water being thrown, dancing in the street, laughter and many a toast.

Betsy, Rowan & John

Betsy sharing photos with Nick and Laura

Julia, Cher, Hels & Ryan

Nick & Laura

Cher & G Rod dancing in the street

G Rod soaked

Jody's turn

Laura preparing herself

Nick getting a soaking from Chris

Rogs getting got

Rogs & Jim seeking revenge

Ryan, soaked

Laura & Pip

Ryan, Chris & G Rod

One short final journey into Singapore, the furthest we can travel by road, with a border post built for thousands and graced by only our bus load, we entered swiftly, apart from one small hold up due to Chris's tobacco smuggling attempt. Singapore, with tyre marks still evident on the roads from the recent F1 Grand Prix, can best be described in one word, 'mega'. A skyline like no other, buildings ontop of buildings, supertrees in an artificial woodland and fast cars parked up on every corner, not to mention the fleet outside the famous Raffles Hotel.

Rogs

Double helix bridge

Gardens by the bay

If London can do it...

Merlion and Marina Bay Sands

Outrageous buildings

Ryan, Jim & Julia

Singapore Science Museum

Sculptures

Singapore skyline

The Raffles fleet

Ryan, Julia & Jim

Raffles doorman

With only a couple of people opting to go on to Darwin, the last official night of the trip was in Singapore, and it was finally upon us. We walked into what felt, smelt and sounded like India to a great restaurant in Little India who served up an all you can eat menu of delicious food, washed down with a few beers and bottle of gin, nothing like gin to help the emotions flow, not that we needed it. Speeches were made, moments remembered and hugs all round. Others may not understand our tears but they come from the passionate attachment to our journey, our adventure.

The final supper

Being part of a group is like creating a family, especially on the road, you live together, experience new things every day and evolve together so to leave that is unsettling. Thankfully we are left with amazing memories and achievements which we will remember for the rest of our lives. Every single person on the trip has brought a unique quality into the mix which created something special, the camaraderie has been fantastic, helping each other along, and laughing our way through 26 countries over 26 weeks, covering just over 26,000km.

Thank you to everyone in the group for their contributions, photographic as well as for the events, moments and shared stories that gave us so much to write about, also in particular to Betsy, for her constant feed of fantastic photos, shared without hesitation. Look out for our resident animal catcher Mikkel who continues with Odyssey on the South American Explorer trip starting at the end of November.

Good luck and safe onward travels to all the friends we have made. We hope you've had as much fun as we have. Embrace and enjoy adjusting to the next stage of your lives. We're off to board the big metal bird in the sky, homeward bound. Thank you and good night.

The countdown is over...