So here we are. A day shy of 3 weeks into my round the world trip on Friday 13th. My first blog post.





A lot has happened since I left the UK so I'll give a brief overview of what has happened for the sake of those who care.





After arriving in Bangkok we took a good 3 days to get over our jet lag. It was the first time I had really experienced it and it was not a fun experience. I have new found respect for people who travel contuniously round the world. But after a few days of adjusting and finally realising complaining about the humidity doesn't actually make it go away, we acclimatised.





Off to the Elephant Sanctuary we went.





You may or may not know, we visited said sanctuary 2 years ago and loved it so much, promised ourselves we would go back. What a brilliant decission.





In spite of the 40 degree heat, intermitent electricity for the fans at night and copious amounts of rice. It really was an experience I will never forget. The people we worked with became family within days and working alongisde such beautiful animals alongside the river kwae was something dreams are for.





With all that in mind, leaving after a week was a tester but with heavy hearts and a full memory stick of photo's we headed back to Bangkok for our flight to Vietnam.





Now...





As pointed out earlier we had visited Thailand before and so there wasn't a cultural experience this time round. If we were looking for it, we found it the second our flight hit the runway.





The skyscrapers and western values of Thailand were long gone. Replaced by echo's of the 1960's and a country struggling to find it's identity.





I have been transfixed since I arrived in Vietnam. Trying to work out whether it is trying to desperately cling on to it's Asian roots or branch out and develop.





Money is the buzz word.





More so than anywhere else, you are exclusively aware that you are a tourist and you WILL pay more than a local. The vietnamese realise the value of a pound far more than their bordering neighbours. (excluding China of course)





It seems to me that the true beauty of Vietnam is being lost in a desperate dash to make money. We took a tour of Halong Bay for 2 nights, which was beautiful. But everything had been tailored to a western criteria. It just didn't feel authenticly Asian.





It was almost as if I could have been anywhere in the world, if it wasn't for the striking limestone mountains peeking out the water.





We are now beginning our trip down Vietnam, mostly by train. We're currently in Hanoi for two days and from what we have seen, it should be good.

The streets are packed with mopeds, speeding alongside old Parisian style buildings with long tall windows. (The shopping is also pretty good. $9 for vans!)

Next up is the coastal town of Hue Ay on the train.

Hope all is well back home. Love from us both.