Home...

Gosh, well sorry, it really has been ages since the last update and there was a very good reason for this. We were going to fly to Singapore to renew visas and then decided that actually it seemed silly to pay all that money for just a few extra weeks and so we decided to move our return flights and come home a few weeks early...but we didn't tell anyone so that we could suprise our family and friends.

We left Bali and flew to Hong Kong, we were only able to stay 1 night there and then the next morning flew out bright and early to Heathrow. Hong Kong was amazing and super efficient. The hotel was great and Sam loved the fact that there was a remote control panel which did everything, radio, lights, curtaing, heat etc.

We arrived in Heathrow and were picked up by Jess and Al (who were in on the whole thing) and they drove us to Leeds where we suprised my parents. After a couple of days getting over jet lag (and them getting over the shock) we drove to Bristol and dropped Sam with his Dad. We have spent the last few days moving back into the house and settling back in.

We are all very happy to be home. It has been amazing travelling together and we have enjoyed every day (well, pretty much every day) and have amazing memeories which will carry with us always. Probably it will take a while for it all to sink in, particularly for Sam, but I think we have learned alot, about the world, about each other and about ourselves.

Thanks everyone for following theblog and your support along the way. I would definately recommend that this is something that everyone who has ever dreamed of travelling does (especially with a child). It's a truly amazing experience but...it's lovely to be home and if there's one thing travelling the world has taught me it's that I have the best friends and family ... literally in the whole wide world.

Over and out...Ruth Will and Sam xxxx

Sorry it's been so long...

Well it has been a long time since the last update, this is mainly due to Jess and Al being here and then moving back to Legian to meet up with the Vallenders. The past few weeks have felt more like being on holiday than travelling the world. It was brilliant to see Jess and Al and very sad to see them leave. I'm glad they came now and not in the middle of the trip because I think it would have made us pretty upset to have said goodbye to them knowing we wouldn't be seeing them again for months but as it is it's only a few weeks.

Sam had an amazing time playing table tennis with Al and his departure was softened by the arrival of the Vallenders and he has had an amazing time with them, spending a day at the water park, wandering the streets buying gifts and videos, eating loads of bad stuff...the usual 13 year old day to day activities.

We are all starting to wind down now as we think about heading home in a few weeks. Next week we will fly to Singapore and then back into Bali for a couple of weeks as we need to renew the visa. Half of us is really excited about coming back (I think Sam is even looking forward to going back to school!!) and half will be really sad to leave behind our nomadic lifestyle. I could quite happily move on to China or somewhere and spend another couple of months getting to know the country but there you go...instead it's homeward bound and there's lots of exciting things to look forward to when we get back.

It's a quick update today as yesterday I managed to get the dreaded Bali Belly and spent the whole day on the loo (lovely) actually it wasn't too bad as we have heard horror stories of people vomiting and sweating and shaking etc and fortunately I was spared all that. I now have anti-biotics and rehydration sachets which have made me feel much better and now I just feel a bit weak and pathetic...Will try and get back into the updating swing for the last few weeks and will update tomorrow.