China, Dubai,
Hawaii
The onward
journey from Bangkok to China was relatively simple, but due to two weeks of
constantly moving on the Cambodian trek, when I arrived in Beijing my body just
sort of said ‘enough’ and I was hit with a virus, which floored me. I managed
to do one day’s full trip to see the Ming Tombs, the Forbidden City, Tienanmen Square and The Great Wall of China, but had to spend the 2nd day in bed, feeling very sorry for
myself. I met two girls from Essex on our day trip who were hilarious! I
thought they were going to wet themselves laughing when they saw my reaction to
their offer of a ‘proper’ jaffa cake....real chocolate! I was dancing and
whooping all over the jade factory car park.....bless them, they actually gave
me the whole packet purely on the fact they felt sorry for me not to have had a
genuine jaffa cake in 18 months. Good girls.
I wasn't a big fan of Beijing. There just
seemed quite a negative vibe to the place. When I asked my tour guide about the Tienanmen Square protest, she just shrugged and said ‘I have no idea what
you’re talking about’. And meant it. Turns out, because of the censorship in
China, a lot of the Chinese actually don’t know what happened there. And that
stunned me. The heritage of the city was amazing, but I just felt that some
people didn't seem to want to interact with any westerners. I’m glad I went
though, and I can always boast about the Great Wall, however, I don’t think I
would be in a rush to go back.
Dubai ended
up being just 2 days of sleeping off the rest of the virus. I think I
definitely need to go back there and see it in all its glory. It was amazingly
clean, friendly, hot and the food was amazing. However, it did slightly unnerve
me when I got a facebook friend request from one of the pool boys who had found
out my name from my room number! I complained to the manager, as being a female
lone traveller, that kinda spooked me – have been offered a one night free stay
– good excuse to go back. Anyone for Dubai?
I arrived in
Hawaii, via a stopover in LA for one night, and from the minute I walked off
the plane, I knew I was going to love this place. And yes, they do actually put
a ‘Lei’ over your head when you walk into arrivals. My hotel was very central
(if not a tad basic), but it had everything I needed. Plus, for some reason,
they gave me a room with two double beds. Touch! Waikiki Beach was breathtaking
– what I loved about the whole island was that it stuck to its heritage with a
flash of westernisation and a modern take on their culture. The large corporate
fast food joints weren't allowed to plaster their signs all over the buildings,
they had to adapt to the feel of the island, so twice I walked past a KFC and a
Burger King without knowing they were there. The night markets were amazing and
I just know that Hawaii is one of the places that not many people go to, but
absolutely should. One of the best places to eat was the ‘Cheesecake Factory’
which actually served one of the best club sandwiches I’d ever eaten. However,
I was warned by a lovely Brazilian woman (who I met whilst dipping in the sea),
that I was not to go to Maui – you should only go there if you’re newly married
or retired – as it’s known as the island for the ‘newly weds or nearly deads’!
No nightlife after 7pm - glad I picked Waikiki then.
The last few days
in Hawaii were a little strange. I knew I only had a limited time left before I
got on that flight at LA to come home and I wasn’t really sure how I felt about
it all. Nervous? Definitely. Excited? Of course. But I knew that the most
important thing to me was to not fall back into my old ways and run around
after my friends to please everyone. The one thing I learnt in Australia was to
do what pleased me, first and foremost.
Home...
Coming through those
double doors at Heathrow made me feel a bit sick. I was nearly hyperventilating
with excitement and I could hardly breath. As the doors swung open, the first
figure I could make out was my big bro, and then I saw Kim, Ruby, Sue, Dad
& Pat. My heart was beating out of my chest and the tears just streamed
down my face. Ruby and Kim ran to me and then I was just enveloped in hugs from
my family. I was home, safe, back in the arms of my loved ones.
The next few weeks
were a whirlwind of phonecalls, visits, jetlag and trying to adjust to settling
back into some sort of routine. I was fortunate enough to find somewhere to
live, get my car back on the road and find a job all within a few days (my
stepmum wants to know what the female equivalent of ‘Goldenballs’ is), and I
felt like a fish out of water. Everything was scarily familiar, yet absolutely
nothing had changed. Only me. And I didn’t quite know how to deal with the
onslaught of adapting to a life I knew so well, yet, wasn’t sure exactly what
it was I wanted.
Over 3 months
later, and I can still have the wind knocked out of my sails by remembering my
world in Australia and the life I led there. I know for sure that here is where
I want to be, but I am missing my ‘people’ who I did everything with as I’d
never had that kind of group of friends before. The kind where I wasn’t the
decision maker and someone else would tell me where we’re going and what we
were doing. Relinquishing control was so freeing. And I loved that.
Adapting to my new/old life is an
ongoing project. I have found a job that I love, I’m living in a great house
and I get to see my family regularly. Tick, tick, tick. But, there are still
quite a lot of adjusting to do. But I’m getting there. I am sick with nerves at
the thought of starting University, but I know it’s a course that I will love.
Not quite sure how I am going to fit in the studying with my hectic social
life, so if I go off the radar, at least you’ll know it’s because I’ve got my
head in a book, not because I’m being rude J
Friends are still the lifeblood
of my world. Good, bad, indifferent, they have all made their mark on my time
away and my arrival home. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for the
love, support, tears, arguments and alcohol that I have shared with these
people. Mum used to say that people come into your life for a reason, a season
or a lifetime....and right now those words are very apt.
Perhaps I need to change the name
of my blog now.......any ideas would be greatly appreciated as well as any advice on where this blog should be directed now?
Love and light
xxxx
