Reflecting on 30 Days in Asia

I have had some time to reflect on my travels after being lucky enough to spend a month in 4 countries in Asia over Christmas, before the coronavirus pandemic was a thing.

We arrived into Hanoi in the middle of the night, so waking up the following morning and heading out the hostel doors to the world of Vietnam, to gain our first true look at this amazing country, was a breath-taking moment. The first moment and breathe was so memorable – from the hundreds of bikes darting around the street, the smell of street food lingering in the air and the humidity and heat hitting you like never before. Initial moments really do stay with you for a long time. My sensory explosion on my first morning in Vietnam is still vividly imprinted in my mind.

All I ever heard people say to me was “don’t ride a moped”. I was confused by this – so many people drive a moped and everyone who was telling me not too had never even ridden one themselves. In Koh Tao, we hired a moped and went off exploring. This was a nerve racking experience for sure, although this was largely driven by the ill-grounded fear that everyone imparted on me. It was great, we got to explore places we would never have been able to without one and it was a real feeling of freedom.

Planes are usually viewed as pretty unavoidable when travelling. But it got me thinking, by arriving into a new place or country in some international airport, you miss a lot of the journey. The distances seem so irrelevant and you miss the feeling of knowing exactly where you have come from and where you are. A potential 700 mile adventure full of unknowns and excitement turns into an isolated, hour long flight. Slower travel on the ground could open up so many more amazing experiences, but of course this would add some time to the trip.