“The journey is my home.”
– Muriel Rukeyser

February 26th 2020 I had officially been travelling for three years straight. My “Round the World Adventure” was drawing to a close and even though I was incredibly happy (and a little proud) that I managed my stated goal of travelling full time for three years, the nostalgia was setting in… I don’t like it when things are drawing to a close, I don’t like it when things end…

STATS YEAR 3

Homecoming date: 14 March 2020

Countries visited: 15

China, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, USA, Colombia, England, Norway (end of my trip).

Flights: 34

Distance travelled: 79885 km / 45910 miles (flights/long distance buses/trains)

Injuries/Disease: More or less constant cold-like symptoms while in China (I blame pollution and the fact that I was working as a teacher with several classes of kids infecting and re-infecting me all the time). Food poisoning my last week in Bogotá.

Spontaneous music concerts: 2 – U2 in Auckland, New Zealand and Mardi Gras in New Orleans

Visits from home: I met up with Øyvind in Thailand and we spent two glorious weeks being goofy.

Trips back to Norway: 0 (unless you count my final stop as a “trip back to Norway”)

Time spent deleting spam-mail: Can’t even remember anymore…

COSTS

ACCOMMODATION: 74740 NOK / $8450
MAJOR TRANSPORT: 55525 NOK / $6100 (flights/long distance buses/trains)
FOOD: 36063 NOK / $4248
DRINK (incl. non-alcoholic): 3646 NOK / $430
VISAS: 1026 NOK / $113

NECESSITIES: 11591 NOK / $1365
(Big category, guys. It includes f.ex. shampoo, toiletries, replacing stuff that breaks, medicine, birthday candles, sending stuff home etc)
TAXI/UBER: 8141 NOK / $959
EXCURSIONS/MUSEUMS: 16174 NOK / $1905
CLOTHES: 7274 NOK / $857 (some of these are “souvenirs”, but I’ve put all clothing bought in this category)
SOUVENIRS: 13295 NOK / $1566
TIPS: 2688 NOK / $316
CHARITIES: 936 NOK / $110
LAUNDRY: 203 NOK / $24
WIFI: 0 NOK / $0

EXTRAS
Teaching English in China: 29753 NOK / $3268
U2 concert, New Zealand: 2155 NOK / $237
Uluru, Australia: 1531 NOK / $168

HIGHLIGHTS

Bucket List highlights: TOOK A SELFIE WITH A QUOKKA! Finally! Also, I saw Uluru, held a koala bear (Australia), saw the White Temple in Chiang Rai ( Wat Rong Khun) and got a Sak Yant tattoo in Bangkok (Thailand). Saw the komodo dragons (Indonesia), saw the Avatar Mountains of Zhangjiaje, taught English in China, saw the Terracotta Warriors in Xi’an (did I NOT write a post about this??), saw the Great Wall of China (twice), Kuang Si Falls and Plain of Jars in Laos… Kualoa Ranch on Oahu and visiting the house McGarrett lived in (Hawaii 5-O). Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Finally standing on the modest top of Pic N’ga on the tiny Isle of Pines in the Pacific – Something I’d only seen on Google Maps years before while planning my trip around the world, thinking “It would be so cool if I could make it to this really remote spot someday!” and now I was there. It was also in New Caledonia I could check off my “Day 1000 travelling”, a milestone to say the least. Aside from my food poisoning all of Colombia was a highlight.

There were too many highlights this year… Mardi Gras was on my bucket list, but it wasn’t as cool as I thought It would be, so… Preservation Hall was a highlight in and of itself, but Mardi Gras as a whole, not so much.

Favourite countries on this leg: China… What can I say. I lived and worked there and travelled around for 6 months. It will always hold a special place in my heart. Hohhot in particular ❤ Laos was an immediate favourite, the people, the landscape, the history, the food… Colombia for the same reasons… and New Zealand and Oahu never DONT make the list. That’s just fact.

Closing words on the trips last sum up: Finally, I once again want to really thank all the awesome people I met on my trip who helped make it fantastic. I have made friends for life, friends I hope to keep until I am old and grey, people I can count on to help me keep the memories alive. I was so looking forward to meeting my friends again coming home, but unfortunately, COVID put a stop to that 😦
I am grateful none of my loved ones are sick (or worse), but still… I am back in my own country and somehow still missing my friends… I now look forward to the day we can all get together and enjoy each other’s company again ❤