One year on....

Well, it's now been exactly one year since we jetted off from the Gold Coast. Who would have guessed that one year later we would be in Patagonia??? Not us, that's for sure. Sometimes we still look at each other and say "I just can't believe we're in....".

People we meet in hostels always ask us whether we get homesick. Well, for me the answer is yes, sometimes. I tend to think about home most days (especially since I'm still trying to work out exactly what I'm going to do with myself when I get back) but mostly just in the usual way - wondering how the pets are and what people are doing. The only times I really felt like I wished I could go home were during my birthday and over Christmas. Luckily this usually only lasts for a week or so and then I get distracted by some aspect of travelling and realise I'm having fun again.

One of the hard things about travelling long term is always feeling like you have to be "making the most of it". If you have an off day and don't feel like doing anything you can tend to feel like you are wasting time - surely you could have seen at least 3 churches, a few museums and a glacier instead of just reading all day! You have to keep reminding yourself that it's ok to have a day off every now and again.

By now have gotten pretty good with watching our money. Most days we don't have to worry about wasting money (except for me when I get near any kind of market) as we are used to just spending on the essentials. Obviously to travel for 1 year + we have to make some sacrifices but it's also good not to get too hung up on money, otherwise travelling is no fun at all.

We've kept a record of pretty much everything we've spent and I thought everyone might be interested to know a few stats about my expenditure along the way.

In 365 days my total expenditure was AU$17603.49. This reflects pretty much everything I bought along the way, including souvenirs (even the ones in New York) and all flights purchased after we left Australia (including the big one from India to Chile). It doesn't include my original one way flight to Malaysia and the few bank fees we I have been charged along the way (or anything sorted out before we left like gear, vaccinations etc). Oh, and it doesn't include some internet shopping that I may or may not have done since we left (this doesn't count as the goods were sent home to Australia not to me overseas). Paul's total expenditure is a little bit less than mine as he didn't buy as many souvenirs and obviously didn't spend 5 days shopping in New York! This means that on average I have spent just under AU$49 per day since we started out (we originally budgeted for around $50 per day so this means I am still within the budget - woohoo).

[Speaking of bank fees, for anyone thinking of an extended trip overseas, try to find an Australian savings account that doesn't charge you fees for using a foreign ATM or a currency conversion fee. We did this and it really saves so much money in the long run].

Everyone would probably expect New York to have been the most expensive destination and it was, but only by a whisker at just under AU$55 per day. Believe it or not Cambodia was my second most expensive destination coming in at just a few cents a day less than New York (having Paul's birthday there might have had something to do with that). Our second stint in China (including Tibet) was the third most expensive on a day to day basis at just over AU$53 per day. India was by far the cheapest country at just over AU$23 per day (and the only country where I managed to spend less than AU$30 per day. Nepal came in a distant second at around AU$33 per day. Still, considering that these averages include ALL our expenses (food, accommodation, trains, buses and flights, tours and souvenirs, entry fees etc) I still can't believe how economical travelling long term can really be.

All in all we've had a fabulous trip with no major dramas. Although sometimes life on the road (and living out of a backpack) can seem pretty mundane, when we look back at everything we've seen and done we're still amazed.

As for what's next, as usual we don't have much idea beyond the next couple of days. At the moment we're in El Calafate checking out the amazing glaciers in the area. We have loose plans to check out El Chalten a short distance to the north and then take a bus or a plane to Ushaia in the very south of Argentina (just because when you're already this far south you just have to go the whole way). After that, Buenos Aires and the north of Argentina, perhaps the north of Chile, Peru and Ecuador. But who really knows?????

No matter where we end up, fingers crossed that the next leg of the trip can be just as amazing as the past year....