Epitaph

Somewhere over the Middle East at present as we make the long, depressing journey home. I'm guessing it will be less than 30 degrees in England. I'm in long shorts and a tshirt. My only reasonably warm item of clothing, my favourite grey Windy hoody was last seen hung up in a wardrobe in Cambodia. Even if I had brought it back, it smelt of Tiger Beer where a can burst in my bag. I'll miss my Windy hoody. And my can of Tiger Beer. 

I guess I could wear my brand new Manchester football shirt that I bought. 

I'm not sure if this is a production error by someone who isn't aware that Manchester United don't usually play in the colours of their local rivals, but I thought this was hilarious. Like the genuine 'Menchister United' watch I bought once in Uganda, it means that the money is more likely to go in to the local community rather than the pockets of some fabulously wealthy football club owners or some fabulously wealthy football mercenaries. 

I digress. I should be discussing the trip, not the English Premier League. 

It has been a brilliant experience. The planning and preparation has been going on in my spare time for many, many months and the attention to detail seems to have paid off. I wanted, just like on the European Windy 500, to provide a wide variety of experiences and to give a taster of each country we passed through. I'm not sure we could have fitted much more in to the two weeks (as well as allowing some pool side down time) and everyone seems to have different personal highlights. 

So here are my country by country highlights. 

Thailand

I've done the Bangkok thing. Pat Pong is an experience but for me the highlights were the bungalows and pool at Nong Khai, hiring mopeds and watching the sun set over the Mekong from a floating restaurant. 

Laos

What a lovely country. Laid back, welcoming and not too touristy yet. I would love to return to Laos before it is ruined by excessive tourism. The day out swimming in the turquoise coloured  waterfall and swimming with elephants in the Mekong will live with me (and hopefully everyone else on the trip) for a very long time. Possibly my favourite travelling day ever (and I've had quite a few !)

Vietnam

Another new country for me and another country I would happily spend more time exploring. Halong Bay on the boat was pretty good but our day out from Cat Ba Island cycling and jumping off the boat was fantastic. The scenery was out of this world but watching Lucas having the confidence to leap off the top deck in to the water then swim 100 metres to the beach was unbelievable. 

Cambodia

The ruins of Angkor Wat are stunning. I think that having seen them before when the crowds were a fraction of what they are now, it meant that the experience was a tad disappointing from a personal point of view, though it certainly evoked some great memories of previous trips. 

I think for me though the cookery class was my highlight. I like cooking and I'm looking forward to producing something different and unusual when I get home. 

This was my first attempt at running a trip like this on a professional basis. It has certainly been more nerve wracking than a European Windy to organise. So many 'what ifs', and if there are errors in booking flights, accommodation or border crossings, there is a lot more emphasis on the organiser. With European Windy trips I can point people in the right direction and its down to them to get there. On a global trip it's a lot more complex with deadlines that have to be hit. It worked well though, in no small part due to the group of people who came.

On that subject, the group have worked brilliantly. Varying in age from eight to sixty something from many walks of life. Not one of them I wouldn't be delighted to see on another Global Windy trip. 

This is what I love to do. Travelling and encouraging people to travel. Proper travelling, not package tourism. Seeing more of the world on a holiday than a swanky five star hotel, swimming pool and an all inclusive menu. 

I hope I get many more opportunities to do more trips like this. Let me rephrase that. I'm pretty sure I'm going to get bullied in to doing more trips like this one in the future. I'm already taking expressions of interest for around 2 years time. There's a big old world out there and many more destinations to drag a group of people around. I can't wait to see as much of it as possible. 

If you have enjoyed the blog, if you think you might be keen on a global mystery tour sometime, please do drop us a line. windy500@hotmail.com. I can then keep you informed of future plans and trips. 

It's been a blast once more. 

Spooky