London & the Return Home!!!!

Finally left India!!!! No more curry!!!! I'm happy, but only for a day or two. Why? Because my stomach starts grumbling. Maybe it was just a small bout of food poisoning.... maybe it's eating western food for the first time in 7 months... I dunno, I just want it to end quickly. Well, it didn't end quickly. The entire week in London I was faced with a bad stomach bug. I didn't feel bad but I needed to be near a bathroom on most occasions. Nonetheless, London was awesome. Five days flew by like it was five hours. I hardly remember being there and it's not because I went to too many pubs, although I did make it to quite a few.


Nate and I fly in on Sunday, sleep on the airport floor that night and make our way over to the Ritz the next morning where my Dad's staying. As you can imagine Nate and I weren't the cleanest looking guys in London and apparently we both smelled pretty horrible although I think I had Nate beat in that dept. When we walk in the front door of the Ritz we are immediately met by the head of security who is more than likely wondering "what in the hell these two bums are doing in my hotel." I explain that my dad's there so he calls up to their room and sounds quite skeptical as to whether or not we are who we say we are. Finally get allowed up to Dad's room. Walk in, give my dad a big hug, Kay a big hug, and sit my bag down and just look at the room. Holy moly.... CULTURE SHOCK!!!!!! Nate and I were standing in what is easily the nicest and most extravagant room that we have seen or dreamed about since we left home. I don't think either one of us wanted to touch anything. Dad and Kay had just eaten breakfast and had bread, coffee, etc. left over which Nate and I devoured. We got settled in, Dad got a new room (he says the smell ran him out), and Nate and I took the first hot showers we'd had in over a month and a half if not longer. We were back in the Western World, it felt wierd but it also felt nice and comforting. I can also say it scared the crap out of us when it costed $8 to take the tube for a 20 minute ride. In India you could take a bus for 12 hours for that much, easily.

The beer really was green... and good too!


London, and England in general, was the most expensive place I'd ever imagined. The pound is 2 to 1 over the dollar and everything pretty much has the same numbers in front of them except for the pound mark instead of the dollar mark. Pint - $6..... Fish and Chips - $14.... Tickets to amateur soccer game - $30.... Room for a night - car payment..... it was utterly ridiculous. Nate and I spent more on beer, entertainment, and a little food in 5 days than we had spent total in all of our travels across India and Nepal for 1 month.



We saw the British Museum, the Imperial War Museum, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, etc. etc. London is an awesome, awesome city. Very easily the coolest city I've been to, with Paris being the runner-up. It's a shame that it's so stinking expensive.



So after 5 days, it was time to fly back to the US. Exciting day right? Sort of.... it was a day that had seemed so far off for such a long time that it hit home very hard when all of a sudden it was time to fly home. It was the last day of what had been absolutely the greatest experience of my life. The flight back seemed short enough even though I couldn't sleep for having all these flashbacks of the times I've spent with so many people and new friends in so many different places. --I will take this opportunity to say that US Air and other US Airline companies suck! They charge $5 for headphones which you'll never use again AND they charge for alcoholic drinks. I traveled around the world on several different airline carriers and never paid for these things. It's complete and utter BS.--


The plane has landed and as it really hits me that I'm really in back in Charlotte, NC USA something happened that has never happened to me before. I started to have trouble breathing, started sweating, and getting super nervous. I had a panic attack.... it was a small one and nothing major but it was a panic attack nonetheless. Baggage claim area I was pacing around taking deep breaths trying to calm down. It was completely wierd to me that I was freaking out about it. I guess it can just be attributed to not wanting to be back in the western world for good. Being away from the way things are here at home was so nice and refreshing. I will say now that I'm home it is nice to be back. I'm looking forward to seeing my dog, my grandparents, my friends, etc. But the different cultures of the world place weight on such different things than we do here in America. I am still struggling after much thought to put my finger on what it is that makes the people around the world different and I haven't come up with an answer.... it's just different.


Either way, I'm glad to be home.... I didn't completely lose it. When I gave my mom a big hug I immediately felt better and I'm going home to see my dog today. I did however bring home a parasite and a bacterial infection. The stomach problems that happened in London still haven't stopped two weeks later. Just started taking anti-biotics yesterday and will hopefully be rid of this crap in a week or so. It is not fun.... I was told by the docs before I left "It's not if you get sick but when you get sick." Well, I got sick at the very end thank God. I haven't had an appetite or been able to sleep for a week now and I've lost 10 lbs since Monday. It sucks but is absolutely worth it if it's what I gotta go through for all the experiences I've had.


THE TRIP WAS AWESOME.... I LEARNED SO MUCH..... AND WILL HAVE FRIENDS AROUND THE WORLD FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!!!!

ps..... added a few pics to the posting below if you'd like to check em out.