My time in Bangkok began with a very speedy taxi ride to my guest house. The driver, Mr Peter, spoke little English, but was very excited to teach me as much Thai as possible, which I was very happy about. He did a good job, because I'm writing this 1 week later and I can still count from 1 to 10. How to describe my first impressions of the city? Hot, colourful, loud. Busy and full of people, but with a slow pace. Organised beneath the chaos. I loved it instantl...

Finally, after all the planning, the excitement, the drama, the last minute changes, the doctors appointments, the tears, the 'oh god please don't make me go, why the f*** have I done this to myself', the reassurance, the wise words and the goodbyes... after all that, I managed to reach South East Asia. There was a point where it wasn't seeming so likely, and there were some times when I didn't think I'd be able to make myself go. But that was the point of the w...