Starting at BKK, where soldiers were on the streets monitoring the increasing Red Shirt riots, meeting Nick at Wat Pa, then flying into the strange country of Vietnam. Saigon is motorbike city and big and confusing beyond belief. The water world of the Mekong with its floating markets was so tranquil and slow. Minh took me to some pagodas then dumped me, so I ended up visiting Andy in Vung Tau with its amazing vegetarian restaurant and long long beach. And power cuts. I flew up to Hanoi, full of hustle, bustle and Bru Bar. Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum is a surreal must, and the trip to Halong bay is best done independently. Here the landscape is amazing and the sun intense. I went up to Sapa, home of many ethnic tribes: kids selling bags, old ladies selling bags. Friendly, hassley, weird, and amazing views of terraces on mountains. A quick trip to Ninh Binh and a glide down the river through caves and past paddies, feeling lost in time. Bangkok, on my return was empty of tourists….