Travel: Vietnam

By the time I hit my mid-20s I was quite a jaded individual.  I had seen more than most people my age, and I had lost my sense of enthusiasm and adventure.  I decided that the only cure for my melancholy was to throw myself out of my comfort zone and go backpacking in Vietnam.  It was a trip of many firsts for me;  the first time backpacking, the first time sleeping in a hotel that cost 10 bucks a night, the first time I saw a dragon fruit and a durian fruit, the first time I saw a floating market, the first time that I was confronted with the effects of Agent Orange.  It was a seminal moment in my life and I would recommend anyone who is at a crossroads in life to pick up a backpack and just go. It doesn't really matter where.  Although if you look at the pictures below you will agree that Vietnam is a pretty good destination. I took the pictures below with an analog SLR and I still remember the excitement I felt months after the trip when I had my films developed in rainy London.  Pouring over the pictures was almost like experiencing the whole trip again.  I have to say that for all the merits of digital photography, it cannot offer you the excitement of having a stack of developed film you have never seen in your hand.