Beginnings

I know, I know. The world hardly needs yet another travel blog.

But here I am, typing this all the same. This blog is an account of my travels as a lone woman throughout south-east Asia (Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong...). Thoughts on culture shock, food, attitudes, and all the frustrations and delights of solo travel.

December 2010 is when I started this. I packed all my possessions into storage, handed in my notice at my job and my flat, and stepped onto a plane armed with nothing more than a guidebook and a toothbrush (and a 45L backpack in hold containing 3 changes of clothes and several novels to keep me company in strange lands).

I took a notebook with me to record my thoughts and feelings; this blog is a transcript of that notebook (with added pictures - ain't technology grand!). These posts are being typed out after the trip was over, and I'll be using the date stamp to indicate the date of the original journey entry, the date of the experiences, not the date I finally got around to composing the blog entry. I would feel dishonest to do otherwise.

I'm writing this for my own memories, so I'm going to be frank, occasionally vulgar, and informal; if it brings back memories of trips taken and experiences had for any reader who stumbles across it, that's terrific, but it wasn't written with others in mind.

Right now (17 December 2011) it's cold and drizzly in London. Let the reminiscences begin!