I thought it fitting, at this halfway point, to reflect on what it is we’ve learnt so far… Here are some thoughts:

• Travelling is a great teacher. I had no idea I had so much to learn – about myself, about our relationship, about life in general, until I was whisked out of my comfort zone and into completely unfamiliar surroundings.
• A place is made more beautiful if you stay somewhere beautiful. Or, at least, somewhere quite beautiful. We made the decision early on to choose comfort over budget, and it was a really wise one, I think. The times we’ve stayed in really stunning luxury accommodation have been amongst the highlights of our trip so far – where you stay, it turns out, makes a huge difference to how much you enjoy staying there.
• Mark and I make a great team. I always knew this, but in the last couple of months it’s really been put to the test. Travelling with someone 24/7 really shows you their real character, you get to see them tired, grumpy, hungry, sick, worn-out and irritable. And if you still love them after all that, that’s saying something!
• We’re tougher than I thought. Apart from the last week of bad health, Mark and I have hardly been sick at all, despite strange food, strange beds, strange transport and strange weather. It turns out we’re tougher than I thought we would be… It’s amazing how adaptable the human body is.
• There are many forms of transport. Before this trip I’d done a bus, car, bike, scooter and boat. Now I’ve done a becak (bicycle rickshaw), horse-drawn cart, bemo (open-sided minibus), ferry, train and moto (motorbike taxi) – and that’s only in the last week!
• Control isn’t always necessary. This is my hardest lesson, I really like being able to have things as much in control as possible. But you learn, when it’s late afternoon and you don’t know where you’re sleeping that night, and you have to move on tomorrow but you’re not sure how, and there’s no way of finding anything recognizable for dinner, that sometimes you just have to release control. And it is a rather lovely feeling, in fact.
• Going slow is key. To rush around while travelling takes all the joy out of it. You don’t get to experience anything or relax anywhere or have any authentic interactions with people. The slower the better, as far as I’m concerned (and don’t ever only spend one night somewhere – it’s not worth unpacking for!)
• It is possible to travel well with diabetes. I’ve had my fair share of ups and downs these past few months – insulin not working, crazy food, hormones and weather making my blood sugar do unusual things – but all in all it has been SO manageable. Much easier than I thought, in fact. Which just goes to show that although travelling with diabetes is more of a challenge than travelling without it, it’s just one more thing to think about, not something to make you give up entirely.
• Practically:
- Packing and unpacking your suitcase is a nightmare if it’s too full… These incredibly useful Vac Bags have saved our lives on a daily basis. They take all the air out of your clothes so massive piles of stuff shrink into delightfully packable flat packs.
- The rumours are true: You don’t need to change your clothes as often as you think.
- We will never again take being able to drink water out of a tap for granted. Months of bottled water makes tap water seem like a luxury!
- Travelling when you’re sick is just awful. Our solution? Take vitamins every day, don’t try dodgy food, and don’t overdo it.
- Sleep is very important if you want to be able to enjoy every day to the fullest.
- Backpacks give you a sore neck, and let you (mistakenly) believe you have enough space to buy things you don’t need. Suitcases are better.
- Patience is vital.
• We are the luckiest people in the world. To have been able to have these months together, exploring this wonderful world of ours, has been such a gift. And every day we’re able to continue doing it is one more day I feel like the luckiest girl on earth. Here’s to the next half being just as wonderful as the first half!

I’m not very good at waiting.

In fact, I’m pretty terrible at it. My impatient nature combined with my control-freak tendencies means I’m always wanting to sink my teeth into things, without waiting for other people to do their part. This is not a very good part of my character, I can accept that. And I’m working on it.

But I am also learning to accept other things. In fact, I’m working on the gentle art of acceptance.

We found out this morning that one of the major sponsors we were hoping would come on board doesn’t have the necessary budget to help us out. A lot of this journey towards the journey has been knocking on doors and understanding that some open and some remain stubbornly shut… But I must admit I was really disappointed when this one didn’t fly open. There’s still a chance that they’ll be able to help us out on a smaller level (sponsoring our air tickets and an iPhone so we can record our daily video snippets), but it looks like we’ll now be choosing Plan B.

Plan B is still extremely exciting, just in a different way. Instead of 16 countries for 2 to 3 weeks each, we’ll do 9 countries for a month each – and stick to South-East Asia and South America (the countries where our savings will last us longer!) We’ll be roughing it more, but more open to adventure and new experiences (as there won’t be any time constraints). We’ll get to fully experience two beautiful parts of the world. And if a major sponsor decides to climb on board while we’re away, we can always add in some of the other countries we’re going to be missing. Or that can be Journey 2. Or Journey 3. The plan is to keep doing this as long as we can!

The overriding feeling I have from this, though, is that it’s time for me to walk the talk. I keep saying that life always gives you exactly what you need, and that in retrospect everything always turns out for the best, and sometimes we just can’t see what is best for us from our limited present outlook. Now it’s time to trust in that, to trust in the flow of life. I need to learn to stop micro-managing everything, to trust that if you have the best intentions (and I really do, this cause is something I deeply believe in) that life will give you just what you need.
Only sometimes what that is will look a little different to what you expected it to be.

I’m excited about this journey! Literally and figuratively. I’m excited to challenge myself, to discover new things about life, and love, to explore this crazy world of ours. I’m excited for whatever lies ahead, down the river, around the bend, whatever it is I can’t quite see from here…

PS – Should anyone have any contacts with airlines or big companies who like diabetics or iPhone people, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!