A last story from us being back in town. With one foot back in reality. The other still refusing to follow...

We are so thankful- although we owe most to our own efforts- that we had the chance to travel around the globe for almost 11 months and make the trip that we wanted. This was our Big Trip.

During this year we had the chance to meet people from all over the world. Truly see, smell, feel and touch different countries with their distinctive cultures and people in their 'natural' environment. We had the chance to be among some of the most spectacular natural and culturally rich parts of the world. We had the chance to do some 'time traveling' from 2009 to 2010, to 2067 and from Mexico to Myanmar. We had the chance to see the contrasts between several parts of the world; from the extreme cleanliness of Japan to the dirty chaos of Nepal. From Hinduistic Nepal to Islamic Jordan, from gringo country numero uno Mexico to fancy Hongkong, from the kidneys of the Chinese kitchen to the highly refined Japanese 'sushi. We had the chance to be free. Surprises everyday. Not one day was the same. However, unfortunately we also experienced its dark side up close & personal being robbed at gunpoint in Santa Cruz de la Sierra (Bolivia). Being the only stain on the clean white sheet, this also an aspect of travelling of which we were aware that it could happen. And although we spent a lot of money, this is something which could never be expressed in any currency. In fact we are richer now than ever before...

Speaking about freedom... One of the most striking conclusions after our trip is that the freedom we thought we had, is in fact a limited conception of freedom. Yes, we were free to go where-ever and do whatever we wanted. This is definitely a form of freedom which is less present in our 'normal' life due to the daily patterns and routines, which are in fact a conditioned way of emprisonment (our psychic prisons). But freedom turned out to be a multidimensional concept and we discovered aspects to which we never paid much attention. The seemingly 'commonplace' freedom to dress how you like (instead of adapting your style to what is 'appropriate' in other cultures), to eat what you want, to have a normal and more or less regular 'stoelgang' (although we will miss our daily 'shit'-briefings) and to blend in the masses for some anonimity (instead of always being the center of attention), are aspects of freedom we learned to appreciate. Basically, the degree of freedom when travellingwas less obvious than we thought. Back home we immediately realized that here we feel free as well. Justdifferently. The challenge is to make sure not to get stuck again in our 'psychic prison', in our daily pattern and routines.

Related to the above notes about freedom is our hypothesis which we formulated en route: 'The more touristic a particular place is, the less friendly the locals are'. And unfortunately the hypothesis is tested over and over again and there is no other conclusion possible than that it has to be confirmed. The further we got off the beaten track where-ever, we met heartwarming people who are curious, inviting, warm, friendly but also poorer then anywhere else. However, in the heavily touristed areas the only thing the locals want is money. Understandable but annoying. We are convinced that one has not really visited a country when only visiting the tourist hotspots. See it as an incentive to visit places that are not hyped by guidebooks and internet. Just get off the beaten track and another world will literally open for you.

And then there are the fellow travellers... one of the most disappointing facets of our trip. In 11 months we just met a handful of nice people. And actually there are just the 'incroyable' Marco & Maya from Swiss and the 'Chinese' Israeli Noam & Shani, with whom we still are in touch. Hopefully we will continu our friendship from a distance and meet up in somewhere in the near future. But for the rest fellow travellers are the worst people around. It's even too much asked to say the two- letter word 'hi'... it seems that everyone thinks they make a 'voyage of discovery' to unknown and uninhabited worlds and find their own Garden of Eden. Wake up, it does not exist... just for a happy few perhaps.

Having read multiple guidebooks, having watched many travel programs on television, and trying to be a good 'world citizen', we were expected to travel 'green'. Another hype. We always throw our garbage in the bins, we use as little electricity as necessary, we don't ask for clean towels every day, we would like to fly as little as possible. But. If it is expected from tourists (or better 'guests') it should equally count for the locals. Unfortunately, here a clearly marked distinction is visible. Locals seem to be exempted from any kind of responsibility to their own environment. They throw their garbage everywhere, let the lights on whenever where-ever, etc. And the airlines also do not contribute to a green world by their highly illogical tariffs. We would prefer to fly straight from Quito (Ecuador) to Ciudad de Guatemala (Guatemala) without a doubt, fly less miles and hence contribute to a 'greener' world. However, if a straight flight costs substantially more then a flight with several illogical stopovers flying back and forth the planet, the choice is easily made... So please stop the marketing campaign about 'responsible travel' and just use your brains.

And we? Although we expected to change during our trip, this is only partly true. We are still the same persons be it a bit tougher, a little lighter but doubting even more then before about what to do with our lives wanting to make the best of it and do what our hearts tell us to do. Probably the biggest change is our physical condition which is better than it was the past years. The extensive hiking, mountaineering, biking, our 2 meals a day diet, made us lose the very necessary kilos. Besides physically feeling great, our minds are cleared and stress-free (at least for a short period of time...). Actually it has been a long time ago since we both felt so good physically.

And now the challenge begins to incorporate all the good things from our trip into our daily lives ... But that is not the easiest part as you get sucked into reality from the moment you touch ground. Things in Tilburg and Panevezys have not changed at all, but we are ... we feel as 'homeless birds'. To get adjusted to reality is harder than expected. Accepting the fact that 'our year' has passed in wink and seems to have left nothing but a dream is hard. Very hard.

Hopefully the memories will never fade and the other foot will never follow...

Thank you all for following us.

Love,

Marco & Lina