Bebo

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‘Backpacking With A Bunion’ is a travelogue of discovery and adventure across the countries of South-East Asia. The journey begins in Bangkok - where else; and ends up on the island of Flores in Indonesia. My story as a mature ‘gapper’ covers nine countries over a period of eighteen months in this amazing part of the world. From temples and festivals to hill-tribes and floating markets; from smoking volcanoes and jungles to coral reefs and the warm tropical ocean. One day being in a nature documentary, the next in an adventure movie; a world away from cold, grey miserable Britain.

And what are my memories…the sweet smell of jasmine rice, the exotic colours and shapes of tropical fruit, saffron-robed monks, sunrises over mountains and sunsets over temples, crowing roosters at dawn, lying in a hammock by the beach or the misty Mekong, noisy festivals with firecrackers, climbing up hills, trekking through jungles, fording across rivers and swimming in tropical seas. South-East Asia has all this and more.

Travelling in South-East Asia is a rewarding but demanding psychological challenge, and my perceptions and attitudes towards the developing world have changed forever. There are huge cultural and social (but refreshing) differences between not only West and East, but also between individual South-East Asian countries. Travelling changes the traveller, hopefully for the better, and you learn as much about yourself as the countries visited. I would do it all again at the drop of a hat.