Home is not so sweet

I never knew that 7 months can pass so quickly. I saw amazing places, met fantastic people and enjoyed almost every minute of every day (not the ones in Jamaica when I wasn't diving). I was supposed to get homesick and be happy when I'm back in my apartment in Hakaniemi but nope, the trip just left me wanting for more. We'll see what happens in the fall, if I stay or if I'll head back to Asia (not Jamaica). It depends a lot on what will happen work wise.

Anyways, I've been home for a week now. That means 3 x running, 1 x climbing, 1 x biking, 2 x yoga, 1 x gym. Only a few beers and loads of coffee with friends. Getting back to normal life it seems. And I finally feel more healthy. So something good about being back at home.

Lots of people have asked about different stuff so here u go:

Money spent
Roughly around 15 000 euro inc. all flights and insurance. Difficult to count the exact amount as I use 2 bank accounts, paid lots in advance, used 2 credit cards and I also had to pay bills in Finland during the trip. The most expensive month was June when I was in Alaska and Jamaica (almost 4000 e). The flight tickets Anchorage-Montego Bay-Boston also were not booked & paid before the trip. On that month I also paid the flight ticket from Nepal to China which was quite expensive. Cheapest month was February in Borneo when I was volunteering at BSBCC, where I spent only a bit over 1000 e.

Security & lost stuff etc
I never got robbed or felt unsafe. That's because I usually stayed inside in the evenings in Jamaica. (yea, I really did not like the place). I lost one phone and broke the other one shortly after I landed at Helsinki-Vantaa... I also forgot my good Billabong sunglasses to an internet cafe in Sulawesi. And my waterproof camera stopped being waterproof in a jellyfish lake in the Togeans. That's it. Once they tried to fool me with money in a restaurant in Krabi (or actually twice in the same evening...) and once I got wrong amount of money back in Iceland. Always count the change...

Sick?
Luckily nothing serious. One eye infection in Thailand, took a few days. Some minor stomach problems and once or twice I kind of had a flu. Or a bad hang over. It's sometimes difficult to tell the difference :P.

Many also have asked me which place I liked the most.
Honestly, that's impossible to say. The most amazing rain forests I found in (Sarawak) Borneo, the best islands & beaches in Togean, Sulawesi and no place can beat the mountains & hiking in Nepal. The wildlife in Alaska was spectacular as well as the food in Japan. I also do know that I don't have to go back to many places, like the southern tourist region of Thailand, China (except Tibet which is not part of China anyways imho) and yea, Jamaica... argh...

Top 3 highlights would probably be climbing my first multi-pitches in Nepal, completing the open water diver course and working with the bears at BSBCC. Check out their new homepage!

Sountrack of the trip
16 Horsepower
Von Hertzen Brothers
Kaya Project
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Led Zeppelin
Baroness

What would I do differently?
Not much. I probably wouldn't book any flight tickets inside Asia in advance and I'd keep the travel plan as open as possible. I'd take 2 pair of bikini's with me and many more basecaps. I would not go to Jamaica.

So I guess this was it with this blog for a while. I might continue on this page later or I might not. Thanx for reading and thanx to Tanja for commenting!