6月16日下午，我正坐在聖彼得堡前往赫爾辛基的火車上，收到了航空公司的email，提醒我可以開始線上報到，同時也提醒著我：旅程的終點到了。
一個半月來我一直知道，當我再次踏上飛機的那一刻，也就是旅程結束的那一刻。還記得在烏茲別克塔什干走出機艙的那一刻，超過10000公里的陸路旅行看起來如此遙遠，沒想到就這樣不知不覺走到了終點。一切平安，感謝上帝。
這趟旅程還未分享的最後幾天相當精彩。我在世界盃期間拜訪了兩大城莫斯科和聖彼得堡，球賽讓這幾個城市除了斯拉夫人的古典美之外還多了幾分活力；兩個城市中間被我硬是多塞了一個行程，去看湖中小島上的18世紀木造東正教堂，路上還意外遇見了俄羅斯本地的年輕創業者，在他帶領下有機會一窺俄羅斯的科技業創新文化。不過最後這幾天都忙著玩，忙到連寫文章的時間都沒有，之後再來補交作業。
回到美國之後的第一個任務是接待從台灣來訪的家人們，我將繼續目前的旅行模式帶著他們到處趴趴走，直到三週後到新公司報到；在此同時，我會以這次旅行為題材繼續寫作，文章會分成兩大類：1.一般的部落客遊記，著重在自己拜訪的景點以及實用資訊，會同步發表到旅遊論壇上和其他旅行者交流；2.主題性寫作，以自己的經驗為軸，記錄旅途中和人、文化、語言的相遇。
由於這趟實在玩得太開心，開心到都不想回去了；不過對我來說，旅行和生活的分界本來界沒有那麼清楚，即使回到正常生活，我還是會用一貫的好奇心去探索邂逅的人事物，就如同過去一個半月在中亞、中國、俄羅斯的日子一樣。對我來說，是否在旅行和我人在哪裡沒有直接關係，只要我仍對周遭一切充滿好奇，我就是在旅行。
On June 16 afternoon, while taking a train from St Petersburg to Helsinki, I got an email from airlines. It reminded me not only it was time to check in online, but also it was the end of my trip.
In the past month and a half, I always knew that the next time I boarded a flight would be the end of my trip. I still remember the day when I landed at Tashkent, Uzbekistan, how far the upcoming 10,000 plus kilometers seemed to me. And now the trip has been completed, perfectly and safely. Praise the Lord.
The past few days (which I haven't shared about) were very exciting. I visited Moscow and St Petersburg during the world cup season. The games added some energy to the cities on top of their rich Slavic atmosphere. Between these two cities, I sneaked in an extra trip to Kizhi Island where a wooden Orthodox Church stands since the 18th century. On the way there I met a local startup entrepreneur, and with his hospitality I got a peek of the tech startup culture in Russia.
What's next? My first task after getting back in the US is to welcome my family who visit from Taiwan. I will continue my travel mode to bring them around. Meanwhile, I will continue to write about my trip, and my articles will fall under two categories: 1. typical traveller blog, primarily about my visits to attractions and practical information. I will share these articles on travel forums with other travellers. 2. Themes including people, cultures, languages, etc. I will write about how I encountered them during the trip.
Its actually not easy for me to tune back to the normal mode, as I had too much fun on this trip. Nevertheless, there is no absolute division between travel and regular life. Even after I get back, I will still be curious about the people, cultures, languages, etc around me, just like what I had been doing in the past 1.5 months. I'm convinced that what defines "travel" is not where I go, but how curious I am.
