365

365 days, 16 countries and a full circumference of the globe. So how much would a trip like this cost? The tickets, 20 flights, cost almost exactly £2000. We bought a couple more, at about £120 each, along the way. A long van rental in Australia? Just over 50 days in the off season cost us about £1500 between us. Considering that was our accommodation as well it wasn't too bad. But if anyone if staying longer than a couple of months then buying a vehicle is the way to go.
Our American Subaru set us back a couple of thousand quid and we sold it in a rush for about £900 with it's nagging new fault!


So the real cost it just living. All in all I probably spent about £12,000 just on food, getting around and sightseeing. I bought only a couple of momentous from the trip as carrying the newly purchased items or sending them back expensively is a hassle I can live without. It was enough to carry a backpack and another bag in my hand on those long travelling days, not that they were packed with clothes. For the first 6 months I survived on one pair of boxer shorts!
Since I've been back in the world of odd new phrases like 'credit crunch' many people have asked me what my favourite country is. I've not even scratched the surface as far as world travel goes but I'd definitely like to see more of Japan and New Zealand. America's landscape is amazing and just everyday living in South America was for me the true spirit of what a trip like this is all about.

One person has asked me what my worst country is and to be honest that's an even harder question. I plumped for Bolivia because the people were miserable, there was a lot of civil unrest once we left, but there's some truly beautiful scenery there. The unwanted attention in China and the annoying con-men in Bangkok were only minor bugs in an otherwise exceptional trip. We spent a year almost constantly travelling and encountered only one dodgy situation and even that was not a full week into the trip.
Would I do it all again? Well, yes. I'm not sure if I'd stay away for as long as a year again but six months definitely. Although, for anyone who hasn't already done the year trip then I would recommend it unquestionably.


I've been set a back and left speechless soo many times along the way with soo many memories that keep coming back to me that will stay stored away in a dusty corner of my brain forever. I've come back a red wine and green tea drinker but other than that nothing has changed except for my massive appreciation for the great country of my birth. It's funny how much things about your own country you miss, good British ales for one, and how much the people who live here take everything for granted and really do a good job of putting it all down.
As I go about my daily business I often think that at this very moment there's guys in flip-flops and shades doing some welding in China. There's a bronzed, beer bellied 50 year old guy catching a few waves on his surf board. There's a tour guide explaining the Inca ruins in three different languages. There's a perfect Argentinian steak being served, a stunning American mountain range being snowboarded, a huge New Zealand glacier being explored inside and a funk band playing in the dark clubs of the white city of San Francisco. Whatever it is, wherever it is, when you're travelling there's always something going on and it's almost impossible not to love it.