After Raya Island I returned back to Patong to chillout in the nice hotel again. Having spent more time with local people in Patong the contrasting worlds of England and Thailand really stood out. For example, Thai girls love white skin and kept commenting on how nice and white my skin was. They desire fair, light skin and there are even skin whitening products in the shops! Yet in England people spend money getting spray on tans, use sunbeds and go on holiday to sunbathe. Another contrast is how hard and long people in Thailand work. I got to know a Thai local who works 12hour days, 6days a week and regular works on her day off too. She sends money back home to her family and little is left after rent and food.
Signs of hardship have been more visible once I left the main beach area of Patong, but it has been nice seeing the local side of Patong again.

 
I spent 2 days in Patong chilling out, spending a lot of time with a local called Pat. I then travelled back via plane from Phuket to Bangkok. It felt very hard leaving Patong as I knew my travelling was coming to an end. I had 2 days left before my flight back to London and I meet up with Rob, my friend from England who had been teaching in Thailand for many years. Rob let me sleep at his apartment on the outskirts of Bangkok and we had a absolutely crazy last night to end my travelling. It was great to hang out with Rob again. Rob kindly dropped me at the airport for my 00:20 flight home on 26^th May. After 120days on the road, I felt very emotional at Bangkok airport before departing. My trip was finished and reality was calling.
 

After a 12hour flight I arrived back at London Heathrow at 6.20am. Walking off the plane and collecting my baggage for the last time this trip felt emotional again. Luckily my Mum and Dad picked me up at terminal 3 and spending the morning with them made me a lot better. I knew I had been away a long time when I woke up the following morning in my own bedroom and didn't recognise the room, confused which hotel/hostel I was in.


It had been an amazing 4months, far exceeding anything I had hoped for. Life on the road had become my new normality and every day I woke up excited about what was round the next corner, who I would meet and where the day would take me. The unexpected tangents of this trip are what made the adventure, not the activities I had planned before leaving home. At times it felt like I was walking on a dream, having to pinch myself to ensure it was actually real.


I'll never forgot all the amazing people I met along the way, all the kind acts from random strangers, the people that helped me out when I needed it most and the new international friends I made. I have been blown away by the kindness people have shown me as a sole
traveller. I have also enjoyed sharing parts of my adventure with Colin (4weeks New Zealand), Marcus and Jo (14 days Thailand) from the UK, and meeting up with old friends living in countries I visited.



So over 31,000 miles, 5 countries, 40 destinations, more beds than I can remember, 12 flights, endless coach journeys, an overnight train, speed boat rides, long-tail boats, tuk-tuks, a helicopter and a worn-out pair of trainers, my 4 months adventure is complete. It has been the best 4 months of my life and with so much happening it feels like a whole year has past. I will never forgot my adventure and now have a passion to explore more of south-east asia. As a friend of mine would say, "its been emotional"!!! 

 

Thankyou to everyone who has been reading my travel blog, I've really enjoyed writing it.  I will leave you with 2 of my favourite travel quotes:

“If I'd learnt one thing from travelling, it was that the way to get things done was to go ahead and do them. Don't talk about going to Borneo. Book a ticket, get a visa, pack a bag, and it just happens.”  ― Alex Garland, The Beach 

 
“Escape through travel works. Almost from the moment I boarded my flight, life in England became meaningless. Seat-belt signs lit up, problems switched off. Broken armrests took precedence over broken hearts. By the time the plane was airborne I'd forgotten England even existed.” ― Alex Garland, The Beach 


P.S. Here are the maps of my route.