Well, after all the time spent cogitating it is time to go back towards Corporate life, but this time under my own steam looking at the business things that really interest me and I believe others will value.  My Consulting company is now launched under the simple title of Dugdale Consulting and my business website is at dugdaleconsulting.com

I can’t wait for the next travelling adventure, but for now I need to appease my Bank Manager.

 

 

Well, 100 days of travel, 39,700 miles in the air, 27 Hotels, 2 Deserts and a 38 hour day, with temperatures from 43 to 107 degrees F. It really has come to that point. I am looking out of the window at the UK rain and it’s time to reflect on what I feel has just happened. Despite doing stuff that I wanted to do I perversely didn’t feel at any time that I was on holiday. I travelled, check…I definitely chilled, check…Did I work out what I want to do when I grow up?…Hmmm, a bit.

Looking back to my first Country, the thought of fulfilling on travelling for three and half months after the ups and downs of India was in question, but by the time I got to the USA, the days were just flying by so quickly. I have had so many well wishes from strangers and from friends and family alike that it just pushed me on.

I have flicked through my photo’s to pick out some of the ones where I remember an emotion and are placed in my gallery selection. To be very honest, I have chosen them as memory joggers to where I was, what I was doing and how I was feeling. I promise to bore you all over the next few months with more and more detail, as your questions will open up my memory even further. I am open for dinner invites!!!

Each place had its own attraction, a bit of history, an event or a scenery moment, but in the main it was the people who I had fleeting or in some cases long conversations which gave me the long lasting memories. There were quiet times, but I met some really interesting people from a number of walks of life who were getting on with their lives and I was that person just travelling through. I had some lovely chats with folks about values, culture and behaviours, which you all know from my tweets is close to my heart. What was comforting was that these same people were striving to answer the same questions too.

So let me do a whistle stop through the places and in some cases people moments that left me with a picture for each Country. Hindsight is always clearer with more time to think about stuff.

Well, it all kicked off in Kerala in India. I think I managed to see a little of Indian country life which is a million miles away from the way we live in the West. The food was excellent in the South and the North, except for fresh water which they do not have. Last night I watched a Rick Stein programme about Southern Indian cooking and the tastes came back to me in seconds. The frenetic pace of the Indian people on the streets was only closely rivalled in a couple of other places on my entire trip. Not sure they know how to run their infrastructure without high levels of bureaucracy, but I guess that’s India. It would have been great to have a companion in India, so one could look for the evacuation signs and the other to read the map. And let’s just leave driving as mystical as the Indian Rope trick!

Hong Kong defeated me on two counts. I should have arrived on any other day of the year except Good Friday and the weather could have been more favourable. I didn’t quite get the Hong Kong Island skyline photo that I wanted to, but there was enough to convince me that they have one and I would need to come back again to see it properly. The pleasing thing was that despite the volumes of Chinese people flooding into Hong Kong, it still had that British Colony feel.

Oh Japan!, definitely my highlight of Asia. These people are beautiful. During the week I think I spoke to one Japanese person as they do not generally speak English. However, the way they act and behave and the way they live their lives, what I saw in Kyoto, is an example. They serve well and they have a deep culture of values…hmm where have I heard something about that? For food, the sushi was outstanding and the only downside was my ignorance for formal meals that I tried but for which I could not identify what I was eating. However trying new tastes was one of the things that was going to excite me while away from the UK.

Then there was China. I think you all got a feel that while Beijing had some amazing attractions, its people act in a behaviour which was 180 degrees away from what I advocate in my twitters. I may be a bit jaundiced by them leaving me at the Great Wall of China, or allowing Prostitutes to approach me morning ’til night (Beijing Zoo was a classic) and they have no concept of pedestrian crossings or what to do with saliva. I would like to see this place 20 years from now to see if they change or whether they convince the rest of the world to spit.

Singapore was a step up from China and a haven for me just when I needed it. My memory will be based on a couple of things, the Singapore Chilli Crab and the Buddhist Monk with the Blackberry. The Crab was one of the most delicious things that I tasted on my whole trip, at least until I get to another place and remember another dish, and the Monk?…it was just so funny. Oh, and, and, and Singapore Airlines………..

When I turned the corner into Australia and the ability to converse with locals this was a real high. It was comical that every place that I went to had different views on the other Cities and Towns. It was a bit like hearing nominee pitches for the 2013 City of Culture. I was guided to spend less days in one place and more in another and the best location changed from opinion to opinion. Lots of people said avoid Sydney, but I loved the place and hope to return there soon, plus the Great Ocean Road and Rottnest…and the Red Centre. Australia was definitely a place to ‘stand and stare’. Each stop off point afforded me friendships that I will treasure as being part of the trip and my purpose for travelling.

And on to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. This place was so laid back. My location next to the beach was so quiet and relaxing that I did have a lot of time to do some thinking, but the crashing of the waves on the reef often sent me to sleep while I was lying back, so it wasn’t as productive as I had hoped. I have 3 memories from Paradise, the Wedding on the beach, the Snorkelling and the Polynesian dancing.

And finally a month in the USA, which I was pleased I got the chance to see some awesome things and a little culture. America, a bit like Australia, was also a place to chat with people. Meeting a fellow traveller in San Francisco or just bumping into someone at a Bar in Boston and chewing the fat over the sport on the TV or the depth of the Snow in winter. Each conversation meant something to me and I will remember these people as being a real part of my sabbatical. As for other highlights, understanding how we lost the Colony was really interesting and the Cannoli in Boston put icing on the cake. Texas showed lots of heart and everyone wanted to hug me (it’s good when someone wants to hug you!) they are really friendly and “pruddy” people. And Nashville, Boot Dancing Hat Lifting Nashville, which exceeded my expectations for music and has left so many lyrics in my head. And I can’t miss out the Grand Canyon as a true wonder of this world. Oh, the cultural bits, Fort Worth’s Kimbell Art Museum and of course New York’s MoMA. I think I am a bit more sophisticated than when I left our shores, although someone will have to explain some of the arty pieces, especially the Pink Plank against the wall.

So how am I feeling about stuff and where do I go next with life? For a couple of weeks now I have been trying to gather my thoughts and define on the ‘what next’, but I did have a bit of an epiphany moment a couple of days ago. All of the things that I have been doing and observing, standing and staring, conversations with strangers and friends and the travel experiences have all been contributing to the answer. It’s just that I didn’t know they were contributing.

There is a big blue world out there and lots to see and do. My shallow skimming of what’s out there has given me a perspective of things that I hadn’t had before. Yes, I have done lots of travelling in my life, but I think I’ve been a bit blindfolded. The sabbatical has set a direction to finish my working life based on something that I want to do, with the values and culture that match what is Me. I now know that it is really important to be the person that I want to be.

So that’s it for my Blog, except for my spell checks in my archives, the Book, the Film and the Musical. I hope you have enjoyed the ride. You know, the world ain’t slowin’ down!

I need to do this again one day.