Day 75
Today I'm in: Romulus, Michigan
It's 75 days later, and I'm back where this whole adventure started, at the Hilton Garden Inn in Romulus, Michigan. Only two doors down from the room I stayed in on May 5 - even the boring view of the parking lot is the same. In about twenty minutes I'll take a cab to Ann Arbor, pick up my car, and make the drive to Chicago. By tonight I'll be in my new apartment, the movers will come on either Monday or Tuesday with my things, and in just a few weeks I'll be a contributing member of society again.
People keep asking me what the highlight of the trip was. I don't think, on a trip this long and this varied, that I could narrow it down to one. Paragliding in Chile. Driving into a herd of elephants in South Africa. Hiking through rice paddies on Bali. Climbing waterfalls in Laos. There are too many highlights to choose from.
There were low points, too. The last week or two have been colored by a little bit of homesickness. As the trip drew to a close I found myself noticing less, taking fewer chances, not doing enough to stretch myself. I don't think I was entirely fair to Colombia - as the last country on the trip, it was probably inevitable that I'd be a little bit burned out by the time I got there. I'm very happy to be home.
So let's take a look at the trip by the numbers:
- I visited 15 countries total. Some, like South Africa and Brazil, I feel I got to know very well. Others, like Laos and Indonesia, I just scratched the surface. There's a lot I didn't see.
- I stayed in 43 different accommodations, from five-star hotels in Jakarta to tents in South Africa to guesthouses in Brazil. Almost all were wonderful, and the ones that weren't at least helped build character. I hope.
- I took 47 flights, on 21 different airlines, and passed through 42 different airports. The biggest miracle in all of this is that I didn't have a single delayed flight or a single lost bag. This was probably my biggest worry as I planned the trip - at times my pace was so quick that a misplaced bag or canceled flight could have really made life difficult. It's almost miraculous that everything went as smoothly as it did.
At the risk of turning this into an award-acceptance speech, big thanks go out to my parents, for not only instilling a love of travel but also helping to make some of the trip possible. I'm also grateful for the friends who joined me along the way (or TRIED to join, even if they didn't make it), who kept up with me online, and who passed along tips and knowledge about the places I was going. Thanks for helping to make this such a great experience.
So with that, I'll close the blog. It's time to move on to the next big thing.
Today I'm in: Romulus, Michigan
It's 75 days later, and I'm back where this whole adventure started, at the Hilton Garden Inn in Romulus, Michigan. Only two doors down from the room I stayed in on May 5 - even the boring view of the parking lot is the same. In about twenty minutes I'll take a cab to Ann Arbor, pick up my car, and make the drive to Chicago. By tonight I'll be in my new apartment, the movers will come on either Monday or Tuesday with my things, and in just a few weeks I'll be a contributing member of society again.
People keep asking me what the highlight of the trip was. I don't think, on a trip this long and this varied, that I could narrow it down to one. Paragliding in Chile. Driving into a herd of elephants in South Africa. Hiking through rice paddies on Bali. Climbing waterfalls in Laos. There are too many highlights to choose from.
There were low points, too. The last week or two have been colored by a little bit of homesickness. As the trip drew to a close I found myself noticing less, taking fewer chances, not doing enough to stretch myself. I don't think I was entirely fair to Colombia - as the last country on the trip, it was probably inevitable that I'd be a little bit burned out by the time I got there. I'm very happy to be home.
So let's take a look at the trip by the numbers:
- I visited 15 countries total. Some, like South Africa and Brazil, I feel I got to know very well. Others, like Laos and Indonesia, I just scratched the surface. There's a lot I didn't see.
- I stayed in 43 different accommodations, from five-star hotels in Jakarta to tents in South Africa to guesthouses in Brazil. Almost all were wonderful, and the ones that weren't at least helped build character. I hope.
- I took 47 flights, on 21 different airlines, and passed through 42 different airports. The biggest miracle in all of this is that I didn't have a single delayed flight or a single lost bag. This was probably my biggest worry as I planned the trip - at times my pace was so quick that a misplaced bag or canceled flight could have really made life difficult. It's almost miraculous that everything went as smoothly as it did.
At the risk of turning this into an award-acceptance speech, big thanks go out to my parents, for not only instilling a love of travel but also helping to make some of the trip possible. I'm also grateful for the friends who joined me along the way (or TRIED to join, even if they didn't make it), who kept up with me online, and who passed along tips and knowledge about the places I was going. Thanks for helping to make this such a great experience.
So with that, I'll close the blog. It's time to move on to the next big thing.
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