The final blog

What to say? I'm writing this from North Wales - pretty jet-lagged, living funny hours, got up at 4am, usually I'd still be out at that time.

I still remember getting the train to Heathrow about nine months ago, gradually becoming more and more terrified. The tension was exhausting and I fell asleep almost as soon as I sat on the plane. At that point, and for the following few days I wondered if I'd made the right decision, I missed everyone and Delhi is crazy and (to steal back a favourite English word among Indians) bamboozling. But the trip just got better and better and has been the greatest experience of my life.

I have been to 13 different countries, across three continents, all of which were new to me. The trip has starred the Taj Mahal, Angkor Watt, the Great Wall of China, Milford Sound, Cape Horn, and the Inca Trail. I have been to bustling modern cities such as Hong Kong and Tokyo and the beautiful little corners of Rishikesh, Halong Bay and Fraser Island.

But the real joy has been in meeting so many different people - fellow travellers and the locals of each country. I've said before I've rarely been happier than sitting on a bus or train, heading into the unknown. People ask what my favourite places have been, and I've met many travellers who believe I go too fast and cannot get a feel for any of the places spending so little time in them. But for me the mix of cultures and lifestyles, seeing what unites us and how we can be so different, strolling among the temples and geishas in Kyoto, dancing in a samba club in Sao Paulo, playing rugby on a beach in Sydney - just feels like you're not only seeing the world, but reaching out and touching it.

To everyone who has perservered with this tripe, thanks very much, the blog has been a very enjoyable part of the trip.