Weird Food and Karaoke

So that's that. Back from the USSR. Twenty-one countries across four continents. Karaoke in seven languages across four alphabets. Scorpions, guinea pig, beetle, starfish, ants, dog, duck embryo, seahorse, snake, spider none of it so much as made me gag - my main regret is not buying that rat in Yang Shuo (a secondary regret is not buying Dennis, sorry Ellie).

So did it change me? Probably a little bit. If you'd asked me at the start of the year what the thing I would most likely repeat would be there's pretty much no chance I'd've said working in an orphanage, but it turns out that even I have an altruistic streak (incidentally, if you fancy a week or so without hot water or toilet paper in the middle of Cambodian nowhere sometime next year, let me know).

Did I ever take the same photo as everyone else? Yeah, of course I did - Angkor Wat; Red Square; The Maoi; Machu Picchu; Sydney Harbour; The Great Wall; Iguazu Falls; The Terracotta Warriors - A cliche's a cliche for a reason.

Only thing left to say is...
Traveller Cliche, these are your Best Bits:

Finally finding that swimming pool * El Calafete * Glacier trekking * Half kilo steaks for $1 * Punta del Diablo * Learning the best ever card game whilst trying to cross the border at Chui * Beach parties at Florianopolis * Andy's Tour * Paraty * The sweaty boys at Carnival * Losing JP, then meeting people who you'll be spending the next two months with with the worst hangover of the year * "Dan has velcro gloves for catching squirrels" * Speed boat through Iguazu Falls * Getting up close and personal with toucans * Paraguayan karaoke and Pirate Bar * Zip-lining * "One day Wes you'll be a man like me" * Salar d'Uyuni * Lana falling down a silver mine * The La Paz experience * Getting increasingly cocky going down The World's Most Dangerous Road * The goal that almost retained our dignity at 3000m * Dead Woman's Pass * Michael falling over a stick * Pumaman * The Porter switchbacks * The Waimu Picchu Elite * Gringo on the Dancefloor * "This is a game I like to call 'Smash It'" * Tanya falling down a manhole * The caged condors * One of literature's great monologues * Conga on the bus * ceviche * Rushing the mountain * Pedalo on an oasis * Dune buggying * The Ballestas islands * Roast chicken in Lima * Paillon del Diablo * Jenga in Banos * Bullying a terrapin * Tom with ants in his pants * Tubing Amazon style * A monkey stealing Michael's cake * Shooters and karaoke in Quito * Best steak in South America * Swimming with turtles * The boobie dance * Seeing a hammerhead * Stepping over an albatross * Swimming through a shoal of sardines as it was getting eaten by sealions from below and pelicans from above * Sliding down Pucon * Biking around Easter Island * The fish in that restaurant * Sunset over the Maoi (Day Three) * Being followed by a dog for five hours * Biking around the Atacama Desert * Cafe with Legs * Bunjee jumping from Auckland Harbour Bridge * Sky-diving at Lake Taupo * Dolphins playing in our wake in Charlotte Sound * Keas eating the windscreen at Arthur's Pass * The Paradiso * Sydney with Stacey and Lana * The view from Manly Ferry * Singapore Zoo * The Perhentian Islands * Full Moon hedonism * Wondering why Aranya Prathet isn't in the guide book * Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Ta Prohm and the Capitals of the World * A bag of insects, a stray elephant and a run-in with some ladyboys * Nou, Dani and Jan Tou's cook-offs * Mangosteens and jackfruit * Borrowing five crates of Klang from Mary's shop * Khemerak Sereymon, Naey Kren and Yamaha Day * Jonny, his drinking game and an "I heart Cambodia" tattoo * Mr Krum * Mr Klang the toothpick holder * "Hmmm, tastes like crickets" * Beating a Connect 4 hustler * Beating Dara, Sambo, Socha, Ratha and Sot at volleyball * The waterfight getting out of hand * The drinking game with the gekko * "Don't forget us" * In the Tubing * The waterfalls at Luang Pra Bang * Falling through the floor of a bamboo hut * A monkey eating Anna's bracelet * Wondering if the elephant would drown * A holiday from holidays * Lunch with Sir Jimmy * Proper jungle at the Kinabatangan * Face off with a macaque * Riding on the roof of a jeepney * The Batad Rice Terraces * Return to takeo * Casey in The Rock * The kids loving an English lesson on bike parts following a week of modal verbs * 5am aerobics and the Grade 2 classroom * "Dani no have." * "Excuse me, can I touch your head?" * "Well one of them's a mango" * Goss scoring 99% in Vietnamese * The scariest moto ride ever * mudbathing * drinking a snake heart shot * The sinking of the kayak * Ha Long Bay piracy * "You'll float out to sea" * Creamy Dreams * Trekking in Sapa, with a broken toe * Karaoke carriage * Hong Kong light show * Off-road tandems * Yichang's Tri-alphabet karaoke marathon * Snowball fights at the Terracotta Warriors * Shanghai night boat * "The Backwards Crew, The Backwards Crew, We walk backwards fast as you do." * Pantomime dragons * The bit of the Great Wall past the No Entry signs * "We should probably start with a seahorse" * The dramatic conclusion to the Visa debacle * Hiking by the Ger camp * The legend of the Mongolian Phlegm Chisellers * Dog-sledding around Lake Baikal * Sausage Lady * Red Square in the snow * The "Last" night in St Petersburg

All to the tune of Low by Flo'rida